4 Cookbooks to Read During Quarantine

New cookbooks from four regional authors offer up healthy (and some indulgent) recipes to explore during lockdown.

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Simply Laura Lea

By Laura Lea Bryant

Healthy, everyday home cooking should be easy and accessible, delicious and fun. That is at the heart of certified holistic chef Laura Lea Bryant’s approach to food. She first presented this in The Laura Lea Balanced Cookbook and builds on that foundation in her latest, Simply Laura Lea. Through her stories, recipes, and stunning photography, Bryant leads you through the preparation of 130 creative, nutritious dishes. She outlines how to stock your pantry with nutrient-dense staples, (avocado oil, farro, and coffee are new to her list of must-haves) and gives tips on best use of kitchen equipment. (Hello, Instapot!)

Originally from Nashville, Bryant’s culinary journey began more than 10 years ago when she was working in Manhattan. Overworked and undernourished, Bryant relied on a late-night partying lifestyle to relieve stress. Instead, she was becoming apprehensive and spiritless. Desiring change, she began staying at home and cooking for herself. On a tight budget, she bought beans and whole grains from the grocery and fresh vegetables from the farmers’ market. Lean meats, fish, poultry, and eggs figured into her menu planning, more as supporting ingredients rather than centerpieces. Over time, her results were steady and dramatic. In regaining vitality, she awakened her passion. She enrolled in the National Gourmet Institute, which focuses on health-supported cooking. After getting her certification, she returned to Nashville to launch LL Balanced to help individuals and corporations meet their wellness goals.

“What I try to do is meet people where they are,” she says. “Extremes can be difficult, often unreachable. I help fill in the gaps—bridge what we think is healthy food to comfort food to childhood favorites. I’ve created recipes that offer something for everyone.”

Start your day with her gingery Morning Elixir, and power it with a keto-friendly no-bake breakfast bar. At lunch, enjoy Charred Green Bean and Farro Salad with Avocado Ranch. Seeking an ideal dinner entrée to satisfy vegetarians and omnivores alike? Look no further than her Artichoke, Leek and White Bean Gratin. Meat lovers have delicious options too, such as Steak Bites in balsamic cream sauce and roasted asparagus. Bryant includes a dozen dessert recipes made with natural sweeteners and healthy fats, like the Hungry Girl Chocolate Chunk Cookies. 

“Be easier on yourself,” Bryant says. “Have fun. Nourish both the inside and the outside as we navigate these uncertain times. And reach out to me if you need help.”  —N.V. 

Charred Green Bean & Farro Salad with Avocado Ranch Dressing

Makes 6 to 8 servings

This recipe is straight-up inspired by one of my local Nashville faves, Cafe Roze. If you ever get a chance to visit Music City, you must add Cafe Roze to your bucket list. Not only is the interior an Instagram (and life) dream, the menu is gorgeous, healthy, creative, and consistently mouth-watering. I am particularly smitten with their farro and green bean salad. The textural combination of chewy farro and lightly crisp green beans is divine, and their house-made avocado ranch takes it over the top. While I don’t have the original recipe, I think I came pretty close in my knockoff!

Green Bean & Farro Salad

  • 1 ¾ cups uncooked farro
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt, divided
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock (or sub low-sodium vegetable stock) 
  • ½ pound green beans
  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 batch Avocado Ranch Dressing (below) 
  • ½ cup roasted, salted pistachios
  • Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for garnish

Avocado Ranch Dressing

  • ¼ ounce chives, minced (¼ cup) (sub ½ cup dill or parsley, minced), divided
  • 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
  • 1 teaspoon mild, white miso paste
  • 1 medium ripe avocado, mashed (½ cup)
  • ½ cup sour cream (sub plain full-fat yogurt or dairy-free yogurt)
  • 1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ cup unsweetened almond milk

Green Bean & Farro Salad: Place farro in a shallow bowl, and check for any husks (tough hay-like shells). Remove any that you see. Rinse farro with cold water in a fine-mesh sieve, drain, and place in a large (at least 4-quart) pot, along with ¼ teaspoon salt and chicken stock. (Note: if you missed any husks, they will likely bob to the surface, and you can remove them). Stir, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, until farro is soft but still chewy, 25 to 30 minutes. Drain off any excess stock. Transfer farro to a large mixing bowl.

While farro is cooking, preheat oven to 415°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Trim the ends off green beans, and rinse in a colander, then drain well. Add remaining salt, avocado oil, and pepper (while beans are still in the colander), and toss to coat. Spread green beans in an even layer on the baking sheet, and roast for 20 minutes. Turn to broil, and broil until beans have some charred brown spots, 2 to 6 minutes depending on the oven. Watch closely. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Avocado Ranch Dressing: Place 2 tablespoons minced chives and all remaining dressing ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a small bowl, and stir in remaining 2 tablespoons chives. (Note: if using fresh parsley or dill, blend ¼ cup of the herbs with the remaining ingredients in the blender. Roughly chop the remaining ¼ cup herbs, and stir into dressing.) Makes 1 cup.

Assemble the Salad: Once green beans have cooled, chop into approximately 2-inch pieces and add to farro. (I like to cut the green beans with kitchen scissors.) Stir in Avocado Ranch Dressing to taste (I use the whole batch). If you’re planning to add parmesan cheese, hold off on any extra salt. If not using parmesan, stir in another ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste.

Cover with plastic wrap, making sure that it is pressed against the salad to prevent the avocado from browning. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours before serving. When it’s time to serve, add any leftover Avocado Ranch Dressing if you like. Then chop pistachios, and fold into salad along with parmesan cheese, if using.

Leftovers will keep tightly sealed with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for 3 days. If leftovers look a little “dry,” drizzle with the juice from one lemon and a few tablespoons of avocado or olive oil, then toss to coat. I don’t recommend freezing.

Reprinted with permission from Simply Laura Lea. 

My Pinewood Kitchen

By Mee McCormick 

Mee McCormick suffered from serious stomach issues nearly her entire life before realizing that by changing her diet and the way she cooked, she could eradicate her severe pain. The lifestyle change came after years of exploring the world, living in places like New York, L.A., Tel Aviv, and Mexico City. It came after she met her husband, Lee, who runs a cattle ranch in Pinewood, Tennessee (he founded The Recovery Ranch, a residential treatment facility there), and after she had her second daughter. After a harrowing prediction about her intestines, she needed to act. Motivated, McCormick learned the ways of macrobiotics, attended culinary school (where she couldn’t eat her creations), and eventually taught herself how to cook healthfully at home. 

McCormick never set out to be a chef or restaurateur. But when her husband bought the Pinewood Store, a longstanding institution in their town, she reluctantly took the reins. Soon, she discovered an opportunity: Cook for others in the same healing way she cooks for herself. With a team of helpers, including her sister, McCormick revitalized Pinewood Kitchen into an updated hub for the community as well a haven for those looking for a healthy, inclusive table. (Many weekend customers drive for hours to fill up on McCormick’s nutritious, comforting food.) It’s also a truly farm-to-table spot, with beef from Lee’s ranch, chicken and eggs from local 4H students, and produce, like tomatoes and zucchini, grown locally. 

“I never thought I was capable of leading a team. But I’ve learned that I definitely am capable. And now I understand how I want to be led. I’m led by my people and by my community,” McCormick says. 

Her latest book, My Pinewood Kitchen, is based on the restaurant’s recipes. It’s brimming with comforting favorites that have been given a healthy twist—every recipe is gluten-free with an emphasis on gut health and boosting immunity. Look for Super Creamy Veggie Mac and Cheese, Chickpea Cauliflower “Couscous,” and Farmhouse Ground Beef Stroganoff. Blended in, you’ll also find recipes inspired by her travels, like Kinpira Gobo, made from burdock root, and “Full-On” Falafel Burgers. Her voice has a casual, “real talk” energy, which lifts everything from the health-focused background info to the recipes off the page. (She refers to “gut homies” and calls one dish “off-the-hook delish.”) The book delivers a primer on how to improve gut health through approachable, easy-to-replicate recipes—as well as a call to visit McCormick’s oasis, Pinewood Kitchen and Mercantile, which sits just 45 minutes west of Nashville.  —E.B.M.

Roasted Asparagus with Shallot Vinaigrette 

Makes 4 servings 

Shallots are super gut food. They are rich in flavonols and polyphenolic compounds. They also contain dietary fiber, protein, vitamin C, potassium, folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin A. Dang it, they are amazing! Asparagus, like other green vegetables, is high in antioxidants. These include vitamin E, vitamin C, and glutathione, as well as various flavonoids and polyphenols. Plus, asparagus feeds Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus, both of which are important gut bacteria. These two bacteria are linked to strengt

hening the immune system. This combination of asparagus and shallots can be used in a number of dishes like salads, stir-fries, frittatas, omelets, and pastas. 

Ingredients: 

  • 1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed
  • 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided 
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt, divided
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper 

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the asparagus in a shallow baking pan or jelly-roll pan. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of the sea salt; toss to coat. 

Roast the asparagus for 8 minutes or until it’s tender and lightly browned. Transfer to a serving dish. 

Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, add the remaining 3 tablespoons of the oil, the remaining sea salt, shallot, the vinegar, and the black pepper. Blend until well incorporated. Drizzle the dressing over the asparagus. 

Reprinted with permission from My Pinewood Kitchen. 

Simple Beautiful Food

By Amanda Frederickson 

Follow Amanda Frederickson on Instagram and you’ll regularly find her “fridge foraging.” 

“Friends would come to me saying they were too overwhelmed to cook. And the food landscape would say you need all of these different ingredients. But you can make a delicious dinner from what you already have in your fridge, and I wanted to show that. It empowers people—especially when they understand it also saves money,” she says.      

A former test kitchen chef for Williams-Sonoma, Frederickson has worked on a number of cookbooks, including the Staub Cookbook (Ten Speed Press, 2018), but this is her first stand-alone project and emulates her approach to making food at home.

“I struggled, seeing all of this food online that looks beautiful but that doesn’t end up tasting good. But I think you can have both: Food that looks and tastes beautiful,” she says. 

In Simple Beautiful Food, she shares recipes like Bucatini with Cauliflower and Bacon, and Salmon and Avocado Nori Wraps, offering suggestions for alternative ingredients. In fact, her ingredients are listed as a “shopping list” and she puts the measurements right into the recipe—it allows the home cook to forage for some of the ingredients in the fridge and then supplement with fresh ingredients. She also offers her “riffs” on singular ingredients: Four ways to prepare eggs and four easy meals to make from them; a choose-your-own adventure style of roasting chicken thighs; six ideas for using up leftover bread.

It all adds up to a handy, highly cookable list of recipes that do, in fact, look good too. Bonus: Frederickson herself took all of the book’s irresistible photos. —E.B.M.

Zucchini Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette, Pine Nuts, and Fresh Herbs

Serves about 4 

Shopping List: 

  • Pine nuts 
  • Olive oil
  • Dijon mustard
  • Meyer lemon
  • Shallot
  • Zucchinis
  • Fresh soft herbs
  • Parmesan cheese

In a small bowl, whisk together ¼ cup of Meyer lemon juice, ¼ cup of olive oil, 1 minced shallot, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, a big pinch of salt, and a pinch of black pepper.

Place 3 thinly sliced zucchinis in a big bowl, followed by ¼ cup of toasted pine nuts, a handful of chopped soft herbs such as basil or chives, and a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Add a drizzle of the dressing and toss well. Taste for salt and pepper and serve.

Tip: Meyer lemon juice adds a floral element to the dressing. If you can’t easily find Meyer lemons, use regular lemons.

Reprinted from Simple Beautiful Food. Copyright © 2020 by Amanda Frederickson. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House.

The Duke Mayonnaise Cookbook

By Ashley Strickland Freeman 

Duke’s Mayonnaise has developed a near cult-like following—and it’s been made using the same recipe since 1917. Created by Eugenia Duke in Greenville, South Carolina, the homemade mayonnaise was part of an enterprising attempt to feed the influx of soldiers training at nearby Camp Sevier; Duke started out selling sandwiches to the troops. While the sandwiches themselves were memorable (veterans long after the war requested her recipes), it was the mayonnaise that took them over the top. She soon started jarring the recipe and built a small empire from her memorable sandwich spread. 

The mayonnaise company has since been passed along to other owners but the recipe remains the same. Made without sugar, the spread is beloved for both its unique flavor and versatility. 

Enter Ashley Strickland Freeman, a lover of Duke’s since childhood. The award-winning recipe developer, food stylist and author, who lives in Charleston, has embraced Duke’s mayonnaise and in her new book, touts innumerable ways to use the spread, including recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. From Overnight Churro Waffles (the mayo goes in the batter) to Oyster Po’ Boys, and even hot chicken, the applications will inspire you to pull out a jar of Duke’s and get cooking.  —E.B.M.

Avocado Toast, Smoked Salmon, and Soft-Boiled Eggs

Makes 4 servings

This breakfast toast combines two of my favorite things: creamy avocado and jammy soft-boiled eggs. Add salty smoked salmon and some fresh dill and you’ve got a wholesome breakfast to get your day started off right. I’m also a firm believer that bacon makes everything better, so serve with a few slices on the side to round out the meal. If you’re not a fan of soft-boiled eggs, feel free to fry or hard-cook them to your liking. 

Ingredients:

  • 4 large eggs
  • 8 slices bakery bread
  • 7 tablespoons Duke’s Mayonnaise, divided 
  • 3 large avocados, divided 
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill 
  • 2  teaspoons fresh lemon juice 
  • ¼ teaspoon salt 
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper 
  • 1 (4-ounce) package sliced smoked salmon 
  • Fresh dill sprigs (optional) 

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Place a medium bowl of ice and water next to the saucepan. Gently add the eggs to the boiling water with a slotted spoon and boil for 6 minutes and 30 seconds. Drain the eggs and immediately plunge in the ice water. 

Brush one side of bread slices with 4 tablespoons of the mayonnaise and place in a single layer, mayo side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400°F for 5 minutes, or until the bread is toasted. 

Pit, peel, and chop 2 avocados and place in a medium bowl. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, the dill, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mash the mixture with a fork to desired consistency. Pit, peel, and slice the remaining avocado. 

To serve, spread the avocado mash evenly onto the toasts. Peel the eggs and cut each in half. Top the toasts with avocado slices, smoked salmon, and egg halves. Garnish with dill sprigs if desired. 

Excerpted from the book The Duke Mayonnaise Cookbook: 75 Recipes Celebrating the Perfect Condiment. Copyright © 2020 by Ashley Strickland Freeman. Reprinted with permission of Grand Central Publishing. All rights reserved.