Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant

ALONE IN THE KITCHEN WITH AN EGGPLANT: CONFESSIONS OF COOKING FOR ONE AND DINING ALONE: Jenni Ferrari-Adler: Riverhead Books: Nonfiction: 272 pages

In this delightful collection, authors share their experiences cooking and eating alone. The title comes from Laurie Colwin’s essay, which also appears in her food memoir, Home Cooking, an excellent book for readers who enjoy food writing. Steve Almond, the author of Candyfreak, shares a shrimp recipe; Phoebe Nobles describes how to be an asparagus superhero; and Jeremy Jackson convinced me that I should start eating black beans everyday. Other notable essays and authors include Ann Patchett, Rosa Jurjevics, and Nora Ephron. I didn’t love every essay in the collection, but several essays were so enjoyable that I highly recommend the entire book.

MBC