Customer Reviews

Cool Cuisine: Taking The Bite Out of Global Warming

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
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Really enjoyed reading this book and learning about how what we eat impacts the planet we all need and love. Can't wait to get home from my holiday travels and make my own condiment plate to spice up my meals at home. I learned a lot about climate change and ways to reduce my own carbon footprint by eating "SLOW" food. This book makes a great gift and an addition that should be in every kitchen in our wonderful world. The facts given and the author's sense of humor make this book an informative and entertaining read!!!

The best thing about this book is that it makes you think about food.

For most people living a fast paced, western lifestyle- the disconnection between food production and food consumption is huge. So large in fact, that we often lose sight of the fact that everything we work for as individuals, and as a society, has the ultimate aim of putting food on the table.

If we were all more consciously aware of this fact, then perhaps we would not so casually support practices that ultimately degrade our ability to continue to produce good wholesome food, both for ourselves, and for future generations.

As a working climate scientist, I give the background science in this book a big tick. The science is accurate, and more in-depth than anything you read in the media or see on TV. Putting this information in a cookbook is an inspired idea, since the recipes effectively weave a connection between what we do around the house and the bigger picture of the global environment. And as a bonus, the recipes are great- with ingredients sure to appeal to true lovers of food.

This is a great book for kids. If you are currently not thinking about your food in the context presented in this book, then you are not living in the real world.

What do you get when you pair a scientist and a chef? You get a great book, and that's no joke!

This book's many recipes are accompanied by just as many charts and graphs detailing the science and statistics of our culture's food habits. But don't get me wrong, it's not a boring textbook nor an end-of-the world screed. It's an entirely engaging read that's just as personable and positive as it is informative and eye-opening. And it's not all data; it's also well designed, with lots of beautiful color photos and large text that's easy to read.

Lots of practical sense in this book, and I learned a ton about how our food choices affect the environment. My wife has already given a few copies as gifts.

This book is a fabulous reminder of how we can get pleasure from eating simple foods and lessen our bootprints on Mother Earth, both at the same time. The time is ripe for our personal and cultural relationship with food to evolve into what Laura calls a "High Vibe" one. This book should be in every classroom and doctor's office!!

"Cool Cuisine: Taking the Bite out of Global Warming" by Laura Stec is best dished up for a dinnertime viewing party of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." Stec tackles issues such as eating locally, factory farms, and the real impact of meat/dairy upon the food chain. While Jerry Garcia's widow's "The Future of Food" documentary is best accompanied by magic muffins, this book has more stylish recipes. It's probably got the arugula Barack Obama discussed when he stumped during the Iowa Caucus.

"Cool Cuisine" is a mix of global warming hysteria, genuine science on climate change, interesting facts,and some recipes that are inconveniently buried (THAT'S an inconvenient truth) Kudos for being environmentally friendly, but not so much on the layout. It makes Rachael Ray cookbooks easier to read in comparison. The irony.

"Cool Cuisine" has some good graphics and illustrations. Stec seems to be emulating Alton Brown's food science. It makes for fun reading, but it doesn't work as a cookbook. Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food" has similar arguments... AND it's user-friendly.

"Cool Cuisine" is okay, so it's Cool as Ice.

~ This was one of the most useful Christmas gifts I've received in years... Unlike most exclusive Cookbooks, "Cool Cuisine; Taking the Bite Out of Global Warming", is laid out as an informative and enjoyable read. Laura's admission "If it ain't Fun, it don't get done" is prominent in this book. It is FUN to read, EASY to comprehend the science, and YUMMY to try the new recipes. It's not your `Mom's Cookbook" {but then your mom never had to contend with many of todays' issues.}. I can literally open it to any page for a quick; fun/ informative/ no guilt read. The reader is honored to reap her many years of Environmental and Food Knowledge. Equally useful for the non-cooking bachelor and the accomplished Chef.
~~ The end of each of the 11 chapters contain color coordinated sections of: Book & Cook Club Ideas w/ Field Trip ideas, Food Sources, Recipe Summaries, Video suggestions, Chef Tips, and more. The book is also spiced with Graphs, photos, quotes, and even some fun cocktail recipes.

Laura writes in an informative, thought provoking yet lighthearted way on a vital, sometimes politically charged subject.
. pp.4, Weather vs Climate.
.. pp.5, Recipe for a gallon of gasoline. {196,000 lbs of plants, simmer one million years}.
... pp.71, Benefits of Eating Locally.
.... pp.124, Energy cost of a real Apple vs an iPod Apple.
..... pp.186, Make Your Own Sauce. {The enclosed table breaks it down to 5 Basic Elements.}

~~ I really think this would make a terrific School Textbook on Food and Nutrition. It could make a useful subject come alive to both young and old. What's more important than the nutrients we put into our and our loved ones bodies? Whole societies have developed around 'FOOD' since the dawn of time, but it seems that since the Industrial Revolution we've lost more than pure air and water, we've lost touch with ourselves, our food connections, our basic roots {no pun intended}.
~~ Here is a book that, like a good meal, can help bring family, friends, and strangers together for discussion, sharing, learning, and socializing. It is 'Truly a Feast for the Senses'. I think I've found my Birthday & Christmas presents for the future.. Cheers.

~ PS, I understand she is sometimes available for: private lectures, book signing, and Cooking classes.~
.. [Contains: 226 pages, 11 chapters, end notes on each chapter, resource page, Index]

A practical guide and an excellent source for those who try to go green at home including information on global warming and how you can help to reduce it, starting at your kitchen.

This is the best book about the impact our food has on our environment since John Robbins' Diet for a New America. By combining a passionate voice with rational scientific underpinnings the result is truly inspiring. People that really care about realistic ways to moderate their impact should take the time to read this book.

If timing is everything then this book is gets it. It is Informative with fantastic dishes. My family of four uses Ms. Stec's recipes once a week without fail.

The two authors have combined both science and food that has left me wondering why I have been in the dark for so long. We can make a difference with the right choices!

Give the book a try, you won't be disappointed.

Reading this book made me want to get involved with food again, much like we all did as kids - touch it, play with it, experience the textures, color and energy of it. Author Laura Stec is anything but preachy. She's as earthy as the worms in her compost bin and accentuates the positive. She makes buying and eating responsibly sound fun and doable...without a lot of extra work or sacrifice. I'm for that!