Spices for Spring and Favorite Food Memoirs

Butter-Roasted Cauliflower and Five Food Narratives

Somehow it’s mid-March. The jasmine – my jasmine?! – is already dropping its petals. Our markets abound with English and snap peas, favas and pea tendrils; citrus overshadowed by strawberries; squash, but a memory. At home, I’ve been reading. One book, The Accidental Shepherd (written by Liese Greenselder, pub. 2024), revved my engine for late spring/early summer travel (there’s a big trip in the works!). Claire Keegan’s recently reissued book of short stories, Antarctica (originally pub. 1999), was dark as hell. Some stories pulled me in; others felt alienating. But Keegan is a genius and I will continue to read whatever she writes. Despite finishing multiple books I’m not compelled to write at length about any of them, so this week I thought I’d provide a list of favorite food memoirs/readable cookbooks. (Next installment I might do a cookbook roundup if anyone might like that?) They’ll all leave you feeling happy and inspired, something we all need during these times. Below that, a recipe I can’t get enough of, inspired by Butter.

Read

I recommend buying all of these books used; they’re older and abundant in used bookstores and on Thriftbooks! Obviously there’s the library, too, but I promise you’ll want to own them after reading.

The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis, pub. 1976

This book is number one on my list and should be on every cook’s (person’s?) shelves. Edna was an icon. Born in Freetown, Virginia, in a farming community founded by freed slaves (her grandfather being one of them), Edna grew up foraging, preserving, cooking and gathering amid a community committed to survival. She weaves recipes into her stories but the recipes aren’t really the point. Her childhood was equal parts hard work and intense nurture, and reading about the ways in which the community bolstered each other through food – and the work that goes into upholding and maintaining true farming communities – will bowl you over. They just don’t make ‘em like they used to.

An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler, pub. 2011

The book that lit my fire! Reading this for the first time in 2011, just after I’d caught the cooking bug, was a profound experience that I’ve repeated roughly 10 times since. Simply put, this book will teach you how to think about cooking. Adler has the writing chops of MFK Fisher with a fierce sense of humor. She saves scraps and shows you how to spin them into gold and will change the way you look at your food.

The Raw and the Cooked by Jim Harrison, pub. 1992

Not sure I can put into words the level of devotion I have for this man. When reading this book for the first time I spit out multiple sips of water due to Jim’s hilarious, shocking storytelling prowess; then I’d grow almost teary as he turned toward the poetic (he was a poet, after all). A story of the Midwest, gluttony, survivalism, hedonism, passion and live fire. One of the beauts.

Home Cooking and More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin, pub. 1988 and 1993, respectively

I’ve written about Laurie’s fiction before, but my journey with her started with these books – both memoirs with recipes strewn within. Colwin is a fucking delight on every page. Nervy, frenzied and funny, she approaches cooking with an eye for entertainment (in her first New York apartment, she was so committed to dinner parties that she washed dishes in her bathtub). Nora Ephron-esque laughs with serious heart.

Honorable Mentions:

The Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater; Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton; Honey from a Weed by Patience Gray

Eat

Forever on theme, we made a butter-laden spread for our last book club. An hour before the festivities started, I wasn’t sure what I was going to make. I ended up throwing a dish together that was super moreish – rich but bright and balanced. The perfect side dish. Does anyone else find spontaneity often breeds the best results? Same. This dish is going in the forever rotation.

Butter-Roasted Cauliflower
Serves 2-4

1 large head of cauliflower, broken into florets
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced into half-moons
4 tablespoons butter, divided
2 teaspoons Vadouvan (you can sub MDH Chana Masala, too – I love this blend!)
Kosher salt
evoo
½ cup olives, pitted (I’ve used nicoise and kalamata and both are great)
Heaping ¼ cup barberries (can sub currants or raisins)
Maldon
Juice of ½ lemon or lime
Few sprigs of cilantro, to garnish

Preheat your oven to 425F and arrange your cauliflower and onion on a baking sheet. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a small saute pan, then add the vadouvan and a healthy pinch of Kosher salt and stir to incorporate. Drizzle the butter-vadouvan mixture all over the cauliflower, then mix well with your hands to ensure everything is mostly coated (yes, you’re going to get turmeric on your hands; throw caution to the wind!). Drizzle with some olive oil if it’s looking a bit dry. Set the saute pan aside; you’ll use it again in a moment. Roast the veg until caramelized, about 25 minutes (stir halfway through so the onions don’t burn). While the veg roasts, heat the remaining tablespoon of butter in the saute pan on medium-low heat. Add the olives and barberries and cook, stirring occasionally, until the barberries are plump, the olives take on a tad of color and you start smelling browning butter. Remove from the heat and set aside. To plate, tip the buttered olives and barberries onto the sheet pan with the cauliflower and stir well. Then arrange it all on a serving platter. Season with Maldon and lemon or lime and garnish with cilantro.