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Recipes Without Reading
With illustrations instead of text, Picture Cook will reinvent the way you make food. Over 50 homey recipes are distilled into their most basic components, each rendered step-by-step in enchanting line drawings like nothing ever before seen in a cookbook. Covering everything from omelets and lasagna to chocolate cake, this cheery bunch of recipes will cure your kitchenphobia, delight the design lover in you and satisfy every tummy in your path.
Perfect for visual learners, novice chefs, and design aficionados, these whimsical recipe blueprints provide quick and simple guidance for making classic dishes every cook should have in their repertoire. Cooking is a nonverbal activity that many people best understand visually. It is with this notion that artist Katie Shelly began rendering her recipes entirely in image form and created Picture Cook.
Including a visual tutorial on knife skills, illustrated metric conversion chart, and an index especially organized for various dietary needs, Picture Cook makes the perfect gift for budding chefs, college students, or any home cook in need of some visual inspiration.
My Review*
This is seriously the best recipe book in my extensive collection.I’ve never owned such a fun recipe book, actually I’ve never even seen one like this EVER. I am a visual learner and I have to say that this book is absolutely ingenious book for all of us. Whether you’re a beginner home cook or a novice chef, you will appreciate the thought that Katie puts into this book.
I don’t know how many times I was reading through a recipe book and wished for this same idea. It is so much easier for me to follow along when I can visually SEE what I need to be doing, instead of just reading about it. This book is SO easy to follow, not to mention how AWESOMELY fun it is.
As soon as I got this, I just had to sit down and look through it all. The super cute illustrations just make it so much fun and intriguing to even those who have never cooked or baked anything in their life. I would have to say that I am in the middle- I’m not a beginner, yet I’m not what you would call an intermediate cook either.
How many times have you sit down with a recipe book and wanted so bad to try something new? Yet, seemed to get stuck because you didn’t exactly know WHAT you were doing and got intimidated? Now that isn’t a problem. The Picture Cook contains a huge variety of recipes and makes every single one an absolute thrill to make. I wish I’d had this book when I was new to cooking, this is exactly what I needed at the time.
The steps in this book make following along SO much simpler. My brain doesn’t have to take the time to filter the words and put them into a visual cue, it’s already there for me! I don’t have to stress about getting hung-up on a complicated recipe or how to properly prepare the items. There’s no questions about what to do next, it’s clearly drawn out.
Everything that we need to cook great food is right here. The book starts with the legend and basic techniques. The legend (just like in a map) shows us what she means with each drawing that we will see later. That way there are no mistakes and just plain fun working!
One of my favorite things about this book is the techniques shown. There’s no hiding that I am a HORRIBLE vegetable chopper. I have a hard time chopping veggies like they should be chopped. This book clearly defines with the drawings how to mince garlic, chop onions, slice avocados, & dice round things (like cucumbers and tomatoes).
Each recipe features drawings of the ingredients and the steps of preparing the dish, with the instructions included in the drawings. The ingredients are drawn out at the bottoms of each recipe, which the included instructions. I no longer have to read long paragraphs of how to prepare the foods, I can just glance over!
The recipes are broken into chapters;
- Breakfast
- Soups & stews
- Hefty meals
- Sides & salads
- Fast snacks
- Sauces & dips
- Drinks
- Dessert
The recipes within are mixed. There are some that we all know or have made at some point in our lives such as Cinnamon Sugar Toast, Home Fries, Chili, and Mashed Potatoes. Most of these recipes are ones that I haven’t seen and have healthy twists to them such as Avocado & feta snack, Strawberry Honey & basil snack, and White Lasagna. There are over 50 amazing recipes for us to try!
I love it so much because it demystifies what beginning cooks usually question. It simplifies everything, making cooking and baking a breeze instead of a chore because it’s interactively visual. It really brings fun into the kitchen. This is definitely going to be something I can have my kids help me with, they love helping me cook. With the pictures my son and daughter can start to learn recipes and help me out with putting the recipes together! Total A+ book!
So cute, unique, & a definite must-have. Great recipes and illustrations. 5/5 would recommend to anyone! This would be amazing gift to give for the Holidays!
Get it for under $15!
Picture Cook: See.Make.Eat
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About the Author: Katie Shelly
Katie Shelly is a media designer aiming to make your life simpler. easier and happier. She hopes that you get lots of mileage out of the recipes in this book and they make you and your loved ones very happy. Katie works at the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York City as a graphics and video producer. She also freelances in graphic design, illustration, and animation.
