The Kitchen Commune

Meals to Heal and Nourish Everyone at Your Table

Chay Wike, Flashpoint Books (JAN 9) Hardcover $34.95 (256pp), 978-1-959411-18-5 COOKING

Chay Wike’s cookbook The Kitchen Commune meets diverse dietary needs, introducing one hundred-plus creative dishes that welcome all to the table.

A serious health issue sparked Wike’s determination to take control of her health through nutrition. Now a certified integrative health coach, she touts the benefits of communal dining. While her recipes are free of gluten, dairy, refined sugar, eggs, soy, rice, beans, and processed foods (and while most exclude plants of the nightshade family), all are tasty and nutrient-dense.

The book’s crisp, colorful photographs ignite the imagination, and Wike’s kind, cheerful banter invites both beginners and experienced cooks to experiment without fear. Vegetables, fruits, healthful fats, and protein from wild fish and pastured animals—foods less likely to cause allergic reactions or inflammation—are featured in recipes for Slow-roasted Ribs with Sticky Plum Barbecue Sauce, Clams with Ginger-coconut Broth, and Lemon Spaghetti. Customizing recipes for individual palates and dietary needs is made easy with helpful suggestions for substitutions, and special attention is given to sauces for their ability to unite diverse ingredients into a flavorful, pleasing whole.

The cookbook’s insightful suggestions for mindful, considerate food preparation include thinking in threes (serving three main dishes so that people have satisfying choices without standing out for having to make them); cooking ahead for a week; and being curious and trying new foods. There’s a reminder that a pantry stocked with flavorful, nutrition-packed items forestalls the need to call up less healthful substitutes at a moment’s notice. Wike lists her favorite items, and even experienced cooks will find her explanations of why to choose one over another enlightening.

The Kitchen Commune is a creative cookbook that addresses diverse dietary needs with over one hundred recipes for delicious, healthful meals.