I don’t know why it took so long for me to find Mark Bittman’s excellent cookbooks and website, but it did. Now that I’ve found him, I’m not letting go. He knows how important spices and herbs are. He cooks traditionally, or not, with meats, or not; it’s hard to go wrong with his recipes. His passion for food and cooking is contagious. And I say, let it rub off on me.
Philadelphia’s Barnes & Noble on Walnut Street has a rather skimpy selection of his cookbooks. It’s that or they’re sold out quickly. And forget the library, they’re checked out, returned, and gone in a flash. At my favorite Free Library of Philadelphia www.freelibrary.org I tried reserving one of his books – the one that takes two people to carry. I waited the alloted time, no word came by phone or email. I got a very vague answer when I went to the library and inquired about the book I had reserved. Eventually, the lack of the book not being in my hands got blamed on the computer. Hmm! was my intelligent response. In any event, I have HOW TO COOK EVERYTHING VEGETARIAN. And since I’m making up for lost time, I’ve subscribed to receiving Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything emails. Oh, yes.