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Herbs & Spices: The Cook's Reference by Jill Norman

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Concept: A guide to using herbs and spices in cooking.

 Author: "Jill Norman created the Penguin Cookery Library in the 1960s and 1970s, bringing many first-class authors to the list. She... is a leading authority on the use of herbs and spices." Goodreads 

Food type: Herbs and Spices

Monologue score (1-10) (how entertaining, not the recipes): 3 - This book ended up being more of a reference book than and actual cookbook. However the pages did have interesting information like how it is harvested, what parts of the plant are used, how to store them, a description of what it tastes like, and flavors it would pair well with.  

Difficulty level: Difficult - many of them require uncommon or specialty ingredients. Most of the dishes given are ethnic dishes. 

Approximate percentage of recipes I would be willing to try: 3% - Overall there were not very many recipes in this book. Mostly it told what herbs and spices might pair well with what meats or other spices and herbs but not specific amounts to use in recipes. I would really like to get better about knowing what spices to use in cooking. Hopefully with experimentation I would be willing to try more and the percentage of usability of the book for me would rise. 

Sample recipes I'm interested in trying:
  • Barbecue Spice Mix
  • Homemade Pesto
  • Chimichurri sauce
  • Asian Marinade 
  • Noodles with beef and broccoli
  • Rice with herbs

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