“Inspiring” quick, seasonal meals from the New York Times foodcolumnist “will make most readers both salivate and appreciate the ease of his recipes” (Publishers Weekly). Do you have 20 minutes to make a great meal? In Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Express, “America’s foremost home cook” (New York Observer) presents more than 400 incredibly fast and easy recipes tailored to each season and presented in a simple, straightforward style. Bittman’s recipe sketches are the ideal mix of inspiration and instruction: everything a home cook needs to prepare a delicious, healthful, and cost-conscious repertoire of meals for any season and any time of day. And since they’re written with an eye for speed and flexibility, you can be cooking on a moment’s notice—just check the pantry or fridge and away you go. With Bittman’s trusted voice leading you, you’ll be in and out of your kitchen in twenty minutes or less. Bittman also includes a guide to the foods you’ll want on hand to cook the Kitchen Express way as well as suggestions for seasonal menus and lists of recipes for specific uses, like brown-bag lunches or the best dishes for reheating. You may never order takeout again! “This is a man who loves food in the most unstuffy way possible.” —The Chicago Tribune “I’d buy any cookbook Bittman wrote.” —The Miami Herald

Bittman, author of the popular "New York Times" column "The Minimalist" and the bestselling How to Cook Everything series, offers readers a new level of ease with recipes that are as sophisticated as they are simple.

The author of How to Cook Everything takes you on the culinary trip of a lifetime, featuring more than a thousand international recipes. Mark Bittman traveled the world to bring back the best recipes of home cooks from 44 countries. This bountiful collection of new, easy, and ultra-flavorful dishes will add exciting new tastes and cosmopolitan flair to your everyday cooking and entertaining. With his million-copy bestseller How to Cook Everything, Mark Bittman made the difficult doable. Now he makes the exotic accessible, bringing his distinctive no-frills approach to dishes that were once considered esoteric. Bittman compellingly shows that there are many places besides Italy and France to which cooks can turn for inspiration. In addition to these favorites, he covers Spain, Portugal, Greece, Russia, Scandinavia, the Balkans, Germany, and more with easy ways to make dishes like Spanish Mushroom and Chicken Paella, Greek Roast Leg of Lamb with Thyme and Orange, Russian Borscht, and Swedish Appletorte. Plus this book is the first to emphasize European and Asian cuisines equally, with easy-to-follow recipes for favorites like Vietnamese Stir-Fried Vegetables with Nam Pla, Pad Thai, Japanese Salmon Teriyaki, Chinese Black Bean and Garlic Spareribs, and Indian Tandoori Chicken. The rest of the world isn't forgotten either. There are hundreds of recipes from North Africa, the Middle East, and Central and South America, too. Shop locally, cook globally–Mark Bittman makes it easy with: • Hundreds of recipes that can be made ahead or prepared in under 30 minutes • Informative sidebars and instructional drawings explain unfamiliar techniques and ingredients • An extensive International Pantry section and much more make this an essential addition to any cook’s shelf The Best Recipes in the World will change the way you think about everyday food. It’s simply like no other cookbook in the world.

Bestselling author Mark Bittman anthologizes his popular Matrix series in a boldly graphic new cookbook featuring 400 recipes that emphasize creativity, improvisation, and simplicity as the keys to varied cooking. For years, Mark Bittman has shared his formulas, recipes, and kitchen improvisations in his popular New York Times Eat column, in which an ingredient or essential technique is presented in different variations in a bold matrix. Accompanied by striking photographs and brief, straightforward instructions, these thematic matrices show how simple changes in preparation and ingredient swaps in a master recipe can yield dishes that are each completely different from the original, and equally delicious. In Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Matrix, Mark’s matrices come together to create a collection of over 400 flexible recipes covering vegetables, fruits, meats and chicken, and even desserts. Whether you're cooking up soup (creamy, brothy, earthy, or hearty), freezing ice pops (in fruity, savory, creamy, or boozy varieties), or preparing asparagus (steamed, roasted, stir-fried, or grilled), following Mark’s approach to culinary improvisation will deliver stand-out results.

The secret to cooking fast is cooking smart--how you choose and prepare your ingredients and make use of your time in the kitchen. In How to Cook Everything Fast, Mark Bittman's latest innovative, comprehensive, must-have culinary reference, he shows how anyone can spend just a little time cooking and be able to make 2,000 innovative recipes that are delicious, varied, exciting, made from scratch, and ready in anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes.

From the award-winning champion of culinary simplicity who gave us the bestselling How to Cook Everything and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian comes Food Matters, a plan for responsible eating that's as good for the planet as it is for your weight and your health. We are finally starting to acknowledge the threat carbon emissions pose to our ozone layer, but few people have focused on the extent to which our consumption of meat contributes to global warming. Think about it this way: In terms of energy consumption, serving a typical family-of-four steak dinner is the rough equivalent of driving around in an SUV for three hours while leaving all the lights on at home. Bittman offers a no-nonsense rundown on how government policy, big business marketing, and global economics influence what we choose to put on the table each evening. He demystifies buzzwords like "organic," "sustainable," and "local" and offers straightforward, budget-conscious advice that will help you make small changes that will shrink your carbon footprint -- and your waistline. Flexible, simple, and non-doctrinaire, the plan is based on hard science but gives you plenty of leeway to tailor your food choices to your lifestyle, schedule, and level of commitment. Bittman, a food writer who loves to eat and eats out frequently, lost thirty-five pounds and saw marked improvement in his blood levels by simply cutting meat and processed foods out of two of his three daily meals. But the simple truth, as he points out, is that as long as you eat more vegetables and whole grains, the result will be better health for you and for the world in which we live. Unlike most things that are virtuous and healthful, Bittman's plan doesn't involve sacrifice. From Spinach and Sweet Potato Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing to Breakfast Bread Pudding, the recipes in Food Matters are flavorful and sophisticated. A month's worth of meal plans shows you how Bittman chooses to eat and offers proof of how satisfying a mindful and responsible diet can be. Cheaper, healthier, and socially sound, Food Matters represents the future of American eating.

Alice Waters, the iconic food luminary, presents 200 new recipes that share her passion for the many delicious varieties of vegetables, fruits, and herbs that you can cultivate in your own kitchen garden or find at your local farmers’ market. A beautiful vegetable-focused book, The Art of Simple Food II showcases flavor as inspiration and embodies Alice’s vision for eating what grows in the earth all year long. She shares her understanding of the whole plant, demystifying the process of growing and cooking your own food, and reveals the vital links between taste, cooking, gardening, and taking care of the land. Along the way, she inspires you to feed yourself deliciously through the seasons. From Rocket Salad with Babcock Peaches and Basil to Moroccan Asparagus and Spring Vegetable Ragout to Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic, Alice shares recipes that celebrate the ingredients she loves: tender leaf lettuces, fresh green beans, stone fruits in the height of summer, and so much more. Advice for growing your own fruits and vegetables abounds in the book—whether you are planting a garden in your backyard or on your front porch or fire escape. It is gleaned from her close relationships with local, sustainable farmers.