Cooking can be a challenge during the summer months. Who wants to be around a hot oven or stovetop when outside temperatures climb into the 90s and above? Firing up a grill on the patio is an option, but what if you don’t have a grill or a patio? Eating out can be expensive, so what is a hungry person to do when the sun is at its summertime peak?
May I suggest a trip to the library to check out cool cookbooks for sizzling days. When I say cool cookbooks, I mean cool as in swell, and cool as in refreshing – that’s double duty! The titles in this week’s reading list invite cooks to create delicious dishes using summer vegetables and fruits, and many of the recipes are oven-free. You’ll also find guides for making frozen desserts and tasty beverages. And because strawberries are an essential part of summertime eats (in my opinion) I’ve included a cookbook devoted to this sweet, red fruit.
Here's to chill summer eats!
- The Complete Summer Cookbook: Beat the Heat with 500 Recipes That Make the Most of Summer’s Bounty by America’s Test Kitchen
- Food52 Ice Cream and Friends: 60 Recipes & Riffs for Sorbets, Sandwiches, No-Churn Ice Creams and More by the editors of Food52
- Mocktails Punches & Shrubs by Vikas Khanna
- The Salad Lab: Whisk, Toss, Enjoy!: Recipes for Making Fabulous Salads Every Day by Darlene Schrijver
- Strawberry Love: 45 Sweet and Savory Recipes for Shortcakes, Hand Pies, Salads, Salsas, and More by Cynthia Stevens Graubart
- The Uncook Book: The Essential Guide to a Raw Food Lifestyle by Tanya Maher
New at the Library
Fiction
- All Friends Are Necessary by Tomas Moniz
- The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks
- Some Murders in Berlin by Karen Robards
Nonfiction
- Bite by Bite: Nourishments & Jamborees by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
- Ghost Town Living: Mining for Purpose and Chasing Dreams at the Edge of Death Valley by Brent Underwood
- Roctogenarians: Late in Life Debuts, Comebacks, and Triumphs by Mo Rocca
Children
- Cornbread & Poppy for the Win written and illustrated by Matthew Cordell
- Explanatorium of the Earth published by Dorling Kindersley Publishing
- The Wildcat Behind Glass by Alke Zee
This is just a small sampling of the many new titles added each week to the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District collection. Visit the district’s 15 locations, our website at www.fvrl.org, or call (360) 906-5000 to reserve titles or find additional listings.
You can email Jan at readingforfun@fvrl.org.
