Category Archives: Books

Plum Gorgeous & Cherries Galore

If you’re a person who reads cookbooks as much for stories as recipes, and aspires to an elegantly rural, abundant lifestyle, then Plum Gorgeous by Romney (Nani) Steele will speak to you. If you swoon over gorgeous photos of seasonal fruits set in dreamy tableaux, Plum Gorgeous, with photos by Sara Remington, will send you [...]
Also posted in Food and Drink, dessert, entertaining, from the market, fruit | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Crazy for Curtido

My life and my kitchen have both been overtaken by fermenting cabbage lately. (Is there a support group for that?) Partially, it’s the season. I always want to make hearty, fattier foods when the weather turns cold and sauerkraut and curtido are the perfect accompaniments. Plus cabbage turns sweeter as the weather gets chillier, making [...]
Also posted in DIY, Latin American, book events, classes, from the market, healthy, hearty, pantry staples | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

DIY Delicious at Jimtown—ajvar, crackers, cheese, yogurt cake, sauerkraut canapés and more!

The inaugural DIY Delicious book event was held recently at Jimtown Store in Healdsburg, CA. Since working on the recipes for the Jimtown Store cookbook was my first foray into cookbookery, it only seems fitting. Plus it’s a warm, welcoming space that feels like home and Carrie Brown and her staff know how to make [...]
Also posted in DIY, book events, community, entertaining, stores | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

DIY Delicious Book Giveaway with FarmCurious

What: Win a signed copy of my book, DIY Delicious: Recipes and Ideas for Simple Food from Scratch. All you have to do to qualify for a random drawing is to submit a story about your catalyst for canning, preserving, or creating your own food from scratch. Your story can inspire others! Who: This contest [...]
Also posted in DIY, community | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

DIY Delicious Promo Video

Check out this super fun DIY Delicious Video. Shot and conceived by the talented folks at 4SP films. I love it! And it was so much fun to shoot! Thanks to Chronicle Books for making it possible and Peter Perez, Marketing Manager at Chronicle, for loaning his kitchen, community garden and slightly goofy (yet totally [...]
Also posted in DIY, Film, gardening, healthy, hearty | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

What I Finally Did with my Massa Organics Duck

Last fall, Greg tweeted that he’d be selling rice-paddy raised ducks at the Berkeley market if folks wanted to order ahead. I did. I picked mine up on a bright day in September or October. I have no idea which. It was frozen so I put it in the freezer thinking I’d cook it within [...]
Also posted in Asian, Food and Drink, entertaining, from the market | 3 Comments

DIY Delicious is Here!

I got the email yesterday. It said, "I'm holding advance copies of your book in my hand, it looks beautiful. Which address should I send them to?" I was excited but a little numb I guess. Or maybe nothing can really prepare a person for the feeling of opening a package and pulling out a [...]
Also posted in DIY, food news | 19 Comments

A Healthy, Restorative Meal with Sablefish and Dal

I rarely cook a protein, starch, veg meal anymore. And I rarely eat fish either. Our oceans are just so endangered, that it’s a once-in-awhile treat these days. And it’s gotta be on Seafood Watch’s green list, or I’m not even eating it as a treat. If you’ve never cooked sablefish, you’ll find that it’s [...]
Also posted in Asian, food sustainability, from the market, healthy, hearty, seafood | 1 Comment

Hunger Challenge Day Two

I wake up ready to go. Day one wasn’t so bad. I’m working at home in the morning and going into the office late. I take that time to make Vietnamese rice porridge. This is a brilliant dish involving a very small amount of white, long grain rice, a lot of chicken broth, a few [...]
Also posted in Asian, breakfast, food justice, healthy, hunger challenge | Leave a comment

Scenes from a Photo Shoot

Toast shot Ok, so the book is pretty much done. All that remains is copyediting, galleys, and other little details. Directly on the heels of turning in the manuscript, we went right into shooting the photos. We did it with a crew of 4 plus me over 5 long days right here at the house. [...]
Also posted in Asian, breads and pizzas, breakfast | 1 Comment
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    The recipes and images on this site belong to Vanessa Barrington. Feel free to link here and if you’d like to use a recipe or image, please ask permission first. Thank you.