Dirt Candy: A Cookbook

A cookbook that's a graphic novel! A graphic novel that's a cookbook! Why hasn't anyone thought of this before?!

I'd heard of Dirt Candy, a vegetarian restaurant in New York City, before, but I'd never given it much thought. I'd heard that chef Amanda Cohen had a cookbook out, but what chef doesn't? But then I SAW the Dirt Candy cookbook and I was in love.

Part graphic novel story about life in a professional kitchen, part cooking technique builder, and part typical cookbook with recipes, this book is 100% readable. I don't often sit down and read a cookbook cover to cover, but it's quite possible to do with this one. It's filled with humorous asides and helpful tips, not to mention some mouth-watering foods (some simple and some crazy complicated). There's not much else to say about this book than to tell you to pick up a copy and leaf through it - I'm sure you'll be hooked, just like I was.

As an added bonus, Amanda Cohen will be in Medford this weekend, talking about restaurant life and how to cook vegetables RIGHT. The event is presented by the Friends of Medford Public Library and the Tufts Culinary Society (why didn't we have that group when I was at Tufts?!) and will be held on 12/1 from 3-5pm at Sophia Gordon Hall (15 Talbot Ave) on the Tufts campus. You know I'd be there if I didn't have to work, so someone needs to go and report back to me, ok?

Full Disclosure note: I was given a copy of the cookbook for free by the publisher, but the opinions are all mine.