Are you ready for Michelle Obama, kitchen goddess? The first lady’s pulling a Gwyneth Paltrow and publishing a cookbook. Americn Grown, on sale April 10, 2012, combines veggie growing tips with recipes inspired by Michelle’s White House garden.
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It’s a garden she’s toiled over since 2009. So have daughters Sasha and Malia, who help with the weeding “like it or not”. Despite being a gardening novice, Obama’s laid the groundwork for over 55 varietals of veggies. Stalks of black kale, bright yellow peppers, and beams of eggplant have grown from the most expansive garden the White House lawn has ever seen.
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Now it’s growing beyond the Obama home, and into the cookbook arena. According to her publishers, she’ll use the garden’s offerings as the starting point for seed-sowing, recipe ideas and personal anecdotes and photos of the Obamas’ home-base. The aim of the book is to show how “increased access to healthy, affordable food can promote better eating habits and improve health of families and communities across America,” according to the publishers at Random House, who
will donate all the profits to an unnamed charity. Did we mention there’s going to be pictures in the book?
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Recipes haven’t been leaked yet but it’s safe to say 100 percent of them will be extremely healthy and vegetable-based. Shine editor Lylah Alphonse already got a glimpse of what Michelle and co. can dream up, when she visited the White House earlier this month.
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During a tour of the not-so-secret garden, officials passed out a pamphlet with recipes created with Michelle’s veggies in the White House kitchen, and served to the Obama family on a fairly regular basis. (The mac and cheese is the girls’ favorite). These should hold you over until April.
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Broccoli Soup (serves 6)
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1 large onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
3 heads broccoli
6 cups light chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste
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Saute the onion, celery, and garlic in butter until translucent.
Trim the broccoli to 1-inch pieces and blanch them in salty water.
Add broccoli to vegetable mixture.
Add chicken stock.
Simmer for 10 minutes.
Simmer for 10 minutes then pass the mixture through a strainer.
Season soup to taste with salt, pepper, and cayenne.
Serve hot.
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Cauliflower Mac and Cheese (serves 4 or more)
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1 pound penne pasta
1 cup 2 percent or skim milk
1 pound shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
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Bring salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. In the meantime, cook the cauliflower until soft and transfer to a blender to puree.
In a medium-size pan, combine the pasta and hot cauliflower puree. Add the milk and cheese, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve immediately while hot.
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