A cook after my own heart.

I don't typically "read" cookbooks. (As Mr. CR could tell you, I've got a rotation of about ten meals, heavy on the casseroles, that I bore him with on a regular schedule.) But when Mark Bittman comes out with a new cookbook, I make an exception.

His new Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express: 404 Inspired Seasonal Dishes You Can Make in 20 Minutes or Less, is nothing short of awesome. I'm particularly happy that he beat Rachael Ray's 30-minute meal times (I dislike Rachael Ray, even though I typically love smokers, I just find her totally boring and her food the worst kind of mishmash that can be thrown together out of cans), and he did it with style. After a short intro about some basic things that you might consider having in your pantry, he gets down to the recipes, each of which are a short paragraph long, including ingredients lists:

"Zucchini and Dill Soup: Grate a couple of zucchini. Cook a chopped onion in butter until softened, then add the zucchini and stir until softened, five minutes or so. Add vegetable or chicken stock and bring to a boil; simmer for about five minutes, then puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and lots of fresh chopped dill."

And that's it! Now, as I am too lazy to measure anything, a cookbook like this (for me) is glorious. (He does say up front that the recipes are all meant to make about 3-4 servings, so I'm guessing you'd just add enough stock in the above recipe for what you think 3-4 servings might look like.) I realize that not everyone likes to cook that way. But for those of us who just like to slop it together? Yummy.

I also love Mark Bittman because he says things like this: (For the type of dairy you should have around): "For cooking, half-and-half or heavy cream is more useful than milk, but if you drink milk you already have it around*, so that's fine. Butter: unsalted, please. And sour cream and/or yogurt: At least occasionally, I prefer the full-fat kinds." (p. 13.)

I love the emphasis on using what you normally have in the house. Also, I'm touched he put in a good word for full-fat dairy (it's the only way to fly, if you ask me), even if just occasionally. Last but not least, I love that he has a tiny kitchen. Talk about doing more with less.

*IF you drink milk? As the daughter of a dairy farmer and someone who is interested in all of your bone health, I would suggest that, short of lactose intolerance problems, ALL of you drink milk. And you thought I didn't care about you.

Comments

[Sarah]

Evaporated milk is good to have around for soups. Also, potato-leek soup is almost as simple (and you can throw in that leftover celery stalk and the two carrots drying out in the refrigerator).

[Citizen Reader]

Sarah,
Nummers. I love potato-leek soup (I love potatoes in anything and everything) and have a great recipe that incorporates both carrots and ham. But I must say putting in celery had never occurred to me. Can't wait for a frosty fall day to start making soups!

[Tripp]

I adore Bittman. His blog is great, and his cookbooks are wonderful. I also like that his is non-doctrinaire about ingredients and knows that most people don't have exotic ingredients on hand, or the ready money to purchase them.

[bybee]

I'm always on the lookout for recipes that don't require an oven (don't have one), so soups are nice.

[Venta]

The question I always have to ask with cookbooks: Are there enough vegetarian recipes to make it useful to those who don't eat meat?

Don't eat meat, but besides buttermilk,I can't think of a dairy product I don't love.

[Citizen Reader]

Bybee,
There's a lot of recipes like that here; Bittman also once reported on his blog that he cooked for years on a hot plate in a basement apartment. So I think he's always open to recipes like that.

Venta!
Crap, I took it back to the library yesterday (I'm planning to ask for it as a Christmas present; I like to "vet" all cookbooks before purchasing) so I can't go back and check. But the book does rely partially on "seasons," and if I remember correctly, the summer section contained a lot of veggie-only recipes to take advantage of garden produce. Although he is a fan of prosciutto. Check it out from your library--I would guess it's got as many, if not more, veggie options as most recent cookybooks.

Mmmmm dairy products. I remember our grilled cheese lunch with fondness!!

[Robert Brown]

Bittman is my favorite TV personality. No, really. His NYT webeos are also a delight.

[lesbrarian]

I thought the reason my boobs are big, along with genetics, was the presence of hormone junk in the cows I eat and drink. I'm not real comfortable with the thought of drinking cow milk, so instead I make my own almond milk. (I do eat yogurt every day, so feel free to point out the very obvious hypocrisy).

[Citizen Reader]

Bert,
But do you like him more than you like Dr. Phil? :)
I agree with you, Bittman is fabo. And dammit, now I'm going to have to go look up these webeos. There goes the rest of my day.

Lesbrarian,
Well, I thought of this after your farm market post the other day, that yes, we should all be drinking rBGH free milk, too, and that addes to the expense. I have no problem with almond milk, though, and we're all hypocrites to some extent, so I wouldn't worry about it. As our drinking water and soil in which all our plants are grown are laced with pharmaceuticals (at best) and a ton of other chemicals and prions, I would guess narrowing down the causes of any of our hormonal issues is pretty tough. Evidently that's the price of life in the 20th and 21st centuries, where we have all that crap, but we also have indoor plumbing and antibiotics. It's a trade-off.

Also, thanks for the web traffic I hope to get off the confluence of "boobs" and "big."

[Levinson and Axelrod]

Glad to see your great review about this cook book. I will have to take a closer look because it seems like a nice addition to the kitchen.

[Citizen Reader]

Levinson and Axelrod,
Really, I've had very good luck with every Bittman book/recipe I've ever used. I finally broke down and bought his big book, How to Cook Everything, and I've really enjoyed using it.