Ambassador of Books ~ Book Club Madam ~ Blogger Gal

Monday, June 6, 2011

BEA Book Spotlight: A Unique Cookbook

Over the next few weeks I will feature books that I received at Book Expo America and the Book Blogger Convention.  In most cases I have not read the book yet, but simply want to share with you my first impressions from the conventions and let you know why the book attracted my attention.

I'm not a foodie.  Not to say that I don't enjoy good food, but I don't like to cook, I'm not good at it, and I don't often eat fun and exciting food at restaurants.  Part of that is just me, but a big part of that has to do with Kiddo's allergies.  When you have a kid who is so allergic to so many foods that he needs a feeding tube to get nutrition, you find that you don't eat out as a family all that often, and you tend to eat the same few foods at home.

All that said, there was a cookbook featured at BEA that I knew I wanted to get my hands on.  I don't think I've ever been excited about a cookbook before but I was definitely excited about this one!


by Richard Hetz

First of all, I love the concept of this cookbook. The author is the executive chef at the Mitsam Cafe in DC and has created these recipes from traditional Native American recipes and ingredients.  The historical aspect behind the recipes really appeals to me.

Second, the fact that the recipes feature "old-fashioned" ingredients led me to hope that there would be things in here that Kiddo could eat.* And boy, was I ever right!  A quick browse through the book showed me recipes featuring quinoa, bison, corn, and potato, and Kiddo could eat most of them with just a few ingredient substitutions. WOOHOO!

Most of the ingredients in the book are standard items you can find in your grocery store but there are some unique items as well (dried hibiscus flowers, yucca, fiddlehead ferns ... just to name a few). Thankfully the back of the book suggests places to purchase these less common items. I'm confident that I could find the items I need without too much hassle.  

I haven't made any of the recipes yet but I hope to do so within the next few weeks.  [Who am I kidding?! It will be my husband who actually makes these - he's the chef in our house!]  When I do I'll be sure to post pictures and let you know what Kiddo thought of each dish.

In the meantime, definitely check out this cookbook if you are into traditional foods, foods with history behind them, or you simply want something a little out of the ordinary.



*As a reminder, here are the foods Kiddo is allowed to eat: rice, potato, quinoa, carrot, corn, broccoli, shellfish, bison, apple, orange, grape, mango, peach, berries, and a small handful of other foods. Everything else is off limits.

13 comments:

Megan said...

This cookbook definitely sounds like a big win for you guys. Hope you find some tasty new recipes to add to the meal rotation! =)

Andi said...

This sounds amazing! I'm kicking off a serious health revolution in my house, and I'm all about eating more "real" food, less processed, and this book really appeals to me. And living in Texas, I have access to a lot of yucca. :D

Alyce said...

This does look like a very neat cookbook, especially since you can use the recipes for your son!

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

Megan - I hope so too!

Andi - Let me know if you get a copy - I'd love to compare recipes and see how things turned out.

Alyce - I'm pretty excited about it. :)

Joy Weese Moll said...

Sounds like a great cookbook. We've been making a Native American dish called sobaheg in the fall -- a stew of meat, beans, root vegetables, and corn. Quite yummy.

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

Joy - That DOES sound good!

Dave said...

Sounds like an unusual cookbook. All the times I've been to Arizona, I've yet to find a restaurant that has Native American foods. The closest I've had is fry bread at a rural church. It reminded me of Italian fried dough.

Holly (2 Kids and Tired) said...

This one definitely sounds different, but different can be good, especially with cooking! I've never seen any Native American recipes. I may need to look into this one!
2 Kids and Tired Books

Dawn @ sheIsTooFondOfBooks said...

Were you able to meet the authors? This is one that had my attention, but I wasn't able to get over to the booth during the promo time.

Yes, cool combination of history and celebrity chef. And, SO GOOD that the ingredients are Kiddo-friendly! Looking forward to reading the results after you (ahem, husband) make a few dishes.

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

Dave - Huh, you'd think that in Arizona there would a lot of Native American restaurants! How odd.

Holly - I'm not particularly adventurous when it comes to food but a lot of these recipes look quite "normal" and delicious.

Dawn - I DID get to meet the author/chef - I was pretty excited! It was on my list as a must-do while I was at BEA.

Ryan said...

I love the idea of this book and the picture on the cover looks sooooo good. Thanks for the heads up

Beth F said...

I missed this cookbook -- drat! I adore fiddlehead ferns. I wonder if kiddo can eat them. They're very yummy.

Serena said...

What a great find for your family! Wonderful. I look forward to seeing these recipes come to fruition and learning what Kiddo thinks of them.

I love the Native American Museum's cafe. The food always tastes so refreshing compared to the other fare at most of the museums. I usually take people visiting to that museum just to eat.

Blog Widget by LinkWithin