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Other than mentioning sourdough breads, I’ve been doing lots of fermenting of food and not talking about it here. It started two years ago after I read Sandor Katz’s The Art of Fermentation and made lacto-fermented pickles for the first time. I was hooked. I loved that the sour flavor is a little different and a little more complex than what you get when pickling with vinegar. I’ve made lacto-fermented pickles with cucumbers, okra, peppers, and green beans, and I’ve made a fermented tomato salsa. And, it’s all so easy. For vegetables like cucumbers and okra, I start with a five percent brine and add garlic, dried hot chiles, and other spices like dill seed, and then the vegetables to be pickled are placed in the brine and held below the surface with jars or ramekins. It takes about four days for the fermentation process at room temperature. I still need to invest in a proper pickling crock with a weight that fits the top. A few months ago, I read Cultured Foods for Your Kitchen , and ...

I received a review copy of Anne-Sophie Pic’s newest book, Scook: The Complete Cookery Course . It’s a big, beautiful cookbook that she wrote to continue the tradition of passing along kitchen experience to new cooks. The recipes are some of her favorites from her childhood as well as her professional life in the kitchen. This new book is just as stunning as her previous book, Le Livre Blanc , which was focused on her incredible restaurant creations, but these recipes are much more doable by the home cook. There are even helpful step-by-step instructions with photos for some techniques. Pic is a third generation chef in her family, and she’s a three-Michelin starred chef at her restaurant Maison Pic in Valence, Drôme, France. This book is divided into categories like Entertaining, Everyday, and For Children. Some of the selections for each of these categories represent ideals that might not be quite realistic for everyone. Personally, I wouldn’t think of Foie Gras with Beetroot or Lobs...