5 great cookbooks in ONE!

If you are downsizing, Spicebox Kitchen, by Linda Shiue, M.D., Chef is the one cookbook you will definitely want to KEEP. This 337 page tome is five cookbooks rolled into one!  It is divided into three parts and five sections that beginning cooks and well-seasoned ones alike, will be equally delighted by. The goal of this cookbook is to make plant-based and pescatarian cooking easy, fun, tasty, and more accessible to everyone.

Part One provides a useful Introduction to the concept of food as medicine and explains Dr. Shiue’s motivations for creating such an unusual, thoughtfully organized cookbook. “Healthy Cooking 101” (37 pages) provides cooking basics and a glossary for understanding every herb and spice presented in the book.

Part Two, the core substance of the book groups recipes herbs and spices into four regional cuisines:

• California

• Asia

• Mediterranean & Middle East

• Trinidad

Each region starts with a brief pantry list and short introduction, followed by easy to prepare recipes for Breakfast; Salads, Soups & Starters; Sides; Mains; Desserts & Sweet Things; Pantry Sauces, Spices, Pickles, and Snacks; followed by Menus. An added bonus are embedded tips the author provides about possible substitutions to play with recipes.

I consider page 327, Resources (although just one page), Part 3. It’s a useful “Going Further” resource page. Going a step farther herself, Dr. Shiue also teaches online cooking classes once a month, on Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30 PM. To register, call the SF Kaiser Permanente (KP) Health Education Department (415) 833-3450. Classes are free to KP members, but $20 (non-refundable) per class for non-KP members.