I can’t help but draw a comparison between making a cookbook and having a baby. Now I have never had a baby, but hear me out. They are both very big endeavors, with long incubation periods. Once combined with everyday duties, keeping up becomes about twice as difficult. I’m nearing my “due date,” and can hardly believe that I’ll have a finished cookbook someday. I’m scrambling and struggling and suffering from frazzled cookbook brain. I can’t wait to be done, but I’m also a little scared of what may come.
Watching friends produce cookbooks is also similar to watching friends have babies. They’re both stressed and excited, overwhelmed and hopeful. You don’t get the full picture of what they’ve been making until it’s all done and you are so very, very proud of their good work. That’s exactly how I felt when Jeanine and Jack’s cookbook (they’re the couple behind the blog Love and Lemons) appeared on my doorstep. I think I texted her about ten high-five emojis in a row. The Love and Lemons Cookbook is just perfect—it’s overflowing with colorful photos, gorgeous high-contrast typography, creative recipes, and cooking variation charts that are as helpful as they are beautiful. It’s truly “an apple-to-zucchini celebration of impromptu cooking,” as the front cover suggests. I flipped through the book and found this amazing Brussels sprout recipe, and I just happened to have everything in my fridge to make it.
Jeanine and Jack were working hard on the book last February, when Ali and I frequented their beautiful house in Austin for wine and snacks. Jeanine is a graphic designer turned food blogger and I knew her book would be spectacular. Her husband, Jack, runs a video game company and takes all the photos. They make a great team. This Brussels sprouts dish jumped out to me when I first flipped through the book, and it’s just as delicious as it looks on their pages. I’m not sure I would have thought to combine mint, basil and avocado with coconut rice and seared Brussels sprouts, but they all came together perfectly, in Jeanine’s characteristic light and flavorful style. I’m sure you’ll see the combination again soon. This recipe is a simple dinner or lunch. Fair warning: I couldn’t stop eating it and didn’t end up with as much leftovers as I’d hoped for! I made just a couple of minor substitutions, including swapping brown jasmine rice for white (it’s all I had). You can find Jeanine’s instructions for white jasmine rice in the recipe notes, in case that’s what you have at home. I hope you’ll get a chance to try this recipe soon, and be sure to get a copy of their cookbook. The book officially comes out tomorrow, so hurry and pre-order it today! It’s a cookbook that you’ll want to leave out on your coffee table when you’re not cooking from it in the kitchen.
