Category: grocery news

Great Cookbooks for Families: Bean by Bean

Fart avoidance tips are offered in most bean recipes. It seems this is an earnest concern among bean consumers. Crescent Dragonwagon addresses the topic (i.e. the fermentation of oligosaccharides by intestinal bacteria and controlling the volume/fragrance of any resulting gas) in the preliminary chapter of her new cookbook, Bean by Bean; after we’re reassured that nothing too unladylike will result from the cooking and eating of her bean recipes, we’re treated to more than 175 of them–starring fresh beans, canned beans, dried beans, tofu, and miso in soups, spreads, salads, stews, and desserts.

Great Cookbooks for Families: Just Do It. Yourself.

Doing it yourself: it’s pretty much what any kind of bragging boils down to. From the proud toddler who pulls up his own underpants to the grandma who mixes perfect cocktails, everyone craves a sense of mastery. That’s why Vanessa Barrington’s D.I.Y. Delicious has such immediate appeal, whether you’re dipping a pinky toe into DIY, or you’re already fermenting beer in the back of your shoe cobbling studio.

Making things from scratch that most people don’t is a hoot, especially when it’s easy. And better yet: when it’s cheap.