By Debra Knapke

Books are a pleasure for me; second to gardening with respect to de-stressing.  There is something very comforting and settling about holding a book while drinking tea – or sipping wine.  I love my IPad mini, but it doesn’t hold a candle to an engaging book or magazine.

In honor of St Patrick’s Day, I offer green: in color and in lifestyle choice cookbooks.  From top to bottom:

Garlic, Wine and Olive Oil – a bit about the history and use of three essentials to cooking. I love cooking with wine and sometimes even use it in the dish (paraphrased from a quote often attributed to the incomparable Julia Child).

Moosewood Daily Special – our go-to book for soup – cold and hot – and salad ideas.  For those of you who are flexitarians, there are recipes that include fish and seafood.  And, once you know a recipe, you can figure out how to add meat if you so desire.

Small Breads – here is a sampling of bread recipes from around the world collected by Bernard Clayton.  It is a subset of his larger book Bernard Clayton’s New Complete Book of Breads.

The Fig’s Table – one of many cookbooks that have grown out of famous restaurants.  If you like Italian – pizza, risotto, pasta, prosciutto, and more – and you like traditional-eclectic, give this cookbook a try.

Foraged Flavor – this weed, uh, plant, is really edible, and how do I use it?  That’s the niche that Foraged Flavor fills.  This year I will create the Purslane Eggplant Caponata.

The Conscious Cook – vegan recipes that do not leave you yearning for meat, and the inspiration for my use of cashew cream instead of dairy cream.  This cookbook was a gift and one that keeps on giving (thank you, Denise).

And, lastly, Clean Food: a Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source – another meatless cookbook that looks at a sustainable way of eating; for ourselves and for the world.