The New Milks -- Cookbook Review

So many cookbooks, so little time.

I love cookbooks, and I love that the cookbooks coming out lately are so unique and compelling. Here is a selection of cookbooks that I have been sent review copies of, sitting on my shelf, waiting for me to have the time to do a proper review. I will get to them all.

But today I am writing about The New Milks; 100-Plus recipes for Making and Cooking with Soy, Nut, Seed, Grain, and Coconut Milks.

To be sure, this book has recipes that use nuts and soy. Coconut, as we all know, is not really a nut. And yes, author Dina Cheney actually makes her own coconut milk from whole coconuts (in contract to my cheating version). The author does seem to have a preference for soy, almond, and cashew milks, but there is absolutely no reason why you can't substitute your own favorite non-dairy milk in most of the recipes. I know that I will be choosing hemp milk and coconut milk in most cases.

Many of the recipes are gluten-free (and some can be easily adapted). Some recipes use eggs (including some egg dishes).

All disclaimers aside, there are some delightful recipes in this books that I will be trying. Shepherd's Pie with Beef, Mushrooms, and Butternut Squash sounds yummy and reminds me of a dish I had recently in Dublin. Dina's version uses almond milk, I will substitute hemp.

The book covers recipes for breakfast, entrees, sweets, dressings, and smoothies. One of my favorite parts of the book is the introduction where it covers how to make all types of milks and has a chart of flavor profiles and uses. Even I (having been making my own milks and cooking and baking dairy-free for years) learned a few things. Did you know you could make milk from tigernuts? Right about now I am wishing I still had some samples of tigernuts (not a nut) from Fablogcon!

For me this book is largely inspiration as it does use ingredients that are off-limits, but it is a lovely book and chock-full of great ideas!