Tamar Adler

I wish I could remember where I first heard about this--the library hold list for it is extremely long so it took months to get my hands on a copy. As a person who never really learned to cook, I just got my brain rewired--in a very good way. Adler's writing style is not for everyone (though it's very much for me, and if you're a fan of, say, Anne Fadiman, it'll likely be for you as well). She's pretty unabashed in her stance on using animals for food (treat them well, make the fullest show more possible use of what you take from them), but I think there's plenty here that vegetarians can find useful too, and her thoughts on food and cooking and their place in our lives are universally applicable. show less

Who could ever imagine that writing about parsley stalks, boiled eggs and scraps of vegetables could result in something akin to philosophy? Adler’s writing dances lyrically on the page and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who isn’t immediately inspired to rush into their kitchen and reacquaint themselves with a pot of salted water or a handful of beans while musing on life's bigger meaning.

This book strips all the fuss back, flings open a pantry of feelings and gives simple show more guidance for creating memorable food.

Reading this book makes me realise:

• I can cook well, by mastering simple techniques
• I don’t need fancy ingredients or appliances to nourish the soul and belly
• Invite people into your kitchen, not to your dining table

I am a massive fan of this book, not just for its writing, but its resounding message — that no one is ‘born a cook’. The act of cooking is, at first, learnt bit by bit, step by step; and then continued forth by intuition that can only come when you start from scratch and stumble forwards.

“All ingredients need salt. The noodle or tender spring pea would be narcissistic to imagine it already contained within its cell walls all the perfection it would ever need. We seem, too, to fear that we are failures at being tender and springy if we need to be seasoned. It’s not so: it doesn’t reflect badly on pea or person that either needs help to be most itself.” show less

An Everlasting Meal is a wonder. I'm not much of a cook. Most of the cookbooks I own are along the lines of "Fast Meals for Busy Idiots", which is a problem, because I love food, and if you're just shoveling calories in your mouth, why not go for pizza, or burgers, or something out of a box.

"Gimme the Gorbage" is my family motto

Adler is a serious cook. She was the chef at Farm 225 in Athens, Georgia, cooked at Chez Panisse, and has been writing about food for over two decades now. She has show more opinions, but more than opinions, she has genuine enthusiasm for good meals, for doing it right, and for letting your senses and intuition guide you, rather than mechanically following a recipe.

The central point of An Everlasting Meal is to eat like a certain kind of prosperous peasant. Dietary staples are root vegetables, beans, leafy greens, and fatty gristly chunks of meat. Staple carbs like pasta, bread, and rice can be left to the experts and bought from a store. Learn to love the stewpot. Boiling and simmering is a forgiving cooking method that helps food taste more like itself, and leaves rich flavorful broths and ends to be incorporated into the next meal.

I'm not sure I have the patience for the farmer's market recommended in-season produce all the time, but the idea of roasting a giant portion of veggies on Sunday and finding ways to reuse it through the week is very appealing. Advice like "now add a grated cup of parmesan and freshly chopped parsley" is face-slappingly obvious. Woodchips would probably be edible with sufficient parmesan.

This is a book that is a joy to read, and deserves careful study. show less

Where has this book been all my life?! I was taught to cook by following a recipe rather than my instinct. I’m reasonably competent at following directions, but it often makes cooking a drudgery. In recent years I’ve been trying to adjust my cooking mindset to something that comes more naturally to me, and this book has given me an abundance of ideas as well as general inspiration.

Update after a second reading: I confess that this time through I found her writing style a little grating. show more However, I still found plenty of inspiration for little changes in my cooking style, especially useful as the number of eaters in my house is rapidly dwindling. show less