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I haven't posted in a while but I have been cooking. I had a brief fling with braising and and a couple of forays into soups but in these cold winter months I long for a familiar comfort....baking. I've been making whole wheat cocoa nib cookies, hippo cheese crackers and a giant New York Cheesecake. To be honest I've been doing a lot of Smitten Kitchen's recipes. I have taken a break from cookbooks as they have become an expensive habit and I wasn't feeling inspired. I tried the local library and was surprised that the Barefoot Contessa, Nigella or Sophie Dahl were not able to break my cookbook doldrums. 

A couple weeks ago I came across a post about The Communal Table, it's playful design and accessible recipes spoke to me. A Casual Setting is the first in a series of cookbooks about eating and gathering, curated and illustrated by Caroline Hwang. The recipes are accessible and appetizing. The bonus is that any money made from the books will be donated to a food-related organization. I can't wait to make the man steak for eight!

With Spring comes a new crop of cookbooks and while I have no interest in Gwyneth's book there were plenty of good books coming out. One in particular is Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes From London's Ottolenghi, I'm still on the waiting list for that one but I ordered another one with it that just arrived it's called Chicken and Egg: A Memoir Of Suburban Homesteading with 125 Recipes. I don't know if it's  the fact that we're getting more daylight or these new crop of cookbooks but I feel ready to cook again.