OPL BOOK SUMMARY: 

Want to start composting, but don’t know where to start?  We recommend No-Waste Composting by Michelle Balz, a quick read which explains the science behind composting and its vital microorganisms, the basic rules you need to follow to compost successfully, and several different methods to compost (even if you don’t have a backyard!).

In addition to providing valuable information about composting, Balz provides ten detailed composting DIY projects, many of which are made with recycled materials.  Her projects range from simple items like crafting newspaper liners to neatly wrap up food scraps to creating your own composter from old pickle barrels or trash cans.  Balz also offers several descriptions for larger outdoor composting, complete with space and material requirements and plenty of pictures.

The chapter that most interested me, however, was the one that shared three methods for composting on a small terrace, balcony, or patio.  I learned more about vermicomposting (composting with the help of worms) as well as terra-cotta composting and bokashi pre-composting.  As someone who lives in close quarters with my neighbors, I was curious to understand if odor-free composting was possible, and Balz’ succinct, informative book gave me the confidence to give it a try.

Available at Amazon.com.

OPL BOOK SUMMARY:  With straightforward, unfussy recipes, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian can make even the most reticent home chef more confident.

As a home cook, I struggled to prepare vegetarian meals.  I love vegetables but making a complete delicious meal was a challenge.  Once I had Mark Bittman’s book, that all melted away. Mark’s book has everything! If you like to entertain, Mark’s book has 76 appetizer recipes. There are recipes for salads, soups, vegetables, fruits, pasta, noodles, grains, beans, tofu and other high protein foods, dairy, bread, and desserts. The recipes are straightforward and taste fabulous.

Some of my favorites are Pizza with Tomato Sauce and Mozzarella, Pasta with Caramelized Onions, Vegetable Stock (never buy it anymore), and Hot and Sour Soup. Guided by Mark Bittman’s book,  I became a confident cook.

Available at Amazon.com.

OPL BOOK SUMMARY:  In A History of the World in Six Glasses, readers can take a hydrating tour of humanity through drinks over the years. As people began to live in cities the need to quench one’s thirst safely became a challenge.  It is no wonder this led to the emergence of other beverages.  And yes, humans are creative in developing beverages. To learn more, travel the world drink by drink: beer in Mesopotamia and Egypt, wine in Greece and Rome, spirits in the colonial period, coffee in the age of reason, tea in the British Empire, and Coca-Cola.

This evolution of our drinks has a surprising influence on history at pivotal moments of human and civilization development. Take a moment, grab this book and your beverage of choice, and enjoy.  You may not look at your beverages the same again.

Available used at BetterWorldBooks.

OPL BOOK SUMMARY:  Transitioning to a plant-based diet can be challenging. It is always good to have guides on your journey. Lily Kunin is a health coach. Her book Good Clean Food is a refreshing, incredible guide. She follows a less is more approach and makes gluten and dairy-free ingredients to create irresistible, nourishing dishes. Her recipes hit all the notes to awaken, nourish, detox, restore, sustain and savor your taste buds. All the things that make food enjoyable and satisfying. There are recipes to please all palates from bowls, smoothies, salads, miso mushroom soup, salted caramel bonbons, and more.

There are 100 simple plant-based recipes for great meals. Lily shares how the kitchen ingredients can be used to make beauty products such as the dirty detox bath. We recommend her inspiring guide to a plant-based journey. Lily can be followed on Instagram or explore her Clean Food Dirty City website.

Available used at BetterWorldBooks.

OPL BOOK SUMMARY: If you are interested in vegetarian and seasonal meals, then The Modern Cook’s Year is for you!  Anna Jones’ lovely book wanders through the seasons with food from starters, mains, and desserts.  She helps you plan your year through seasonal chapters: herald of spring, the first warm days of summer, autumn, and winter.  It is an accessible culinary adventure with recipes that put vegetables front and center.

Anna has a way of knowing what will please the taste buds in alignment with the seasons. Her recipes draw from her English roots and are inspired by the global culinary flavor profiles she encountered throughout her career.  She uses simple ingredients in a variety of creative combinations.  Her book includes beautiful photographs and showcases Jones’ breadth of knowledge about vegetarian cooking and how to please any diner’s palate.

For example, I love lemon cake, but her lemon and cardamom upside-down cake takes it to another level.  The book shines with unexpected and wonderful flavor combinations.  Jones’ book makes cooking vegetarian at home a spectacular culinary experience. I highly recommend it!

Available at Amazon.com.

OPL BOOK SUMMARY:  We love Kate Bratskeir’s positive and practical guide to sustainable food shopping. Like One Planet Life, she is not a fan of Environmental Guilt Syndrome. It is not possible to be perfect. Guilt and trying to be perfect are paralyzing.  That is the last thing we need right now. Delve into her chapters on How to Start (Being Less of a Garbage Person), Greenwashing and the Myth of Consumer Choice, Look Out For These Bullshit Labels, and more.

This pocket guide can answer questions, such as which of the non-dairy kinds of milk are the least harmful to the environment? What does the “best by” date on packages really mean? How do you prevent food from spoiling so quickly?  How can you avoid plastic when it’s packaged all over our food?

In A Pocket Guide to Sustainable Food Shopping, you can learn how to avoid plastic and waste in our food supply chain. Bratskeir shares hard facts about the food industry and steps you can take to make the grocery store a more ethical place.  Her book is a great choice for anyone who wants to help the planet!

Available used at BetterWorldBooks.

OPL BOOK SUMMARY: 

In The Secret Life of Groceries, Benjamin Lorr isn’t afraid to put himself in the roles of his source subjects.  He takes a job working behind a fish counter at Trader Joe’s and rides along on a perishable food trucking route.  Lorr reports with shocking detail on what it really takes to bring a product to grocery shelves nationwide.

Many Americans take for granted the freedom of choice and sheer excess the supermarket provides us. Through his immersive reporting, Lorr pulls back the curtain on an industry notorious for its furtiveness.

The Secret Life of Groceries highlights grocery stores like Trader Joe’s, but also traces their products back to its origins. He takes a critical look at industrialized farming and learns how food entrepreneurs fight to break into the over-crowded industry.  Lorr also tells the stories of poverty-stricken migrants trapped in the shrimping slave trade.

The first step in making a difference is for consumers to understand just how the ingredients for their next meal made it to the supermarket shelf. Lorr provides an unadulterated look at the joys and suffering that have led to the luxuries of the modern grocery store.  He does so in hopes that individuals can learn to make conscious, ethical choices in a seemingly endless sea of options.

Available used at BetterWorldBooks.

OPL BOOK SUMMARY: Salt: A World History shares the surprising history of salt, the only rock we eat.  This humble seasoning – and essential nutrient in our diets – has shaped civilization in surprising ways.

Salt was so valuable at one time that it served as currency, paying wages and funding (and, in some cases, provoking) wars.  This glittering rock has influenced the establishment of trade routes and cities, made international trade possible, and inspired revolutions.

Kurlansky takes readers on a fascinating salt tour. Journey from ancient Egypt to the American salt and independence wars.  Discover how salt (and the development of food preservation and salted cod) improved international voyages everywhere and made deeper exploration possible. 

This book is peppered with interesting characters and detailed stories that give you an appreciation for this pantry staple.  Salt: A World History’s focus-through-time approach makes for an engaging and enlightening read. 

Anthony Bourdain said it best: “The fascinating, indispensable history of an indispensable ingredient…a must have for any serious cook or foodie.”  We promise you will never look at this humble seasoning the same again.

Available used at BetterWorldBooks.

OPL BOOK SUMMARY:  Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World is Mark Kurlansky’s third work of non-fiction and winner of the 1999 James Beard Award.  It is the biography of a single species of fish, but it may as well be a world history with this humble fish as its recurring main character.  Cod, it turns out, is the reason Europeans set sail across the Atlantic, and the only reason they could successfully.

Cod is a gripping tale of a 1,000-year fishing spree of a once-plentiful fish in the Atlantic Ocean.  By the year 1550, 60% of all the fish eaten in Europe was cod.  This percentage would continue to grow for two centuries. By the 18th century, New England rose from a distant colony to an international powerhouse, dubbed “the codfish aristocracy.” At that time, codfish were plentiful and weighed 150-175 pounds on average.  Tales circulated of folks collecting them in baskets off-shore.  When dried with salt, cod became the favorite fish of people around the world.

Sadly, today cod are almost extinct. When a codfish is found, it is rare that it exceeds 30 pounds. This is largely due to severe overfishing of the codfish population.  A species is only as stable as its ability to produce offspring which live to maturity in enough quantities to replace the amount harvested.  Once codfish numbers dwindled below that threshhold, populations could not recover. Take this gripping journey into the history of cod.  If we had fished more thoughtfully and sustainably throughout history, things may have been different for the codfish species.

Available used at BetterWorldBooks.

OPL BOOK SUMMARY:  The air is fresh, the sun is shining, and it is time to head to your local farmer’s market.  Nigel Slater’s Greenfeast – Spring, Summer is an inspiring recipe collection as spring vegetables begin appearing in farmers markets. First, grab your reusable shopping bags and head to the market.  Then, select vegetables and get ready to tantalize your taste buds with one of Nigel Slater’s recipes.  Greenfeast – Spring, Summer features over 110 beautiful recipes, many with pictures and suggested variations that can be made in about 30 minutes.

Enjoy your vegetables in recipes such as tomato-peas-feta-asparagus-puff pastry, peas-parsley-vegetable stock soup, and feta-beet buns.  Nigel is English, so the recipes in this collection are in metric scale.  You may notice that some ingredient names are their British names.  But with a little translation, you can create and enjoy wonderful spring and summer vegetable-forward meals!

Available used at BetterWorldBooks.