“My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life” By Ruth Reichl

I will cop to one major flaw in my first marriage: I didn’t cook enough. By the time we finished work, got the girls back and forth to school, and then round trip to physical therapy, we were all exhausted. I would shop at Trader Joe’s and looks for things to warm quickly. The microwave was my sous-chef. Enchiladas, quiches and individually-sized lasagnas were the things that warmed well, looked spiffy with a spinach salad and pleased my little girls. And to be honest, rather than dinner, The Husband was much more interested in his Ketel One martini, than food. And I was perfectly happy to slip a bendy straw into a buttery bottle of Edna Valley Chardonnay and call it a day. So flash forward to today: Finally at the age of 52, I do have time and energy to cook, and I do cook. Lily even refers to my eggplant moussaka as one of my “signature dishes,” which makes me smile. One of the things I love to do is read cookbooks. My friend Jay Elliott turned me on to the author Ruth Reichl many years ago. Ruth writes about food as it relates to memoir, and the two pair so well together. “My Kitchen Year” is the story about the year that she was the editor of “Gourmet Magazine” when it suddenly folded. Struggling with her own grief over the loss of her job and the magazine, and the sadness of readers who missed it too, Ruth found the road back to happiness by cooking, one dish at a time. The pictures in this book are beautiful. Ruth’s words and tweets are always whimsical and spirited. And the recipes are ones that a chef, old or new, can easily follow and celebrate with friends and family.  Whether it be a hearty steak sandwich, fancy nectarine galette or simple pasta dish, Ruth’s descriptions make you want to put down whatever you are doing, step into the kitchen and just cook, simply cook, without fear or judgment.  To purchase this book on Amazon click here.