Recently Mark Bittman published a new cookbook, VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health...for Good. Many people focused on the "Vegan" part of the title and not the "Before 6:00." Essentially Bittman is publishing an eating plan where he eats Vegan for all his meals but one - dinner. So the obvious question is: Why not go all the way and eat Vegan full time? isn't this just like being a little bit pregnant?

In a recent column titled " Why I Am Not a Vegan" in The New York Times, Bittman gives a detailed explanation. You should read his full column for the entire explanation, but very condensed, his answer  is "Part-time veganism (which you might also call flexitarianism) is a strategy for integrating the reigning wisdom - eat more plants, less hyperprocessed stuff, fewer animal products - into lives that have, until now, been composed of too few of the first and too many of the second and third."

He does explain what would justify universal vegetarianism: "I can see three scenarios that might lead to universal, full-time veganism: An indisputable series of research results proving that consuming animal products is unquestionably "bad" for us; the emerging dominance of a morality that asserts that we have no right to "exploit" our fellow animals for our own benefit; or an environmental catastrophe that makes agriculture as we know it untenable. All seem unlikely."

Given the wonderful recipes Bittman has given us over the years, we're pleased that he's not going to be limiting himself in the future. But we have to confess that his new diet is reaping benefits - check out these great chickpea recipes he just published.

Photograph by:Ward Perrin , Vancouver Sun

I'm a bit late with this week's post, mostly because I've been up to my ears in the summer cookbook roundup.  It was an exciting batch of books, but what struck me especially forcefully this time round was the predominance of outstanding single-subject books (both in the top 10 and the shortlist).

It's not that single-subject books have been scarce over the last several years.  Publishers know that people like them, and some, like Robert Rose, Inc., specialize in them.  But I had thought that the wide availability of online content, the democratization of expertise, the dominance of Youtube would all mean that people would look to other media to learn, say, all about ice cream sandwiches.  And as for recipes, I would have thought that except for us here on EYB, with our searchable libraries, most of the world simply would just Google them.

Maybe that's still true.  All I can say is that in today's single-subject cookbooks, recipes are just the beginning.  They're packed with great reference information, sidebars, chart, fantastic photographs (often with step-by-step illustrations).  They've got histories, cultural context, sometimes even personal anecdotes.

Can you get all that stuff online for free?  Of course you can, but you'll have to hunt around.  And you won't be able to immerse yourself in the subject, or flip back and forth between pages, or browse it on the beach.  In other words, all the things we love about books - the sheer amount of value packed into one appealing, portable package - are what make single-subject books so irreplaceable.

What single-subject books do you love?  And are there some subjects you'd rather turn to the internet to educate yourself about?

While many food-related controversies don't require much comment, we couldn't pass on the opportunity to enjoy a minor triumph of reason, rationality, and taste. For those of you who have been spending your time on more important things (family, jobs, etc.) and aren't aware of the Nutella Day controversy, here it is in a nutshell.

Sara Rosso is a passionate fan of Nutella (a chocolate-hazelnut mixture) and, as such, several years ago declared Feb. 5 as World Nutella Day. She has spent a considerable amount of time creating a web site, media postings, and other actions  to publicize this and obtained a strong following - all for no money or official credit from Ferrero (the company that makes Nutella). Therefore, she was more than floored when she received a cease-and-desist letter from Ferrero's attorneys effectively telling her to banish all traces of World Nutella Day.

So in a tearful farewell letter on the World Nutella Day site, she agreed that  "On May 25, 2013, I'll be darkening the World Nutella Day site, nutelladay.com, and all social media presence (Facebook, Twitter), in compliance with a cease-and-desist I received from lawyers representing Ferrero, SpA (makers of Nutella)."

However, apparently Ferrero has had a change of heart. Obviously, the media had a field day celebrating the complete lack of reason and rationality in this legal decision, but it was also surprising how truly upset many of Nutella's customers were, as they began threatening a boycott. So Ferrero changed its mind.

Therefore, all is well now - she has updated the World Nutella site to say, "I'm relieved to say there's been a positive resolution to the situation. Ferrero employees reached out to me directly after I had posted my fan letter online and sent my formal reply to their C&D. They were very gracious and supportive and we were able to have a productive discussion about World Nutella Day living on for the fans, which is the whole point."

So you Nutella fans may now continue to enjoy Nutella without worry. And if some of you are looking to expand or start eating Nutella, the EYB library has 230 online recipes to get you started (the gluten-free chocolate torte from Serious Eats looks amazing).

Photo by Yvonne Ruperti

At least in the northern hemisphere, it's now officially grilling/barbecue season - and we understand that it's actually never not grilling season down under. So we thought a brief primer on the difference between barbecue and grilling, courtesy of this video at Southern Cooking, might be helpful to all our members.

So what is the difference? It's simple:

Barbecue is cooking long, low, and slow. Grilling is cooking hot and fast. Suitable meats for barbecue are ribs, pork shoulder, brisket - meats that take a long time to tenderize. Foods suitable for grilling include boneless breast of chicken, hamburgers, steaks, and seafood. 

And while we're on the subject - is it barbecue or barbeque? Well, both spellings are acceptable, but if you want to be fussy, stick with "barbecue." According to the Grammar Girl, "The most accepted spelling of the word is "barbecue" because it most closely resembles the word from which it's derived--"barbacòa." The shorter forms, such as "bar-b-q," are just abbreviations that play on the sounds from the syllables "be" (b) and "cue" (q)."

Finally, this also gives us a chance to announce our latest board on Pinterest, Summer Grilling - lots of great ideas already and more to come.

Photo courtesy of Flickr

Forrest Pritchard is a farmer who just published a well-reviewed book, Gaining Ground: A Story of Farmers' Markets, Local Food, and Saving the Family Farm (his is an eighth-generation farm) - you can read Michael Ruhlman on the book here. But Pritchard also publishes an interesting blog at his farm's website, Smith Meadows. One of those blogs we thought would be very informative to share.

Titled 4 Questions You Should Never Ask at Farmers' Markets, Pritchard leads in with: "I've spent over 1,000 Saturdays and Sundays selling at farmers markets, and even after all this time I still love to answer questions. Farmers markets are one of the few places where customers can directly connect with their food, meeting face-to-face with the people who grew it. Questions are expected at market, and even encouraged. From livestock breeds to production practices, organic certification to chemical usage, I've been asked just about every food-related question under the sun.

Though most farmers will happily answer all inquiries, there are a handful of questions that make even the friendliest farmers want to choke a carrot. If you don't want your farmer to turn three shades of beet red, here's the reasoning behind 4 questions every customer should avoid."

Here are the questions, with a condensed version of his response - the full blog is well worth reading, if for nothing more than the humor.

Was this picked fresh this morning? As he explains, given the work involved in getting ready for the market, the farmer and his crew would have to be up all night.

What time do you get up? Apparently this is a no-win question, so he has learned to say 4:30 - all farmers always get up at 4:30

I know you're not open yet, but I'm in a hurry… could you sell me something before the bell? No - it's a rush as it is to get ready for the opening bell.

Since it's the end of market, can I get a special deal on what you've got left? Again, no. This is a no-win question - people would either wait until the end or complain about paying full price.

And now you're a "market insider."

Adam Roberts, over at the Amateur Gourmet, recently provided an antidote to Food TV. He gives links to five past food shows, now available online, that really defined good food television - they actually give you tips and advice on how to cook. In no particular order, they are (with our comments):

• Molto Mario, with Mario Batali (probably the best show ever on cooking Italian)
• Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home (Julia Child and Jacques Pépin together are a magical combination - the ultimate power kitchen couple)
• Lidia's Italy, with Lidia Bastianich (not quite as dynamic as Mario, but there's always room for two Italian cooking shows)
• From Martha's Kitchen (whether you find her too perfect or not, it's hard to deny that  Martha Stewart can cook)
• Avec Eric  (this has a lot of travel in it, but Eric Ripert presents spot-on cooking lessons at the end of each episode)

These are all on Hulu, but you can watch them on your computer without a paid subscription (though there are commercials).

Burritos are delectable - but can be a sloppy mess. But this 4-minute video from The Daily Meal takes you by the hand and shows you how to build the perfect burrito - one that doesn't get soggy or fall apart. There are several keys:

• The order of ingredients is truly important - beans, rice, shredded cheese, meat/vegetable, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, hot sauce.
• The ratio of ingredients is key, especially rice to bean - about even. And not too much guacamole.
• The desired shape is a rectangular, elongated form.
  
• Rolling is a four-step process: in with the sides, over the top using your fingers to insure coverage, corners in, and tucked under itself (not really a roll) - and take your time.

Now this is an art form everyone should - and can - learn.

Photo courtesy of The Daily Meal

Since we doubt that anyone is unaware that kale has been soaring in popularity (stand aside, tomatoes) we haven't tackled it as a blog item -  it seems to be almost passé. But sometimes events overtake the best of intentions, and the event that overtook us was the final, canonical blessing on kale by the New York Times who just announced that kale has been accepted in "Manhattan social circles."

In their article, Oh, How the Humble Has Risen, they note that "Along with midriff-baring tops and all things Gatsby, another trend has swept the spring social circuit: kale salads." Apparently, we can "Forget about filet mignon or caviar. The fashionable plat du jour these days is the humble kale salad, which seems to telegraph a certain veggie-chic for the juice-cleanse set."

Don't get us wrong - we love kale. But the premise that a Manhattan social set acceptance should turn us on to kale does befuddle us - it's not a group that we turn to for vegetable blessings. 

And the group is even late to the party. As The Guardian wrote last March, in Kale: the hottest vegetable this season, the British have been tuned onto kale for quite awhile, "According to trade magazine  the Grocer, kale is the "new star" of the brassica family. Sales were up by 40% in the past year, with 3,048 tonnes shifted in the 12 months to February, when its core season ends.  Data analysts Kantor Worldpanel, who conducted the study, don't make the link between celebrities and our new-found fondness for this powerful leaf. But thanks to its high-profile supporters - including Gwyneth Paltrow (whose website  Goop  features recipes for kale juice and kale chips),  Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall  and  Jamie Oliver- some of it may even have been eaten, rather than left at the back of the veg drawer."

Or what about this article in Epicurious, The Next Big Thing: Baby Kale Salad Mix? They note that "Americans are crazy for kale. So crazy, in fact, that we might as well be singing "Kale to The Chief!" All kidding aside, it's taken a while, but kale is now solidly entrenched in our vegetable lexicon. Whether raw or cooked, it has firmly planted itself on restaurant menus. Bushy bunches of it crowd the produce aisles of supermarkets. And the farmers' market? Forgettaboutit. When kale's in season, there are so many different varieties piled high on tables, it's hard to choose."

We're not sure who started the kale craze, but we're glad they did and we'd like to give them credit if we could. However, the least we can do is to note that our EYB members are much savvier than the Manhattan social set when it comes to food (we doubt if many could use the expression "veggie-chic" with a straight face), so here are those online recipes at EYB for kale that have created the most buzz. Enjoy!

Photo courtesy of shutterbean on Flickr

The Daily Meal has a wonderful list today for all of you of a certain age who might have spent a fair time in front of a television set (we plead guilty) in the U.S. It's a list of The 11 Most Iconic Food Commercials of All Time, plus links to the actual commercial on You Tube. As they say, "They're more than just ads, they're cultural touchstones."

Among the ones they list are several of our favorites:  The Claymation raisins singing I Heard it Through the Grapevine, the Spicy Meatball commercial from Alka-Seltzer, and, definitely, Mikey for Life Cereal. But think of the ones they missed - the Bill Cosby Jell-O episodes, the Trix Bunny always losing out because "Trix are for kids," the Wendy's "Where's the beef" lady, and we are even nostalgic for the Green Giant - ho, ho, ho.

Enjoy the trip through memory lane, and let us know which ones you especially liked and don't see on the list.

The Kitchn has an article that may strongly resound with our members - 6 Ways to Manage Your Cookbook Addiction. Their description of what defines a cookbook addict may strike a chord with some of our members: "Perhaps it's because while you have more cookbooks then you will ever be able to cook recipes from, you cannot stop yourself from adding to your collection. Or maybe there are teetering piles of cookbooks all over your house, surrounding the bed, on a little stool near the bathtub, stacked up next to the couch. It is almost impossible for you to not buy the latest release by a favorite author, even if there's not much new going on there and you can never, never walk past the cookbook section in the bookstore without stopping and losing half a day in the stacks. These are all signs that you may have a situation on your hands."

Of couse, unlike serious addictions (drugs, gambling, etc.) this addiction is one that isn't really unhealthy - as long as it's not financially draining or forces you to sleep in the garage due to space concerns. In fact, to us the word "addict" really doesn't work. The word ignores the fact there are many benefits to cookbook ownership - not least that home-cooked meals are now acknowledged as a crucial part of a healthy lifestyle. And cookbooks are not just to cook from - they can provide hours of reading enjoyment. But this article does have some good advice on how to approach a fondness for cookbooks rationally.

First, though, if you're a member of EYB you've already taken the most important step - making sure you can access all those recipes so you actually use the books. In fact, an EYB membership is the best way to approach two of the suggestions listed in this article - explore your archives and weed out any books that just don't work anymore. 

So what are the other suggestions? Fuller explanations are in the article, but three interesting ones are: 

• Use the library
• Avoid Amazon
• Start a cookbook club with your friends

And what about buying new cookbooks? The article goes on to give advice on how to choose new cookbooks wisely. There are several good approaches here as well, we especially liked the one that reads: "Rule of thumb: If you casually pick up a cookbook to browse but find you're still reading it 10 minutes later, then you may just want to bring this one home with you."

Feel free to contribute any ideas you have. And we want to thank those members who added comments to the the Kitchn article strongly endorsing an EYB membership as an invaluable resource to help with many, if not all, of these suggestions.

Photo courtesy of the Kitchn