My New Roots by Sarah Britton

It is hard to stand out as a cookbook nowadays. Hasn't everything been written? There are only so many ways you can incorporate roasted pumpkin and garlic scapes into a recipe, right? Well the thing you can do is make your cookbook look better than the rest. With My New Roots, Sarah Britton has done that. It could just as easily be a coffee table book, with its short stories and beautiful photographs. The images look to be a lifestyle photo session out of the pages of an Anthropologie catalog. This seems to be the trend with cookbooks at the moment. They are more focused on aesthetics that the substance of their recipes. 

With this book though, I have found many things I enjoy. First off, I like that the recipes are separated by seasons. When trying to eat locally, it is important to know how to use a fig, or a new way to prepare parsnips. Brtitton makes sure that the reader is branching out with their cooking. These recipes will get you familiar with fruits and vegetables that you have no doubt seen at the market, but, you couldn't pronounce them, much less make a delicious dinner with them. Another item that interested me was the focus on preparing certain types of foods. Near the beginning of the book. there are detailed charts explaining soaking and cooking time, and yield of dry beans and grains. She also teaches the reader how to make different seed and nut milks and butters. Finally, like one of her delicious recipes, the prep work is over and it is time to start cooking. For each season, she gives you a breakfast, snack, dinner, and dessert. After flipping through this book, you will be headed to your local farmers market because everything sounds so good. The meals are as enjoyable as browsing the pages of this book are. Enjoy.