If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen the exciting announcement that I am starting a cookbook club! I wanted to kick the year off with some fresh inspiration, both for myself and for you. I’m an avid cookbook collector and regularly refer to my collection for ideas and inspiration, but rarely actually cook from them. So, I had the idea to choose a new book (for each month of the year) to cook a few recipes from, in the hopes that it will not only expand my repertoire, but help me learn a thing or two! Like everyone else, I get into cooking ruts and tend to fall back on the same ingredients and meals over and over again. I’ll share the recipes that I’m making from each book and would love for you to cook along with me (or, you can choose the recipes that appeal to you most - whatever floats your boat).
This will be a pretty informal, loosely structured club. There’s no sign up process, it’s free, and you’re not required to participate every single month (but if you want to, even better!). If you don’t own the books listed and aren’t interested in purchasing them, see if a friend has a copy you can borrow, or check your local library. I often buy gently used copies of cookbooks on Amazon for a fraction of the retail price. Unfortunately, I can’t reprint the recipes I’m cooking due to copyright laws, but I’ll be sharing any photos I take, along with my notes and hope you do the same using our cookbook hashtag, #plantmagiccookbookclub. Also, be sure to tag me: @lauren_kretzer.
Here is the monthly cookbook selection list! These are not all exclusively vegan cookbooks, though most are, and the ones that aren’t contain a generous number of vegan or easily veganizable recipes.
If you know anyone who loves to cook, wants to learn more plant based recipes, or just loves cookbooks, please share this newsletter with them and invite them to join us!
I’ll be sharing my notes from One: Pot, Pan, Planet by Anna Jones at the end of the month and can’t wait to hear your thoughts, too.
Great idea! I too have a cookbook collection that inspires me, but I rarely make an exact recipe. I think I'm going to try Molly Gilbert's Sheet Pan Suppers (one pot cooking reinvented).
This is a fun idea! I have Cool Beans, and have plans to get the Esselstyns’ book, so I may join you for those. You’ve inspired me to intentionally make a new recipe each month from one of my many other cookbooks because I know I have some I’ve never actually cooked from.