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"Super Natural Every Day: Well-Loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen" by Heidi Swanson (Ten Speed Press, 9781580082778, $23.00)  

The first recipe I tried from Heidi Swanson's new cookbook changed how I've always felt about muesli. It's no longer dusty, pre-chewed cardboard cereal; instead, it's a comforting bowl of breakfast studded with toasted almonds, golden raisins, and a lick of maple syrup. I can mix it up in ten minutes and enjoy homemade whole-grain spa breakfasts for a week. And it lives up to the title of her book: I eat it every day!  

Swanson became an award-winning food blogger a few years ago with her site 101 Cookbooks, and her earlier book, "Super Natural Cooking," is a fixture on my kitchen table. It introduced me to the joys of wheatberries and made my whole extended family fall in love with whole-grain banana muffins and this odd, amazing salad of kumquats, walnuts, celery, and parmesan. It's a book of magic.  

Swanson's recipes are vegetarian (sometimes vegan), they feature a variety of whole grains and natural sweeteners, and their hallmark is an uncanny knack for outstanding flavor combinations. For example, watermelon is already a great summertime treat, right? Well, the new book boasts a simple salad of cubed watermelon, sliced dates, and chopped pistachios. It's unbelievably good!  

"Super Natural Every Day" is filled with fascinating ingredients spun into easy weeknight dishes. The rye soda bread is crusty and flavorful and bakes up in under an hour. The summer linguine is a quick marriage of pantry staples (whole wheat pasta, garlic, etc.) and fresh garden zucchini.  

Two more I want to try: Mostly Not Potato Salad, which splices spuds with green beans, leeks, and celery in a mustard vinaigrette, and Heidi's Internet-famous Carnival Cookies--butterless, flourless, eggless, sugarless treats made of almonds, peanuts, and popcorn.  

Swanson is my favorite guide to the crunchy, wondrous world of natural foods. Her books are perfect choices for folks who want to eat for zest and health: they're in the same camp as my beloved "Power Foods" cookbook and Kim Boyce's "Good to the Grain" book on whole-grain baking. This stuff is delicious, and it's good for you.  

Review by Mark David Bradshaw

Super Natural Every Day: Well-loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen (Paperback)

By Heidi Swanson

$23.00

ISBN-13: 9781580082778
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Ten Speed Press, 4/2011

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