I have a few reviews of books that I got from NetGalley. I love picking up cookbooks from there to check out.

“100 fresh, modern Polish vegetarian recipes—from new takes on traditional favorites to fusions from around the world

Micha? Korkosz’s first book, Fresh from Poland —a Booklist Top 10 Cookbook of 2020 hailed as “a vegetable wonderland” by The San Francisco Chronicle —brought a Polish vegetarian cookbook to American readers for the first time. Now, he moves from celebrating Poland’s history with vegetarian versions of traditional recipes to exploring Polish cooking’s rich present with 100 exciting recipes.

Polish’d includes both typical Polish favorites made vegetarian, like Kakory (Potato Empanadas) Filled with Roasted Vegetables and Cheese, and new flavors brought to Poland through immigration and cultural exchange, like Miso ?urek with Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Mushrooms, and Dill. Its recipes showcase fresh vegetables, grains, and herbs, but there’s also plenty of buttery, sugary, and cheesy comfort-food goodness to be found. Readers will see, and taste, Polish food in a new way as they enjoy dishes Korkosz was the winner of the 2017 Saveur Blog Award for best food blog photography, and his gorgeous photos make these offerings even more mouthwatering. His love for his home country’s culinary tradition and innovation is at the heart of each recipe. With its unique take on this oft-ignored cuisine, Polish’d will please readers with Polish heritage, vegetarian fans of Eastern European food, and anyone looking for creative ways to enjoy plant-based fare.”

I’ve 25% Polish but I don’t have any connection to the culture or cuisine. When my grandmother’s family came to the U.S. they very intentionally suppressed their Polish background. My grandmother refused to speak Polish or even to acknowledge openly that she spoke/understood it. She did not cook Polish food.

So I was excited to look at this cookbook to see if any of the vegetarian Polish food was interesting to me.

The recipes in this book are very dairy-heavy. Many use traditional Polish cheeses that would be hard to source locally for me. The recipes are also more complex than I would generally make for everyday eating.

In the introduction the author discusses influences from other countries on Polish cuisine. Poland has always been a crossroads. Many of the recipes in this book show strong influences from other places.

The photography was nice. I like the organization of the book into cooking techniques instead of ingredients but I don’t know that I would end up making anything from here.

Veg-table: Recipes, Techniques, and Plant Science for Big-Flavored, Vegetable-Focused Meals Nik Sharma

“Nik Sharma, blogger at A Brown Table , Serious Eats columnist, and bestselling cookbook author, brings us his most cookable collection of recipes yet in Veg-table . Here is a technique-focused repertoire for weeknight mains for cooks of all skill levels looking to add more delicious and satisfying vegetable dishes to their diet.

Combining the scientific underpinnings of The Flavor Equation with the inviting and personal recipes of Season , this book features more than fifty vegetables, revealing their origins, biology, and unique characteristics. Vegetable-focused recipes are organized into chapters by plant family, with storage, buying, and cooking methods for all. The result is a recipe collection of big flavors and techniques that are tried, true, and perfected by rigorous testing and a deep scientific lens. 

Included here are Sharma’s first-ever pasta recipes published in a Pasta with Broccoli Miso Sauce, Shallot and Spicy Mushroom Pasta, and more. And vegetable-focused doesn’t mean strictly vegetarian; bring plants and animal protein together with delicious recipes like Chicken Katsu with Poppy Seed Coleslaw and Crispy Salmon with Green Curry Spinach. A wide variety of hot and cold soups, salads, sides, sauces, and rice-, egg-, and bean-based dishes round out this collection.

Featuring more than 100 of Sharma’s gorgeous and evocative photographs, as well as instructive illustrations, this cookbook perfectly balances beauty, intellect, and delicious, achievable recipes.”

This is also a beautiful book that packs a lot of information into one book. It isn’t just a cookbook. There is information on the history of vegetables, how they are grown, and what parts are eaten. There is also a discussion of properly storing vegetables. All of this is nice if you’re a new cook but if you are a seasoned vegetable cook and/or eater it is all pretty common knowledge.

The rest of the book is organized by type of vegetable. There are even a few vegetables in here that I’ve never cooked. The photography is absolutely gorgeous.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t inspired by the recipes. I didn’t bookmark any that I really wanted to try. This book can be a good reference because there are brief explanations of each type of vegetable before the recipes but I don’t think that I would use this one.

From cookie dough milkshakes to chocolate chip cheesecake to the classic recipe that started it all, The Chocolate Chip Cookie Book offers all the tips, tricks, photos, and recipes you need to bake the cookie of your dreams.

Whether you’re creating a cozy self-care treat, a celebration for loved ones, or the perfect gift for any occasion, chocolate chip cookies speak to the heart. In The Chocolate Chip Cookie Book, artist and cookie expert Katie Jacobs offers 100 recipes for every gift-giving season and reason, from fancy dinners to lunchbox goodies.

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Book offers:

  • 100 recipes, from basic to “Wow, you made this?”
  • Icons that help you identify difficulty levels, tools used, and food sensitivities
  • Delicious vegan, paleo, dairy-free, and gluten-free recipes
  • The secrets and science behind why the same cookie recipe can result in vastly different cookies
  • Gorgeous and helpful photos from the author, who is a contributing photographer for Southern Living, O, Martha Stewart Living, and the Hallmark Channel

Full of chocolate chip cookie how-tos, this beautifully detailed book is for experts, experimenters, and amateurs alike. Add to your baking expertise and dessert inspirations as you discover the cookie of your dreams.

I picked up this book because it promised vegan chocolate chip cookies.

The majority of the book leans very heavily on butter and eggs. There are also a lot of pictures of cookies garnished with a lot of salt. That makes my skin crawl. I hate, hate, hate salted caramel or chocolate.

When you get all the way to the back of the book, you get to the “Healthy(ish) Treats.” The first recipe is for a Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard. I was excited. This was more like it. Then I read the description.

This “blizzard” is dairy-free, vegan, and packed with protein. Before, you knock it, you should try it!

Excuse me, what? Why is she implying that people should think that dairy-free food is bad?

Later on there is this description on 24-Hour Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies –

These dairy-free, egg-free, chocolate chip cookies may surprise you. Even the most discerning palate may not miss the butter and eggs. They key to making them undiscoverably vegan? Refrigerate the dough for at least 24 hours.

Why??? Ok, I get it. People think vegans are freaks who live on cardboard and tree roots. Who would have ever thought that eating plants could be good?

I am going to try several of her vegan recipes. I just wish she wasn’t so snarky about them.