I Cook in Color: Bright Flavors from My Kitchen and Around the World

by Asha Gomez, Martha Hall Foose

Expand your recipe collection with dishes that focus on cross-cultural flavors, rainbows of vegetables, gem-toned desserts, and spice-forward twists from the author of the critically acclaimed cookbook My Two Souths.
Best known for her easy mix of cooking traditions from the American South and her homeland of Kerala in Southern India, Chef Asha Gomez continues to evolve her unique cooking style.
In this next vibrant cookbook, I Cook in Color, Asha embraces dishes from around the globe, celebrating international flavor profiles and the melding of culinary traditions that reflect both her cherished memories of her mother's Kerala kitchen, as well as her extraordinary travel experiences. Recipes include:

Thai Green Papaya Salad with Dried Shrimp
Catalonian Paella
Passion Fruit, Lime & Grapefruit Grouper Ceviche
Grilled Meyer Lemon Chili Corn
Pomegranate & Date Molasses Chicken
Mango Cardamom Cake

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 6, 2020

Reviews

[Beth E · Rating 3 out of 5]

This cookbook author clearly has a lot of joie de vivre, which is reflected in this vibrant cookbook.
She welcomes all cuisines and vegetables into her kitchen. There is a wide variety here.
Some of the recipes were out of my comfort zone. I was most interested in the recipe for tomato soup with puff pastry on top, probably the most mundane recipe in this book.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is short but sweet in the realm of cookbooks. It was the March cookbook for my Food 52 cookbook group, and since the pandemic started not only have I been buying every book; let's face it, for a good long while the library was closed and outside of on line recipes that abound for many cookbooks, where you can make something from it without buying the book, there wasn't much hope of borrowing it. So, the theme that predominates in this book is that the food is bright and colorful. While that sounds a bit shallow, it is also true that presentation and therefore the eye appeal of food is part of the overall flavor, and these recipes are mostly highly flavored as well. It is not a cookbook for a small cookbook collection, but it is a very pretty book to cook from.

[William Schram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Asha Gomez's recipes are eclectic and expansive. The recipes are fun to try out, but I don't know where to find half the ingredients. That is my first complaint about this book.

Some of the recipes have a suggestion on the sidebar telling you how to substitute something else into the mix.

Although the book is "I Cook In Color," some of the recipes are not colorful in the photos. That is my second complaint about the book.

Gomez grew up in India, specifically Kerala. Her upbringing shaped some of her tastes, but she is willing to try new flavors and ideas. Currently, she lives in Atlanta, Georgia, a cosmopolitan city in the American South.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully made and delicious cookbook. Asha's recipe introductions were fun to read. I appreciated the wide variety of flavours and techniques, and also that most of these were easy enough for a weeknight dinner. My kids even ate most of what I made, even though there were several new flavors. A 4/5 for me though because there were a lot of seafood and lamb dishes, and that's just not my jam. :)

[Aasinathena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Asha's second book automatically let me think of her first book. It had more of her originality retained than this one. But I enjoyed both and so proud of her and what she is doing as a South Asian !

[Mairzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty book but no really interesting or new recipes

[Beka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Breathtaking pictures and everything sounds delicious. But the recipes were a bit chef-y for me to actually put them to use.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun collection of interesting and colorful recipes. All of the recipes come with brief stories about why she has included them in this collection. Many of them also have brief notes at the end to give extra tip. Most, though not all, also have pictures. The recipes are all clear and easy to follow.

I actually picked up this book because of the first chapter "Colorful drinks to sip and savor" and the fourth "Vivid vegetables and rice dishes." After reading it I've actually found something in every chapter that appeals to me.

I made the Three-Mushroom and Bok Choy Stir-Fry. It was absolutely delicious. I followed the recipe as it was written in terms of ingredients, but used my own judgement when it came to stove top temperature and length of time cooking. If I'd have left my stove on high and cooked the mushrooms for 7 minutes everything would have scorched. I find making those kinds of calls is necessary with all recipes because stoves all have their own temperaments. This is a recipe I envision using frequently.

The Golden Haldi Dood: Turmeric Milk with Honey was also fabulous. This is something I see making regularly in cooler weather.

This is a great addition to my cookbook collection.