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Heidi Swanson - Super Natural Cooking

Posted by Elise on Apr 17, 2007

Filed under Book Reviews

Heidi Swanson - Super Natural Cooking

My friend Heidi Swanson, creator of the gorgeous 101 Cookbooks food blog, has authored a new vegetarian cookbook, Super Natural Cooking, filled with advice, ideas, and recipes for cooking with natural foods. Ever find yourself in the natural foods section of your grocery store wondering what one would do with amaranth or quinoa? Or have you ever looked for creative ways to incorporate "super foods" into your diet? Heidi lays it all out for us, explaining the foods you should have in your pantry, healthful grains to use in your cooking, the importance of including phytonutrient-rich colorful foods in your meals, and suggestions for super foods and natural sweeteners. The book includes over 80 recipes, most beautifully photographed by Heidi herself.

Sound just a bit too "healthy"? I understand. My mom went through a wheat germ and alfalfa sprouts kick in the 70s, from which we kids are still recovering. What I can tell you about Heidi, as I've come to know her over the last couple of years, is that everything I've ever eaten that she's cooked is drop-dead delicious. Really. I'm so not a vegetarian and I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. It doesn't disappoint. In fact, it is a stunningly beautiful book; the photography alone is inspiration to try out some of the more unusual ingredients. Brava Heidi!

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5 Comments

GET THIS: There are TWO food bloggers who happened to have supper, happened to talk about cookbooks, and happened to learn that they'd each happened to order Heidi's book on the same day, happened to order the same SECOND cookbook at the same time -- and are both disappointed because Amazon is shipping both books at the same time and the second one isn't yet in print! (Read: DELAY.) But based on all the rave reviews, I'm looking much forward to cooking from it, she's always an inspiration.

Posted by: Alanna on April 18, 2007 5:34 AM

I just bought Heidi's book after I saw her in Chicago and immediately started scheming about which recipe to make first. I tried the Risotto-Style Barley, made with pearl barley instead of rice. It was really a great texture, with the crunch of walnuts and some soft orange segments. The book will really help me use up all those intriguing ingredients I bought with good intentions and haven't figured out how to cook yet.

Posted by: Ann on April 18, 2007 9:23 AM

Hi Elise - wow, what a co-incidence - I JUST received my copy in the mail yesterday! It looks wonderful, and I can't wait to get my hands on some quinoa/corn flours to try her crepes!

Posted by: gilly on April 18, 2007 11:30 AM

Wow. I just recently changed a lot of my eating habits to try to incorporate more nutritious food in my diet (whole grains, cutting out sugar, eating more veggies). This book looks awesome. I can't wait to purchase it.

Posted by: Tri on April 29, 2007 11:15 AM

Just saw this lovely book in Anthropologie... was instantly enamoured, so I googled to find out more. Thanks for the great review! Looking forward to getting a copy and cooking away.

Posted by: Jules @ Lovely Las Vegas on May 19, 2009 11:27 AM

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