Obviously, it’s no secret that I like to cook. Cooking for me brings a level of comfort that is hard to explain. I love the whole process of meal planning, grocery shopping, chopping vegetables, etc. I have often said that I don’t feel like my day really starts until I get home from work and get my hands Bizzy in My Kitchen.
So when I was contacted to check out an eBook called Modernist Cuisine at Home, I was immediately intrigued. I soon realized that this e-publication is an off-shoot of Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking that was published in 2011. This is THE cooking encyclopedia – six jam packed volumes, but also at a steep price: $475!
While I am sure that is any chef’s dream to own that set of books (all 2,438 pages!), it just doesn’t work for me, because there are lots of things I don’t cook with and I don’t bake very much. And as much as I do read cookbooks as a novel, that would be like ready The Harry Potter of all cookbooks!
So what is the Modernist Cuisine at Home all About? It’s an award-winning eBook by Nathan Myhrvold and Maxime Bilet. As an interactive eBook on Inkling.com, it features 1600+ beautiful photos, 416 recipes, and easy step-by-step guides to creating wonderful dishes you and your family will enjoy. “Not to mention, this is the only digital version of this title. To give folks a taste test, there’s a free section that includes a chapter and some tools unique to the digital version (the print version retails at $140+).”
You can view different chapters, and if you decide to buy it, it’s yours for only $4.99. Step-by-step instructions and beautiful photography. Check out this mac n cheese! And you can also check out all their other food category eBooks here.
And I love the way the recipes are laid out – you can scale a recipe, it has instructions in both metric and ounces. Um, turns out math isn’t my best subject, so this alone is extremely helpful to me! And you can add the recipe to a shopping list – you can just “undo” any ingredient you have on hand to have a customized grocery list – how cool is that?
Did I mention the photography was amazeballs?
I was just telling Tony that while I loved getting magazines in the mail, I can almost always find everything I need online – so these eBooks may fill my food magazine obsession – only in electronic form! And at the cost of slightly over 1 cup of Starbucks coffee (um, unless you are like my boss who gets FOUR extra shots of espresso in hers!) the small cost for recipes you’ll use is totally justifiable.
Alright, here’s a quick recap of yesterday before I head out to the gym. Can I just say I am happy that it’s 3 degrees this morning! 😀 Yesterday’s start to the day was just a tad chilly!
Yesterday was back and biceps. I did a 15 minute warm up, then the workout took me 25 minutes, then I finished with 25 minutes on the treadmill at 8% incline.
I had this balance bar as my pre-workout meal – holy cow is this one delicious!
I ended up making a couple more whole wheat pastry flour pancakes for breakfast – this time I added a bit of poppy seeds. While I don’t think this breakfast is as filling when I have egg whites and more protein, the Balance bar is so filling, I didn’t end up eating this until nearly 10:00 a.m.
When my Mom and I were out and about last Friday, I picked up this container at Goodwill for only .49 cents. I love it! This normally retails for $8!
It has an inside container too:
When we were at Mariano’s, I saw this Asian broccoli kale salad that looked so good. I am trying to give kale another try. Turns out that I’ve been eating the center part, which I guess is where all the bitter flavors are. This had dried cranberries, a zippy Asian dressing – so good! I need to see if they have a recipe for it on their website. I felt like Roz with my bento type lunch!
Dinner was one of Tony’s favorites – Zataran’s red beans and rice with smoked sausage. So simple, all cooked together in two cycles of the rice maker. Dinner was ready when I got home – loved it! I did add baby spinach to mine, and of course, some hot sauce!
I finally watched last week’s Biggest Loser – I think makeover week is my favorite episode! I think Rachel is going to win it all – although David is a close second. I didn’t even recognize him without his beard!
Stats for the Day:
- 1485 calories, 62 fat, 162 cars, 79 protein, 22 fiber
- 42% of calories from carbs, 36% from fat and 20% in protein
- 40 minutes cardio before work
- 25 minutes back and biceps
- 30 minute swim at lunch
- NO WINE
- average blood sugar 112
Time to get this show on the road – make it a great day!
Those images are gorgeous!! They strongly resemble the ones from this blog I used to follow that isn’t very active anymore. I wonder if it is the same people?
http://fotocuisine.com/?p=867
The photography in the books is amazing, who knew you can photograph food like this and so beautiful.
I don’t have an E-reader (yet) but when it comes to cook books I like to have a hardcopy in my kitchen when I’m cooking. I could use the Ipad but first we would have to buy another one because when I’m cooking R. is usually on the Ipad and it’s not a book 🙂
I do think it would be nice to have a tablet in the kitchen – I print out WAY too many recipes as it is – that’s one of my projects in the next few weeks is to scan the recipes I want to keep and clean up my desk area.
Wow, I’m impressed the price on the ebook is so inexpensive! I checked one of their books out of the library and I agree it was really fun to flip through but not so practical for me 🙂
Yeah, since I don’t bake much, it was WAY too much even for me. 😀
I am so obsessed with cookbooks it’s ridiculous. I have way too many that I’ve never read all the way through.
I need to find me one of those bento thingies. One of my favorites light lunches is summer sausage, some sort of cheese, bread-and-butter pickles, pickled beets, carrots or some other veggie, and some ranch for dipping. I can’t wait for this coming summer so I can pick beets from the garden and make pickled beets again; they are so good!
Um, yes, the only thing missing from my bento box was pickles – or pickled jalapenos! My co-worker says she’s found the Fit N Fresh stuff at Marshall’s, T.J. Maxx or Tuesday Morning much cheaper than at places like Target and online.
Amazing photos! I agree that the internet is a treasure trove of recipes and information. I love your Bento lunch box. I need to get one of those for work. The makeover episode was always my favorite on BL.
The makeover show always makes me teary Aimee!
Your boss should definitely invest in an espresso machine — 4 extra shots must cost a FORTUNE!
Sadly, she never realizes it’s payday, so I am sure her $5 price for coffee doesn’t phase her too much!
Thanks for the bento shout out Vat!!! Before I saw your words and link I thought “hey, it’s a round bento”. 🙂 That food porn is awesome!!!!! Have a great day.
Yep – we are bento twins!!
Love those books! I subscribe to their FB feed and love seeing the gorgeous photography. Yum on the pancakes; double yum on the mint cookie Balance bar!
Okay, now I need to “like” them on FB – great idea Mel! 😀
Oh Biz! Totally not related to anything in this blog post, but I had to share this recipe I found!
It’s called a waffle omelet, but it’s actually scrambled eggs made in the waffle iron.
http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-mexican-style-waffle-omelets/
Such a neat idea. You need to try it and douse it with hot sauce and let me know how it is since I’m sure it’ll take a long time for me to get around to making it. Take your waffle iron to work and give it a shot.
Waaa!! My waffle iron broke! Now I have to buy another one, if for no other reason than to try this – love it! Thanks Jessica!
I love cookbooks and like you I read them like novels! What a great deal on the Fit & Fresh container. I have some containers from that brand but not that one!
I have a cookbook and food magazine addiction. Hubby is so relieved that I’m feeding my addiction through Pinterest these days. lol Yes, that set of books would be amazing to own – but way out of my price range!
We’ve been hit with an unusual winter storm in the south and it has basically shut things down. We are no where prepared for things like that in our area. Snow plow?? What’s that? lol
It’s funny because they were comparing Atlanta’s highway shut down to Chicago’s blizzard of 2011 – um, not quite the same thing, but I get that you aren’t prepared for it.
Wut? You like to cook???
Those cookbooks sound amazing! I like reading everything on my Kindle, but honestly cookbooks are still something I like to have in my hand and leaf through.
Ha, I know that comes as a shock to you Lori! 😀
I think David looks over 10 years younger without his beard!! I think Rachel might win it all but I don’t know – it’s hard for girls to beat out the guys when it comes right down to it!!!
Wow – that photography!!!! I’m totally impressed. Beautiful!
And FOUR SHOTS????? I would legitimately die.
Yep, she’s crazballs Courtney! 😀
Wow, those pictures are amazing. Food porn at its finest!
I love that fit fresh case! What a great idea for lunches!!
Those cooking photos are definitely awesome! Glad to hear it’s “warmed up” a bit. LOL
We’re hovering around 17* here this morning and got about 2 inches of snow – nothing major or shovel-worthy.
Yep, today it was near 30 and all I wore in the car was my Chicago Bears fleece!
I LOVE me some cookbooks! I am a very visual person so they must have photos of almost every recipe. I haven’t been buying them much anymore due to having a place to keep them and the upkeep required (one more thing to dust). The internet makes it so easy for us to hop on and finds great recipes like the ones found on your site. I love that you post photos of your creations.
You are too sweet Kym – we’d be the bestest buds if we lived near each other! 😀