favorite cookbooks

EATING FROM THE GROUND UP, by ALANA CHERNILA: Simple ways to make vegetables special – yes, even radishes, and celery – from the author of “The Homemade Pantry.”

SIX SEASONS, by JOSHUA MCFADDEN: The Portland, Oregon-based chef who used to run Eliot Coleman’s famed Four Season Farm in Maine knows a thing or two about vegetables.

BREAD TOAST CRUMBS: Alexandra Stafford’s debut book, hailed by baking superstars Dorie Greenspan and David Lebovitz, serves up the easiest no-knead peasant loaves baked in Pyrex bowls (!!!) then teaches you to use every crumb. Brilliant recipes that go way beyond baking.

PALEO BAKING: Despite being born with severe food allergies, Elizabeth Barbone trained at the Culinary Institute of America so she could then transform almond, coconut and other non-grain flours into gluten-free delights.

NATURALLY SWEET FOOD IN JARS: If your objection to jams, pickles, and other condiments is all that sugar, problem solved. Marisa McClellan’s tempting recipes feature maple, honey, juice and even dried fruits as natural sweeteners instead.

CLEAN SOUPS: Master making a range of broths—delicious “sipping teas” in their own right—and also transform them into health-promoting, delicious soups with food-as-medicine expert Rebecca Katz’s help.

VEGAN VEGETARIAN OMNIVORE: The latest from the genius of Anna Thomas (“Vegetarian Epicure,” “Love Soup”) welcomes all of us to the same table.

I may just spend the remainder of my days cooking my way though this one, from the 7-time James Beard Award-winner Madhur Jaffrey.

A sane approach to cooking from my friend Alana Chernila of EatingFromTheGroundUp dot com.

Another James Beard Award-winning cookbook from Anna Thomas (“The Vegetarian Epicure”) on the best of comfort foods, and perfect accompaniments.

From the U.K.’s Nigel Slater, BBC host, “Observer” columnist and kitchen gardener, a book as delicious to read as to cook from.

A cross-cultural, vegetarian culinary celebration of the city both authors, Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, grew up in. Exciting.

The word “vibrant” in the subtitle of Jerusalem-born, London-based Yotam Ottolenghi’s breakthrough 2011 book says it all.

What can I say about the consistent genius of Heidi Swanson of 101Cookbooks.com? Bravo.

Vegetable-based dishes done smashingly, by British broadcaster, author and sustainability advocate Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

A compilation from a Martha Stewart magazine I helped found, “Everyday Food,” which delivers on its title beautifully.

A 1992 classic that won a James Beard Award, but can only be had now on Kindle or used (like my vintage copy has been often).

Cook, while connecting the botanical dots. Taxonomy meets gastronomy in Deborah Madison’s impressive 2013 book.

Deborah Madison updated 1997’s vegetarian classic in 2014 with 150 new recipes reflecting the way we eat now.

The best onion soup and so much more, from American in Paris David Lebovitz of DavidLebovitz.com.

Flavorful and fast (but not thoughtless or careless) recipes from masterful Nigel Slater of BBC and “The Observer” fame.

Multi-James Beard Award winner Peter Reinhart reveals secrets of new sprouted and ancient-grain flours and more.

“The New York Times” columnist Martha Rose Shulman creates vegetarian-entree “templates” that make for smarter, easier cooking.

From Deb Perelman of SmittenKitchen.com, a self-proclaimed “obsessive” home cook, a blockbuster book I’ve gifted to many happy friends.