Flavor is Blossoming this Spring!
 
Flowers are blooming and the birds are chirping!
What a wonderful time to cook something up in the kitchen.
 
Welcome the new season with your favorite dishes, or try something new. The Library has plenty of cookbooks and fun new recipes for you to try out. Find your next culinary venture today!

Cooking Made Simple
Big Vegan Flavor: Techniques and 150 Recipes to Master Vegan Cooking
by Nisha Vora
 
With more than two million devoted fans online, Nisha Vora has become the trusted source for exceptional vegan recipes for the home cook. That’s because of her “flavor first” philosophy. It's an approach she’s honed nearly a decade creating plant-based dishes that just plain taste amazing, labels aside. Now she’s created an essential, comprehensive guide that codifies the principles of plant-based cooking for the first time, from how to coax the most out of your ingredients to how to understand  essential flavor pairings.
 
Come Hungry: Salads, Meals, and Sweets for People Who Live to Eat
by Melissa Ben-Ishay
 
When Melissa Ben-Ishay, the co-founder and CEO of bite-size cupcake empire Baked by Melissa, posted her vegan Green Goddess Salad on TikTok, it became a viral sensation. The recipe exploded online, gaining over 25 million views, landing Melissa on the TODAY Show, and inspiring fans like Cardi B and Lizzo to make their own version of the salad. In Come Hungry, Melissa shares her favorite everyday recipes and tips for creating nourishing, delicious meals the whole family will love. With flavorful ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions, Melissa encourages home cooks of all levels to cook outside of their comfort zones and reveals her go-to techniques for creating the perfect bite.
 
Cooking in Real Life: Delicious & Doable Recipes for Every Day
by Lidey Heuck
 
Cooking in Real Life represents the golden middle ground that new and experienced home cooks crave: recipes that are inventive but not overly complicated, that use familiar ingredients but encourage us to do things a little bit differently. They are designed to be low-effort, practical, and high-reward. Lidey combines straight-forward delicious cooking with innovative, vegetable-forward recipes, inspired by bold flavors from near and far. 
 
Matty Matheson: A Cookbook
by Matty Matheson
 
Matty Matheson is known as much for his amazing food as his love for life, positive mental attitude, and epic Instagram account. This debut cookbook is about Matty's memories of the foods that have defined who he is. With a drive to share his zest for life, he creates dishes within these pages that reinterpret the flavors of his youth in Canada, as well as the restaurant fare for which he has become so well-known.
 
Mix & Match Mama Eats: Crazy Good Go-To Meals
by Shay Shull
 
"The pressure of planning and preparing meals from one day to the next can become stressful. Shay Shull, the Mix and Match Mama, has found simple solutions for making quick and tasty dishes that will satisfy your whole family and make your life so much easier."--Amazon.com
 
Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots
by Reba McEntire
 
"Okies know that the secret to a good life is to keep things simple and be thankful for what the good Lord's given you. That's what I want to get back to. Simple fun, hard work, good food, and laughing with those you love. Everything I'm doing in my life from here on out—personal or professional, doesn't matter—I'm going to have fun. That’s what I'm sharing in this book—some simple, not-that-fancy truths I live by and a bunch of good stories, photos, and recipes that go along with them. So if you're looking to slow down, get back to basics, and have a heckuva lot of fun, I think we're going to have a good time together in these pages." - Reba
 
Pulp: A Practical Guide to Cooking with Fruit: 215+ Sweet and Savory Recipes and Variations, Including a Baker's Toolkit
by Abra Berens
 
Pulp will change your mind about fruit. It's not just for eating out of hand, baking into a pie, or preserving into a jam or jelly. Roasted fruit can enhance a pork chop or add tartness and fleshy heft to grains. Apricots can be tucked into the most delicious grilled cheese, their brilliant flavor and hue the irresistible stars of the sandwich. Infinitely delicious, endlessly adaptable fruit can center a meal. Here are 95 approachable, healthful recipes for 22 fruits in sweet and savory preparations, each featuring the acidity, sweetness, color, and texture different fruits bring to the plate. 
 
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinner's Ready! : 112 Fast and Fabulous Recipes for Slightly Impatient Home Cooks
by Ree Drummond
 
The #1 New York Times bestselling author and Food Network favorite The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond returns with an exciting new cookbook filled with no-fuss family recipes for dinners, desserts, and more. Cook smarter, not harder! After seventeen years of sharing recipes in my cookbooks, on my website, and on my cooking show, I still absolutely love cooking! Here's a collection of flavorful and fast recipes to breathe speedy new scrumptiousness into your cooking.
 
What to Cook When You Don't Feel like Cooking
by Caroline Chambers
 
Perfect for beginners and those seeking easy cookbooks for simple meals, What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking is the ultimate "I don't want to cook" cookbook. With its focus on efficient, flavorful recipes and minimal ingredients, this easy dinner cookbook appeals to time-constrained parents, working professionals, and anyone who craves delicious homemade meals without the fuss. Readers seeking uncomplicated cookbooks for beginners will appreciate Caroline Chambers' approachable style, clever shortcuts, and flexible recipe options, making this book a go-to resource for satisfying meals on even the most exhausting days. 
 
Cooking Around the World
Cucinare: Healthy and Authentic Italian Cooking for the Whole Family 
by Marco Bianchi
 
In this gorgeous full-color lifestyle cookbook, the Italian cook, television personality, and bestselling cookbook author Marco Bianchi offers personal tips and tricks on maintaining a healthy diet and provides 65 of his favorite Mediterranean recipes to help you eat deliciously and live well.
 
Japanese Home Cooking: Simple Meals, Authentic Flavors
by Sonoko Sakai
 
"Using high-quality, seasonal ingredients in simple preparations, Sonoko Sakai offers recipes with a gentle voice and a passion for authentic Japanese cooking. Beginning with the pantry, the flavors of this cuisine are explored alongside fundamental recipes, such as dashi and pickles, and traditional techniques, like making noodles and properly cooking rice. Use these building blocks to cook an abundance of everyday recipes with dishes like Grilled Onigiri (rice balls) and Japanese Chicken Curry."--Amazon.com
 
Korean American: Food that Tastes like Home
by Eric Kim
 
An homage to what it means to be Korean American with more than 85 delectable recipes that explore how new culinary traditions can be forged to honor both your past and your present. New York Times staff writer Eric Kim grew up in Atlanta, the son of two Korean immigrants. Food has always been central to his story, from Friday night Korean barbecue with his family to hybridized Korean-ish meals for one--like Gochujang-Buttered Radish Toast and his Kimchi Fried Rice--that he makes in his tiny New York City apartment. In this book, Eric shares these recipes alongside insightful, touching stories and stunning images shot by photographer Jenny Huang. 
 
Milk Street Noodles: Secrets to the World's Best Noodles, from Fettuccine Alfredo to Pad Thai to Miso Ramen
by Christopher Kimball
 
It's time to twirl and slurp bowls of pasta, ramen, spaetzle, lo mein, and more with 125 recipes for noodles from around the world, from the James Beard Award-winning team at Milk Street Nearly every culture serves some sort of noodle, from fettuccine, ramen and spaetzle, to lo mein, gnocchi and udon. So we traveled the world to learn the secrets to the best pad Thai, Italian ragu, spicy North African couscous and buttery Turkish noodles flecked with feta. 
 
Nosh: Plant-Forward Recipes Celebrating Modern Jewish Cuisine
by Micah Siva
 
Food is a central part of Jewish culture, and those who don't connect with the foods of yesterday may feel as though a part of their heritage is missing. Nosh is the vegetarian cookbook for the modern Jewish kitchen, drawing inspiration from history through a 21st century lens. With the rise in plant-based eating across the globe, Nosh is an ideal guide for those looking to connect with and share their Judaism in a way that feels authentic in today's landscape.
 
Provence the Cookbook: Recipes from the French Mediterranean
by Caroline Craig
 
Provence is the fruit and vegetable garden of France, where much of its most beautiful produce is grown. This is Caroline Craig's guide to cooking the Provençal way, for those who want to eat simply but well, who love to cook dishes that rhyme with the seasons, and who want to recreate the flavors of the Mediterranean at home, wherever that may be.
 
Rasika: flavors of India
by Ashok Bajaj
 
A vibrant and sumptuous cookbook of innovative recipes and reinvented classics of modern Indian cuisine. Using traditional techniques as jumping-off points, Rasika incorporates local, seasonal ingredients to reinterpret dishes from one of the world's richest and most varied cuisines. With a wide range of vegetarian options and spanning the spectrum from beverages and appetizers to entrees, rices, breads, chutneys, and desserts, Rasika represents the finest of what Indian cuisine has to offer today. 
 
The Food of Oaxaca: Recipes and Stories from Mexico's Culinary Capital
by Alejandro Ruiz
 
"In The Food of Oaxaca, chef Alejandro Ruiz introduces home cooks to the vibrant foods of his home state--"the culinary capital of Mexico" (CNN)--with more than 50 recipes both ancestral and original. Divided into three parts, the book covers the traditional dishes of the region, where Ruiz grew up; the cuisine of the Oaxacan coast, where he spent many years; and the food he serves today at his acclaimed restaurant, Casa Oaxaca. 
 
The SalviSoul Cookbook: Salvadoran Recipes & the Women who Preserve Them
by Karla Tatiana Vasquez
 
In search of the recipes and traditions that made her feel at home, food historian and Salvadoran Karla Tatiana Vasquez took to the internet to find the dishes her mom made throughout her childhood. But when she couldn't find any, she decided to take matters into her own hands. What started as a desire to document recipes turned into sharing the joys, histories, and tribulations of the women in her life. In this collection of eighty recipes, Karla shares her conversations with moms, aunts, grandmothers, and friends to preserve their histories so that they do not go unheard. 
 
The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love from a Chinese American Family
by Bill Leung
 
This is the story of a family as told through food. Judy, the mom, speaks to traditional Chinese dishes and cultural backstory. Bill, the dad, worked in his family’s Chinese restaurants and will walk you through how to make a glorious Cantonese Roast Duck. Daughters Sarah and Kaitlin have your vegetable-forward and one-dish recipes covered—put them all together and you have the first cookbook from the funny and poignant family behind the popular blog The Woks of Life. 
 
The World Central Kitchen Cookbook: Feeding Humanity, Feeding Hope
by Jose Andres
 
In their first cookbook, WCK shares recipes inspired by the many places they’ve cooked following disasters as well as inspiring narratives from the chefs and volunteers on the front lines. Photographs captured throughout the world highlight community and hope while stunning food photography showcases the mouthwatering recipes. 
 

Check out these Library events
Make Pickles with Master Preservers
Wednesday, March 26
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Morro Bay Library
Join us for a pickle-making experience for kids led by Master Food Preservers! Register to reserve your spot!
Register here
 
Oaks & Acorns as a Staple Food
Saturday, March 8
11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Morro Bay Library
Learn about the mighty oak and how the acorn is used in cuisine and culture!
 
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