7 Unique And Inspired Cookbooks

7 Cookbooks with an Original Spin

Five-Minute Molten Chocolate Mug Cake from Half Baked Harvest

Tips & Tricks for Vegetarians & Vegans

• Experiment with how you prepare tofu. It has a bad reputation, but it can be a great component of a meal if it's flavored and cooked right.
• Stock up on vegan snacks. Just because you're on a plant-based diet doesn't mean you can't have fun with your food.
• Consider a meatless diet for your dog, although of course you should talk to a vet before making this major change.
• It's not hard to get the protein you need from whole foods, but if you're a body builder or just concerned about protein intake, try mixing a vegan protein powder into a shake or smoothie.
• If you're making this change for health reasons, remember to create sustainable habits so that you don't lose steam after a week or two.

Butter Pecan Bourbon Fudge from Muy Bueno

In Depth

Even the most accomplished home cooks sometimes struggle to find inspiration. While thousands of recipes can be sourced online, some may seem repetitive or dull: one can only make spaghetti carbonara so many times. Luckily, there are several chefs writing recipes that are sure to delight even the most jaded palates. In no particular order, here are some cookbooks that will ignite your imagination in the kitchen.

The #1 entry is Half Baked Harvest Cookbook: Recipes from My Barn in the Mountains, by Tieghan Gerard. The book features eight chapters: breakfast, snacks and appetizers, pasta and grains, poultry and pork, meat, seafood, mostly meatless, and desserts. Each recipe comes with a photo and story.

Gerard started the Half Baked Harvest blog in 2012, and since its inception, it has been featured on The Cooking Channel, Food Network, Shape Magazine, the Huffington Post, and PopSugar, among others. The blog includes a video library, which contains step-by-step cooking tutorials for recipes such as Cheesy Buffalo Chicken French Bread and Pumpkin Beer Broccoli Cheddar Soup.

Gerard started the Half Baked Harvest blog in 2012, and since its inception, it has been featured on The Cooking Channel, Food Network, Shape Magazine, the Huffington Post, and PopSugar, among others.

At #2, we have Egg Shop: The Cookbook, written by Chef Nick Korbee. It is a full-color cooking guide featuring more than 100 recipes for food and drinks served at the restaurant of the same name. Readers will get instructions on incorporating eggs into dishes that range from the health-conscious to the decadent.

The first Egg Shop restaurant opened in 2014 in the Soho neighborhood of New York City. It serves a seasonal menu of organic, locally sourced dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at both the flagship location as well as the more spacious outpost in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which opened in 2017.

Next up, at #3, we present The Reducetarian Cookbook, which offers over 125 plant-based recipes for vegetarians, vegans, or omnivores trying to incorporate more meatless Mondays. It is edited by Brian Kateman, who coined the term "reducetarian" to describe someone who is reducing his or her consumption of animal proteins. Recipe sections include light bites, dinner-in-a-bowl, salads, soups, sides, mains, and desserts.

Recipe sections include light bites, dinner-in-a-bowl, salads, soups, sides, mains, and desserts.

Kateman is also cofounder and president of the Reducetarian Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy in the interests of sustainability. He has also published a book that features 70 original essays from influential thinkers on how the simple act of cutting 10% or more of the meat from one's diet can transform the lives of the readers, animals, and the planet.

The #4 entry is Vibrant India: Fresh Vegetarian Recipes From Bangalore to Brooklyn. In it, author Chitra Agrawal writes about her family's meatless recipes from South India. She has adapted them for the home cook using fresh ingredients and local produce available in the United States. The book includes an introduction to Indian flavors, kitchen tools, and cooking techniques.

It features over 80 recipes, many of which are vegan and gluten-free, and range from easy vegetable stir fry dishes to classics like dosa, a fermented rice and lentil crepe. Agrawal sells her line of delicious condiments and sauces inspired by Indian culinary traditions, such as achaars and chuntneys.

Agrawal sells her line of delicious condiments and sauces inspired by Indian culinary traditions, such as achaars and chuntneys.

At #5, we have Easy, Whole, Vegan: 100 Flavor-Packed, No-Stress Recipes for Busy Families, written by Melissa King. The recipes are meant to be quick and easy to help busy families save time in the kitchen, and many of them are ones home cooks can make ahead and keep in the fridge before reheating for dinner time, such as Chunky Vegetable Soup.

King also runs a blog called My Whole Food Life, on which she frequently shares a variety of vegan recipes ranging from sweet to savory, such as Flourless Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies and Kale White Bean Squash Soup. She has also written a book dedicated to nut butters and milks, that includes over 50 recipes.

Next up, at #6, we present The Fisherman's Wife: Sustainable Recipes and Salty Stories, a seafood cookbook written by Stephanie Villani and Kevin Bay. The book features nearly 100 recipes, techniques and fish handling tips, and answers to common seafood questions and concerns. In addition, readers will find information about sustainable fishing practices.

The book features nearly 100 recipes, techniques and fish handling tips, and answers to common seafood questions and concerns.

Villani and her husband run a commercial fishing outpost, called Blue Moon Fish, in Mattituck, located on the North Fork of Long Island. They catch wild, local fish and sell it exclusively at various farmer's markets in New York City. Varieties of seafood include bluefish, mackerel, skate, clams, tuna, and striped bass.

For our final entry, #7, we have Muy Bueno: Three Generations of Authentic Mexican Flavor, written by Evangelina Soza and her daughters Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack and Veronica Gonzalez-Smith. The book focuses on classic dishes that have been shared by their family matriarch, Jesusita Mendias-Soza, as well as new ones her daughter and granddaughters have created themselves.

Marquez-Sharpnack also runs a blog of the same name and has published another book called Latin Twist: Traditional & Modern Cocktails. Her blog also features travel guides and videos, with tips on what to pack for a cruise, information about visiting Mexico City, and where to eat in El Paso, Texas.