Herbs & Spices is an indispensable reference that shows how to prepare fresh and dried herbs, how to use herbs and spices in cooking, and details everything that other books on the subject leave out. Containing a unique collection of recipes, from herb and spice mixes to rubs, pastes, salsas, and marinades, these authentic formulas will encourage cooks to think creatively and experiment on their own. Grouped by aroma and taste, with step-by-step preparation techniques and beautiful full-color photography, this book describes 60 herbs and the benefits of using them fresh or dried, and focuses on 60 spices from around the world, with a look at the early spice trade and how cross-cultural fusion has impacted on contemporary cooking.

After enticing you with the story of his signature dish, a green salad made with up to 30 ingredients, each literally harvested and assembled on the plate one leaf and blossom at a time, Traunfeld shows how, using more typical resources, you can construct a salad friends will declare a delicious work of art. To make it really simple, he provides a chart listing 50 possible choices that helps you balance the flavors, including hot, sweet, bitter, and aromatic, and the colors and textures that make a salad more than a plate of lovely greens.

However, if you don't live in a culinary paradise like the Seattle area, only have access to a typical supermarket, and you don't want to grow your own herbs, you can still infuse your cooking with the same enticing magic Traunfeld creates at the Herbfarm. Just tuck sprigs of thyme, rosemary, or oregano between the slices of a loaf of country bread spread with butter or olive oil and roasted garlic, wrap it in foil, and pop it in the oven for a quick 12 minutes. Or try Mashed Potatoes with Toasted Coriander, the seeds adding earthy flavor to a perennial favorite, and serve with chicken piccata enlivened with fresh dill.

Traunfeld is such a good teacher and clear writer that you follow with confidence when he guides you through Herb-Smoked Salmon--first dry-rubbed, then smoked over dried stems from basil, thyme, or fennel and finally baked until the fish is just gently set. You also get an introduction to the Japanese concept of umami, a state of food perfection that Traunfeld achieves in his Umami Carrot Soup with Mint.

Following the 200 recipes and alluring photos of some prepared dishes, you learn about growing herbs, both in the garden and in containers. A section describing herbs and edible flowers, from angelica to violets, is ample and articulate enough to stand on its own as a book, and those interested in gardening will appreciate the list of nurseries here. Finally, this section includes a table covering 29 herbs that will help you transform your own favorite dishes simply by adding fresh herbs. --Dana Jacobi

From Publishers Weekly
In his debut cookbook, Traunfeld elevates herbs to celebrity status. Chef at the Herbfarm restaurant near Seattle, he marries friendly flavors (Tomato and Fennel Soup, which includes French tarragon, and Pork Chops with Sage, Onion and Prosciutto). He also employs unusual and bold strokes to create such tantalizing dishes as Oysters on the Half-Shell with Lemon Verbena Ice, Potatoes with Lavender and Rosemary, Grilled Marjoram-Scented Corn, Saut?ed Duck Breasts with Mint, Coriander, and Olives and Halibut Baked with Leeks, Apple and Lovage. Pointing out that herbs and flowers are nothing new in dessert-making, Traunfeld is particularly successful with sweets; he combines flavors with a masterful touch, exemplified by Pear, Maple and Rosemary Clafouti, Pumpkin-Bay Tart and Raspberry and Rose Geranium Sorbet. A summer's abundance of herbs can be persuaded to satisfy well after autumn's frosts with such fare as Apple-Thyme Jelly, Plum and Lavender Chutney and Candied Angelica. Several herb-based drinks are also provided, including the Herbfarm Champagne Cocktail, wherein a single herb leaf or sprig is crushed between the fingers, dropped into an empty champagne flute, then filled with the proper potable. Concluding the book is an extensive chapter outlining individual herbs and their cultivars as well as advice on growing and harvesting them. With herbs increasingly common in supermarkets, this compendium of recipes and useful facts is ideal for cooks eager for new taste temptations. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed business Information, Inc.

There's the humble roasted oyster, for example. Traunfeld makes a sauce of fresh sorrel, butter, shallots, cream, and lemon juice. Each oyster sits in its half shell atop a dollop of the sauce and bakes until plump. They are served topped with fine strips of fresh sorrel. Briny oyster meets tart sorrel gentled with cream and butter. Does it get any better? You bet it does. Roasted Oysters with Sorrel Sauce is but an appetizer, along with Minted Lentil and Goat Cheese Strudel, and Spicy Verbena Meatballs.

After a brief introduction to herb basics, Traunfeld moves on to appetizers and drinks (the Rosemary Gin and Tonic sounds intriguing). Chapters that follow cover soups, salads, fast suppers, meals for a crowd, intimate feasts, vegetable dishes, breads, and desserts. Consider the Shiso Crab Cocktail, or Black Olive Roast Chicken, Sides of Salmon Slow-Roasted in Dill, or Lavender-Rubbed Duck Breasts with Apricots and Sweet Onions.

These are precise, carefully thought-out and executed recipes, and they are all built around the masterful use of fresh herbs. You will want to attend to your gardening as much as your cooking with this book as inspiration. Work through The Herbal Kitchen from front to back and you will transform your relationship with herbs. The food you cook and eat will never be the same. And that's a delicious gift from one of the mighty. --Schuyler Ingle

From Publishers Weekly
The James Beard Award–winning chef of the Herbfarm near Seattle, Traunfeld (The Herbfarm Cookbook) certainly knows a thing or two about cooking masterfully with fresh herbs. Whereas his first book celebrated restaurant-status dishes, this volume concerns simple dishes for the home cook. Traunfeld concisely introduces the basics of starting one's own herb garden; storing herbs; chopping, slicing and tearing herbs; and measuring herbs. Then he launches into the redolent recipes, many as straightforward as Prosciutto Melon with Lime and Cilantro; Dilled Celery, Asian Pear, and Hazelnut Salad; and Lemon Rosemary Chicken enhanced with dried currants and green olives. Recipes in the "Intimate Feasts" chapter, including Sea Scallops on Summer Succotash, and Lavender-Rubbed Duck Breast with Apricots and Sweet Onions, can stand as complete and creative meals, or be paired with a side from the vegetables chapter, such as Mashed Winter Squash with Bay Butter, or Salt-Roasted Potatoes. Herb-infused desserts like Strawberry Rose Geranium Ice Cream are lovely and not heavy. Throughout, Traunfeld offers insight into the use of specific herbs and ingredients, creating a work that is at once practical, informative and inspiring. Color photos. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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A low-GI diet is especially recommended for people with diabetes, abdominal overweight, and Syndrome X, say the authors, who have strong medical, nutritional-science, and diabetes education credentials. They explain the importance of understanding GI values, how GI is determined, health applications, and how to choose low-GI foods and balance the overall GI load. They give cooking tips, menu ideas, and 47 recipes. A 68-page table gives the GI values of many foods, including brand names. The New Glucose Revolution is recommended for health-conscious readers who want to understand the glycemic index and how to incorporate it into their diet. --Joan Price

Jean Carper, best-selling author of Miracle Cures, Stop Aging Now!, and Food: Your Miracle Medicine, on The Glucose Revolution
"Forget Sugar Busters. Forget The Zone. Read this book."

Listen to a podcast (file size=12.9MB).

About The Author
Dr. Maoshing Ni is a 38th-generation doctor of Chinese medicine and an authority in the field of Taoist anti-aging medicine. He is co-founder of Yo San University in Los Angeles and in private practice at the Tao of Wellness, where he directs the Longevity and Healthy Aging Program. Dr. Mao has lectured internationally, appeared on television, and been featured in the New York Times, the L.A. Times, and many other publications.

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