Just because it's hot out doesn't mean you should toss aside your cookbooks - not with this list of 8 beautiful cookbooks to celebrate summer with!
Summer is a time of kicking back, making life as easy as possible and making the most of the almost embarrassing amount of bounty Mother Nature throws at us. Simple meals made with fresh, local ingredients are the stars of our summer menus. Hot days mean many of us are looking for lighter fare that's still satisfying and full of flavour - often with less meat. And picnics and BBQs mean we want food that's quick and easy to prepare but beautiful and tasty enough to impress our guests! It's also the time of year where so many of us are looking for ways to preserve all the beautiful produce coming out of our gardens and local farms.
So let's kick off our list of 8 cookbooks that will have you celebrating summer in your own kitchen in no time at all. (this post includes affiliate links)
The Sobo Cookbook
What started out as a food truck in Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island has now turned into a destination restaurant and The Sobo Cookbook celebrates the food that has made them so successful. With over 100 recipes that showcase some of the restaurant's best loved dishes, you can enjoy their signature plates flavoured with Chef Lisa Ahier's Tex-Mex and Sounthwestern culinary roots. The photography by noted surfing photographer, Jeremy Koreski, captures the laid back, outdoorsy feel of Canada's surfing capital with a focus on the locally sourced ingredients Chef Ahier favours.
Feast
Feast by Sarah Copeland showcases vegetarian meals full of flavour that will satisfy any appetite. With over 140 recipes that highlight a myriad of cultures and cater to a variety of skill levels, there will be something for every home cook (and home eater!) as well as anyone who's considering moving to a vegetarian diet.
The Nourished Kitchen
Jennifer McGruber's book, The Nourished Kitchen celebrates the Traditional Foods philosophy with over 160 recipes that celebrate the seasons. Inspired by the land (and water) around her, Jennifer's recipes avoid processed ingredients and focus on whole grains, fermented foods, cultured dairy and even organ meats. But perhaps the most important piece is learning to connect with the how your food is grown and produced and appreciate locally sourced ingredients.
The Vibrant Table
Anya Kassoff's The Vibrant Table includes over 100 recipes from her "always vegetarian, mostly vegan and sometimes raw kitchen". Most of the recipes are gluten free and there is an entire chapter devoted to cooking with kids. This book includes tips on sprouting your own foods, using seasonal ingredients, creating your own nut milks and grinding your own flours. It's perfect for light, wholesome recipes for your family.
Vibrant Food
Vibrant Food is the debut cookbook by food photographer and food blogger, Kimberley Hasselbrink. If you follow her blog her or mouthwatering Instagram feed then you know Kimberly celebrates colour and in this book she shows you how the brilliant hues of seasonal food can be inspiring in the kitchen. The books celebrates all four seasons with vibrant photography so you'll love it as much in fall as you do in the summer!
Bountiful
Virtually everyone who writes a food blog has struggled with their photography at some point in time. And we've all admired the beautiful work that fellow bloggers and professional food photographers Diane Cu and Todd Porter showcase on their popular blog, White On Rice. So it goes without saying that their current cookbook, Bountiful, will not only be packed with beautiful recipes (over 90 of which have never appeared on their blog before) inspired by their own suburban garden, but it will also be visual feast!
The Oh She Glows Cookbook
The Oh She Glows Cookbook is the long awaited first cookbook by FBC Member Angela Liddon, author of the very popular vegan recipe blog by the same name. With over 100 healthy recipes that tackle entrees to desserts - many of which are gluten-free and friendly to people who suffer other food related allergies, this book will have something delicious that everyone will enjoy - even your most die hard meat eaters!
The Forest Feast
The Forest Feast by Erin Gleeson is a gorgeous book that combines Erin's beautiful watercolour paintings, bright photographs and her love of food all in one. She celebrates California's abundant fresh produce with her simple vegetarian recipes that often only use three or four ingredients, making them easy to prepare for entertaining guests or simply eating your own healthy meals full of fresh, local goodness.
What did we miss? What cookbooks inspire you during the hot summer months?
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All these cookbooks sound amazing! I will definitely be adding a couple to my cookbook collection. The cookbook, Rawlicious at home by Angus Crawford and Chelsea Clark, inspires me to add more raw food to my menus. It has over 100 raw, vegan, and gluten-free recipes.
A couple of these cookbooks were already on my wish list but after reading your reviews, I want ALL of them!