(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best natural food cooking books

I'm a bit of a cookbook junkie, so I have a bunch to recommend. I'm interpreting this as "good cookbooks from cuisines in Asia" so there are some that are native and others that are from specific restaurants in the US, but I would consider these legit both in terms of the food and the recipes/techniques. Here are a few of my favorites:


Pan-Asian

• Asian Dumplings - the masterpiece on all things dumpling
  
• Asian American - Dale Talde's (Top Chef) book with lots of Asian cultures' food in the US
  
• Asian Pickles - pickles and fermented foods from throughout Asia
  
• Lucky Rice - recipes from the Asian festival of the same name
  
• The Asian Grandmother's Cookbook - traditional cooking passed down to American cooks
  
  Burmese
  
  
• Burma:Rivers of Flavor - good focus on difference in Burmese cuisine from other regional
  
  Cambodian
  
  
• Num Pang - Cambodian sandwich restaurant in NYC
  
• Cambodian Cooking - GREAT book on Cambodian cuisine, supporting refugees
  
  Chinese
  
  
• Ken Hom Complete Chinese Cookbook - great primer for cooking Chinese food using ingredients commonly available in US
  
• China Moon - classic SF Chinese restaurant food
  
• Feeding the Dragon - modern culinary journey through all of China
  
• Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking - omnibus focused on the home chef
  
• Breath of a Wok - focus on wok technique at home
  
• Every Grain of Rice - wonderful Sichuan food for home cooks
  
  Indian
  
  
• Madhur Jaffrey Indian Cooking - actually, any of her cookbooks are wonderful for Indian cooking
  
• Savour Mumbai - looks at Indian cuisine as a melting pot in Mumbai
  
• The Indian Family Cookbook - modern South Indian food
  
• Indian Harvest - Vikas Khanna's family cookbook
  
• Made in India - classic Indian food, from street to home
  
  Indonesia
  
  
• The Food of Indonesia - everything you need for a rijstaffel!
  
  Japanese
  
  
• Japanese Farm Food - authentic rural Japanese cooking
  
• Preserving the Japanese Way - how to make awesome Japanese pickled vegetables
  
• Sushi Chef - not strictly speaking a cookbook, but "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" book in English
  
• The Japanese Grill - authentic hibachi and Japanese grill recipes
  
• Japanese Comfort Food - lots of traditional Japanese recipes
  
• Nanban - Japanese "soul food"
  
• Tokyo Cult Recipes - hip modern urban food from Tokyo
  
• Yum Yum Bento Boxes - updated modern take on bento boxes
  
• Ivan Ramen - traditional ramen for a Western audience
  
• Izakaya - traditional Japanese pub food & small plates
  
• Nikkei - emigrant Japanese food culture in South America
  
• Donabe - traditional Japanese hot pot recipes
  
• Kyotofu - very unique Japanese dessert cookbook
  
  Korean
  
  
• K Food - modern take on Korean street food
  
• Maangchi's Real Korean Cooking - great resource for Korean cooking in a non-pro kitchen
  
• Traditional Food - omnibus of four regions of Korean food
  
• Koreatown - authentic, approachable guide to Korean food in a US context
  
• Smoke & Pickles - Edward Lee's fusion of his Korean heritage and southern barbeque
  
• The Kimchi Cookbook - many, many recipes for kimchi...
  
  Malaysian
  
  
• Malaysian Cooking - good overview of Malay cooking
  
  Middle Eastern
  
  
• The New Persian Kitchen - modern Iranian food
  
• Ottolenghi - Israeli-Palestinian collaboration
  
• Persiana - dynamic modern recipes from throughout the Middle East
  
• Zahav - modern Israeli food
  
• Sweet Middle East - traditional and modern desserts
  
  Philippine
  
  
• Filipino Homestyle Dishes - good intro to classic Filipino dishes
  
  Russian
  
  
• Mamushka - focus on Ukraine
  
  Sri Lankan
  
  
• Hidden Kitchens of Sri Lanka - beautiful photo-cookbook on Sri Lankan cuisine
  
  Taiwanese
  
  
• The Food of Taiwan - um... food... from Taiwan
  
  Thailand
  
  
• Nong's Thai Kitchen - she beat Bobby Flay in pad thai
  
• Pok Pok - Portland's most AWESOME Asian restaurant
  
  Turkish
  
  
• Istanbul:Recipes from the Heart of Turkey - lovely focus on urban Turkish food
  
• Anatolia - wonderful approachable approach to Turkish cuisine
  
• Essential Turkish Cuisine - focus on history and evolution of Turkish food
  
  Vietnamese
  
  
• The Slanted Door - great Vietnamese restaurant cookbook
  
• Vietnamese Market Cookbook - focus on simple Vietnamese from fresh ingredients
  
• Into the Vietnamese Kitchen - traditional Vietnamese home cooking
  
• The Banh Mi Cookbook - the greatest sandwich in the world!
  
• Vietnamese Home Cooking - another great overview
  
  (edit: screwed up a couple links)

Juicing is great (and i'm pretty sure a blender like that would work really well) but it won't fill you up. Adding a dash of coconut yogurt and a banana or too to make a healthy smoothy really helps. I'm a vegan athlete so for me eating really savory meals that fill me up without being calorie intensive are most important for me. Making seitan at home is a good replacement for meats, tempeh (store bought) works well, and tofu of course (but i don't like eating much of that for a variety of reasons). Most importantly though they are easy to prep before and can be eaten later in the fridge when i feel lazy.

To address the anemia issue though, are you cooking with a cast iron pan when you do your vegetables? That is a quick and easy way to get iron into your diet. Also, the only supplement that you really need as a vegan is B12 since you are not getting it from most vegan foods naturally? I've never heard of that kale recipe either (not sure how it would come out) but kale chips in the often with light oil and salt / pepper is awesome and there are tons of recipes for it online.

Lastly, this is by far the best cookbook I have ever read on vegan recipes - http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Vengeance-Delicious-Animal-Free-Recipes/dp/1569243581 and has really good stuff that is easy to prepare. For seitan recipes and heavier savory meals after workouts and fitness, this is really good too - http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Diner-Classic-Comfort-Food/dp/0762437847 - it's not all healthy but the seitan recipes are really good in it and can be made healthy by substituting the fattier sides out with healthy greens. Also, any indian recipe that is vegetarian can be made vegan with a few easy substitutions and those are always filling recipes (and relatively healthy if you are not picking the deep fried recipes and have rice with it too). Hope this helps and feel free to ask any more questions if you need help! (if you do decide to buy the vegan diner book and make the seitan recipes in it, i've found they want too much water in the recipe and I like it a little denser... makes for amazing slices to go into a panini sandwich :D)

I thought you were my SO when I read your post!

I can tell you, as a man, in my mid-30's, who loves to cook (raised in a family of chefs), I get very frustrated with a few things when I'm cooking for a SO. Add in: I'm a perfectionist, lawyer who is a stereo typical "Type A to everyone else in the world (MR. Tough Guy, hear me roar!), but I'm really a Type B deep down inside (Roaring makes me exhausted...)." Over the years, I have learned to settle down, but it took a bit: A LOT of patience from my SO, couple's counseling, and reading a few books.

From my perspective, I want everything to be perfect. (I know, I know. It can't be. Working on that...) I want the meal to be plated and put down on the table exactly when the main / sides finish AT THE SAME TIME. It frustrates me to no avail when everything is on the table, and my SO is walking around the house, NOT eating. &%#%#&*@!!!
(╯ಠ_ಠ）╯︵ ┻━┻ (edit: added /u/spaghettirobotti 's emoticon)

But, I've come to realize that's just the way it is.

What has helped me calm down in the kitchen is my SO talking to me in a very, very gentle way about how I'm a perfectionist and I need to calm the f down. She started with a lot of "I feel ____ when you're upset that we don't eat right when the meal is put on the table." "I love that you take the time to cook, and I appreciate it so much. I want you to know my favorite meals, so we can enjoy them together." "It's been a long day, I'm really craving pasta, but I can't eat it because of our dietary restrictions. I've found nuking it a bit in the microwave gives it more of that pasta mouth-feel." Give him the opportunity to be open with you. I'm sure he looks at it as if he's providing for you, he's doing daily acts of service, and he [REALLY] wants to please you and he's being vulnerable with his food (see below, food is art).

Some other things that have helped me. 1) My SO and I started going to couples counseling. Up until then, no one had ever taught me how to be in a functioning, working relationship. Sure, my parents stuck together, but they weren't in the best place and I didn't learn how to truly be in a relationship until my early 30's. 2) I read a bunch of books... Seriously. I found so much clarity in Daring Greatly by Brene Brown. And I figured out how my SO felt loved with this one: 5 Love Languages. Both of these books had such an impact on my relationship.

I totally get where your SO is coming from. It's like bearing your soul to the world when you cook something. Just like an artist or singer showcases their talent and wants positive feedback. It can be tough for men, especially if at one time he was a professional cook / baker, to put their "food" out there and not get great feedback. I say "food" because for people who take cooking very seriously, it's our art.

Cooking healthy can be very tricky. No one grew up with their Mom teaching them the family recipe for spaghetti squash or cauliflower pizza crust. I have found two books that are amazing in this area:
Daniel Walker's Against All Grain Meals Made Simple, and her other book, Paleo Recipes. Walker's primary focus is to collect recipes for people with dietary restrictions / gastrointestinal problems / allergies. I cook 3-4 meals per week from them. If I want pasta, I'll sub out the squash; flour tortillas swapped for lettuce, etc. But the meals are VERY good (my favorites are the Ropa Vieja and Slow Cooker Orange Chicken). It also has a great spaghetti squash recipe. ;)

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Hey there friend! You've got plenty of responses and they're all good :). Just a quick few bits from another UK forager (wasn't too long ago I was in your shoes).

Might be worth investing in a book just to get a general idea of what's around in Britain. "Food for free" is great, but a little large to take around. Good for those cold cold nights and nothing's on TV/a good reference book.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Food-Free-Richard-Mabey/dp/0007438478

The one I really like is River Cottage Handbook hedgerow which most of UK non mushroom stuff revolves around. Excellent read, funny informative and great photos. I've met John Wright and he really is an awesome and fun guy. Lots of great tips on what to do with the stuff you find. Also good combined with Jam and Preserve making book, which has masses of recipes to keep your foraged goodies lasting all year round. The hedgerow book you can just about fit into your jacket pocket - if it's a big one that is...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hedgerow-River-Cottage-Handbook-No-7/dp/140880185X


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Preserves-River-Cottage-Handbook-No-2/dp/0747595321/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=58P3VRK2HZ8Y4ZY2N43K

After that maybe check out any local foraging groups or classes? Depends how much you enjoy it. If you're anything like me, then you're in for a real treat :).

P.S the most important bit of any book is the dangerous/deadly section. Make sure you can recognise the nasties or at least not pick anything that looks remotely like them until you're 100% sure and confident!

What kinds of seasonings do you currently use? I always start with fresh onion and garlic. Depending on what you want to make, you can go with any number of things. If you want to continue with stir fry, you can use things like ginger, lemongrass, coriander (aka cilantro, but in ground seed form). I prefer fresh ginger, but it's also available frozen. Chinese five spice powder is really delicious, too.

One way to figure out good combinations of spices is to try various cuisines from around the world. There are many online resources for whatever you would want to try. As you become more comfortable with cooking and begin to figure out what different herbs and spices taste like, you should experiment.

One thing I love to do with salads is to put all kinds of vegetables and protein into a bowl, dress with fresh lemon juice, a few drops of olive oil and salt and pepper. You can cut everything up ahead of time, and have boiled eggs on hand (if you like them, of course) and cans of tuna or cut up some lunchmeat. Low fat cheese is also a good addition.

Also, check the library for cookbooks. You can find ones you really like and then buy them if you want to. Mark Bittman's books are excellent, as are Madhur Jaffrey's. Cook's Illustrated Best Light Recipe is one of my favorites for favorite foods revamped to be less fattening.

Falafel pitas. In fact, anything pita is a sure-fire hit. Hummus is a classic, but nearly as certain a thing.
My kids are incredibly of veggie platters with fresh vegetables and fruit, but YMMV greatly.

Scandinavian-style open sandwiches with ultra-wholegrain rye is what kids eat more or less every day here in Denmark, and there are many many options for meals tucked away in there - tomato/cucumber sandwiches, cream cheese, the list goes on. Hell, my son eats salad sandwiches - as in, leaves of salad as the main ingredient.
SOUP! A great winter favourite here is potato and Jerusalem artechoke, sprinkled with a bit of thyme and roasted sunflower seeds. Drool.
Samosas and other filo-pastry constructions are awesome. Tempura'd veggies can also have that junk-appeal while being really quite healthy.
Different kinds of veggie patés can be made in bulk and used as a spread with tons of umami.

For further inspiration:
http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Lunch-Box-Animal-Free-Grown-Ups/dp/1600940722/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322338465&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Lunch-Around-World-International/dp/0738213578/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

http://www.amazon.com/Better-Than-Peanut-Butter-Jelly/dp/1590131223/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_c

- all worthy investments - hell, they show up as "frequently bought together" as a big lovely set.

BUT I will say that the best best best way to approach this, and the one that will really make things cool is to engage the parents of these children in a dialogue about their children's diet.

I wouldn't call myself a vegetarian but I don't eat red meat and tend to eat plant-based meals 4-5x a week. I also hate salads unless they're greek-style (feta + cucumbers + tomatoes, that whole deal).

I'm not a creative person in the cooking department so the best thing for me was to buy a few reference books. I use this, this, and a book I can't remember that I found at a used bookstore haha. The Complete Vegetarian one is an amazing resource but very dense and many recipes take longer than 45 min. so I mostly use it as a reference for how to prep vegetables. Also don't discount vegan cookbooks! Vegans get a lot of flak on the internet but a lot of the recipes are really good. I also frequent /r/1200isplenty and /r/vegan1200isplenty where lots of easy, low-calorie high veggie dishes are posted.

Lately I'm big on little variety platters (like a plate with a mix of vegetables, cheese, and crackers lol) but I make a lot of soups too. Couscous is amazing. One of my favorite summer dishes is a penne pasta mixed with oven-baked corn, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes. A lot of people like to use spaghetti squash or a spiralizer to make fake noodles which can be used as a substitute for regular noodles in stir-fry or bakes. I've also turned around and fallen in love with tofu. I really love this crispy tofu recipe. The key to crispy tofu is to use firm or extra firm and let it drain for an adequate amount of time (impatient me wants it NOW so it used to end up soggy lol). Hope that helps a bit!

I love cookbooks, and have probably fifty in my collection.

The ones I keep going back to are:

• Anything by Yotam Ottolenghi - He's an Israeli-born chef in London, and his recipes are a great combination of creative, relatively easy, and unique. He has a knack for combining unusual flavors, and I've never disliked anything I've cooked from him. If you're relatively green, don't get Nopi (too advanced). His other three or four books are all great.
  
  
• Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless. Bayless has a PBS show and owns several restaurants in Chicago. He's a great chef and his recipes are accessible and fun.
  
  
• The Food Lab by u/J_Kenji_Lopez-Alt. I was skeptical at first, since Lopez-Alt's website is so comprehensive, but the book is absolutely beautiful and contains both recipes and explanations of technique and science.
  
  
• Modernist Cooking at Home - It's expensive and many of the recipes are challenging and/or require special equipment, but the book is truly groundbreaking and never fails to stoke my creativity. It's the home version of his 6-volume tome which many think is one of the most innovative cookbooks in the last 20 years.

My daughter didn't take to whole milk at first, so I gave her 2%. She liked that much better. And since she wasn't big on sippy cups either, I started her drinking water from an open cup with meals at about a year. I had to help her hold it, and there was some coughing at first, but she got the hang of it. Once she could drink from it without coughing too much, I switched the contents of the cup to milk. And like /u/emmatini said, straws or drink bottles are an option. My daughter liked any of those better than any of the sippy cups I brought home.

But really, if your son's eating cheese and yogurt, I wouldn't worry about the milk too much. In fact, I saw this list on how much calcium is in different foods and it made me feel better when my daughter went through a phase of rejecting milk. It turns out that ounce for ounce yogurt and cheese have more calcium than milk.

As for food, I received the book, The Best Homemade Babyfood on the Planet. I only made a couple of the recipes in there, but it definitely gave me lots of ideas on what kinds of food I could be introducing to my daughter. If you go to the Look Inside feature on Amazon, you can look through some of book. The only recipes they let you see are purees, but it might give you some ideas for different foods, even if you don't want to buy the book.

http://www.amazon.com/Going-Raw-Everything-Lifestyle-Revolution/dp/1592536859/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319642422&sr=8-1

I just got this book in the mail over the summer and it's been fantastic. I eat chia pudding with cinnamon, agave, and raspberries for breakfast almost every day now.

I also got started on the raw food thing with Natalia Rose's books. They are a little new-agey but most of the recipes are good, and she does an excellent job of describing raw food pairings, balancing out your acid intake, etc (sounds crazy but makes sense when you read it).

Checking out a raw food restaurant can also give a ton of ideas. In Austin we have Beets Cafe and Casa De Luz (not all raw but close).

http://mynewroots.blogspot.com/2011/10/heart-beet-rawvioli-with-pesto-oil.html

This blog, My New Roots, is also fantastic, and this morning she posted this recipe for "rawvioli" which I printed and plan to make.

Raw eating can actually be a little harder because you have to prep everything - no box foods being dumped into pots. But I promise it's worth it. I don't do all raw, but I was already vegetarian, and learning how to incorporate more raw foods into my diet has made me feel a hundred times better - less anxiety, better skin, weight maintenance, etc.

Miketheamazing is right about a juice and good blender. I don't have a dehydrator yet but once I acquire one, raw will become even better.

It's not that hard if you're not one of these reddit hivemind 'bacon is teh sex' type of people. Just be open minded. Be willing to try new foods that you've never heard of (e.g. tempeh).

I've been sort of vegetarian for 4 years, I guess. Since I am doing it for health reasons, I am willing to eat meat when I feel like it. I'll eat a delicious piece of meat if it is a special occasion. Fish more often than anything else, but definitely minimal red meat (once every 4-6mo maybe).

In terms of diet, research the nutrients that you need. A full amino acid protein profile takes thought (rice+beans, soybeans are the only vegetarian source with all the necessary AA) and this is especially important if you lift weights (I usually overload on skim milk). Maybe talk to a nutritionist if you worry about these things, but you will pick it up with time. Do not eat too many processed foods in an attempt to maintain your vegetarianism.

One big pro for me: it forces me to work on my cooking skills. It is easy to prepare meat to be pretty good. It takes a bit more thought for me to make a delicious vegetarian meal.

This cookbook is good. So is this one.

Baking vegan and raw is my favorite hobby and new acquired skill. I, too, have come across some snags with price and ingredients, but I try to find equivalents to an ingredient and look for sales. Amazon.com is my go-to headquarters for hard-to-find items at a decent price.

My first cookbook was Vegan Comfort Food by Alicia C. Simpson. Her Oatmeal Cookies have been a hit at every party I have brought them to and I keep her Sweet Potato Waffles in the freezer when I don't have time for a sit-down breakfast. The ingredients are not costly; my only gripe is the amount of sugar she uses.

I adore Judita Wignall's Going Raw. Although she uses ingredients like cashews to make flour (as an example) the cost/availability in very few of the recipes is similar to what you encountered with Isa Chandra.

Out of the two, I prefer Going Raw because natural ingredients replaces what would have been a copious amount of sugar in Alicia Simpson's book.

I have to eat dairy and gluten free, so when I see "vegan" on labels I'm pretty happy :) Many soy products are vegan (they make a really good vegan/gf/non-dairy cream cheese) and there are some companies that do dairy free/vegan as well. Off hand, I can't find any bread companies that don't use eggs (sorry) but I know there's a couple cupcake places in my city that do vegan & gf cupcakes amazingly, so I know it's possible.

http://www.amazon.com/Gluten-Free-Vegan-Delicious-Animal-Free-Recipes/dp/1600940323 (maybe this helps too?)

They also used to have a cafe around here owned by these guys, but I'm not sure what's going on with them.. anyways they only served gf and vegan dishes at the cafe-- it was amazing! http://www.gfreev.com/

Good luck!!

Sorry I am very late but for what it is worth:

Small bag of frozen blueberries. One ripe banana. Add ice and water to your ideal consistency. Viola! a simple easy to make blueberry bowl. Add toppings as you wish.

Added bonus:

Here is my go to website for recipes with my vitamix

http://healthyblenderrecipes.com/

Also try checking out the book Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko it is really beneficial to read this while owning a vitamix:

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Life-Updated-Smoothie-Nutrition/dp/155643930X

There are some really great cookbooks out there! I LOVE Against All Grain by Danielle Walker. This is her second cookbook, far better than her first. I just made the thyme roasted chicken last night for Easter dinner and it was delicious. It is a great cookbook for beginners and comes with meal planning and grocery lists. Seriously, it's an amazing cookbook.

You're being downvoted for incorrect science.

The “incomplete protein” myth was inadvertently promoted and popularized in the 1971 book, Diet for a Small Planet (this is the 20th edition), by Frances Moore Lappé. In it, the author stated that plant foods are deficient in some of the essential amino acids, so in order to be a healthy vegan, you needed to eat a combination of certain plant foods at the same time in order to get all of the essential amino acids in the right amounts. It was called the theory of “protein complementing".

They also retracted that in later editions of that book.

Where did the concept of essential amino acids come from and how was the minimum requirement for essential amino acids derived?

Answer:

In 1952, William Rose and his colleagues completed research to determine the human requirements for each of the eight essential amino acids. They set the minimum amino acid requirement equal to the greatest amount required by any single person in their study. Then to arrive at the recommended amino acid requirement, they simply doubled the minimum requirements. This recommended amount was considered a definite safe intake.

It is virtually impossible to design a calorie-sufficient diet based on unprocessed whole natural plant foods that is deficient in any of the amino acids. (The only possible exception could be a diet based solely on fruit).

Rich Roll's wife just wrote a book on making vegan cheese. Rich Roll has a great podcast you would probably enjoy. He is a very positive person in my opinion and he's slowly convincing me to go vegetarian and/or Vegan. I hope you find this information useful for your cheese addiction. Edit: her name is Julie Pratt and the book is called This Cheese is Nuts https://www.amazon.com/This-Cheese-Nuts-Delicious-Vegan/dp/0735213798

Agreed. Flavor, texture, nutrition all suffer when a smoothie sits for an extended time. Can you blend each morning however much you would like for the day?

Spinach is quite a friendly green (sweet and lightly salty flavor) for smoothies. If you're tasting it more than you want to, use less or drink up sooner after blending if at all possible. Romaine leaves (if fresh/non-bitter) are also mild tasting in smoothies. Another possibility is looking for greens that you like the flavor of, so that you enjoy tasting them rather than trying to mask the flavor with stronger tasting fruit. For example, maybe you'd like fresh mint, or when you have fresh tomatoes, you could do a V8-type blend of tomatoes with cucumber, red pepper, maybe some carrots, and herbs like parsley, dill, or basil.

You might take a look at Victoria Boutenko's writings, such as Green for Life (which is available in a lot of libraries).

When I say basic cooking techniques, I mean to learn proper techniques for:

1. Cooking meats and vegetables correctly;
   
2. Adding fiber to your diet in ways that taste great;
   
3. Appropriate levels of seasoning;
   
4. Basic knowledge of what herbs and spices play well together.
   
   Also basic knife skills, proper cooking temperatures, food handling, selection of ingredients, things like that.
   
   If I could recommend one cookbook for the novice who is trying to cook delicious food that is also not turbocharged with fat and salt, it would be The Best Light Recipe by the editors of Cooks Illustrated magazine. It's so much easier to eat healthfully than most people realize.

Original post: Caught on Virginia beach pier.

Comments:

Author: sjhill Body: This post has been locked, as the question has been solved and a majority of new comments at this point are unhelpful and/or jokes. Thanks to all who attempted to find an answer.

Author: alangerhans Body: That's an oyster toadfish. Careful, they'll take a finger off, my dad almost lost his thumb to one The edits were for grammar

Author: ElevatedMind84 Body: Hmm. A toad fish. I say... CATSLUG

Author: PotatoesRGodly Body: Toadfish. Don't touch - some are poisonous and most can take your finger off.

Author: sral03 Body: I have no idea what kind of fish this is- hope someone can help. Sorry for the bad picture.

Author: Fartagnan Body: They call them Oyster Crackers around my way.

Author: commoncross Body: I visited Virginia Beach pier (a lifetime ago), and happened upon a guy who had caught a large, beautiful, stingray. There was a crowd of people gathered round, one man standing on the stingy bit, and debate ensued about whether or not you could eat a stingray. Not knowing anything about such matters I just observed the debate as it proceeded for several minutes. No consensus emerged, but the general feeling was that, if you could, it probably wasn't worth it. The stingray, of course, was unaware of the discussion, focused as it was on an unsuccessful attempt to survive. It died, and was eventually pushed off the pier into the sea.

Author: saucity Body: I was on a dock in Chincoteague, VA, and I caught one of these Toadfish. There was a grizzly old fisherman there as well, and he told me what it was, and showed me his hand with a half-missing finger!! They have several rows of teeth and really are no joke!

Author: None Body: [removed]

Author: sral03 Body: Solved! Thanks everybody!

Author: Unlucky13 Body: We call them Toadfish. I used to fish the James and York River all the time. I'd catch many of these things almost every day. People warning of it being poisonous and taking a finger off, etc, are being a bit overdramatic. They can bite, sure, but I handled them as a kid pretty often and never had any problem other than trying to get the hook out of its massive clenched jaw. They are a pest to oyster beds and fishermen, so I was instructed by my father and my uncle to always stab them or stomp them to death before tossing them back.

Author: Baristax Body: OP, are you alive?

Author: einsibongo Body: In Iceland we call it Marhnútur... Ocean knot

Author: Ravenfurr Body: A toadfish also known as an oyster cracker, they can crack open oysters with their mouth so be careful where you put your fingers.

Author: finch32ful Body: We always called them mother-in-law fish.

Author: FKDotFitzgerald Body: The jaws on these things are insane.

Author: FireHurtingJuice Body: That is one ugly ass fish.

Author: None Body: [removed]

Author: fuck Body: I’d call that a hacklehead (from Long Island).

Author: helenfeller Body: We call them oyster crackers in Maryland.

Author: JoshtheFish0rman Body: My dad, and grandfather, and a lot of baymen on Long Island used to call them Mussolini's.

Author: dinoboyj Body: Cool fish, thanks for posting

Author: GloomyFudge Body: looks like a sea robin

Author: Dieabeto9142 Body: I think i caught one of these on a fishing trip in myrtle beach when i was younger. If i remember right the skipper on the boat said they survive by cracking through the shells of shellfish and eating them.

Author: sketchyplate17 Body: We call these mud toads, nasty buggers

Author: OddBob459 Body: Called them oyster crackers

Author: PM_ME_YOUR_BAN_NAME Body: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster_toadfish

Author: fyberoptyk Body: Angry. He’s angry. And he’ll do his best to kill you and everyone you love so watch your fingers.

Author: BeneGesseritFucBoi Body: The author and chef Hank Shaw talks about them in his book "Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast" and mentions (if memory serves me) that their cheek muscles are delicious. And, like, I'd trust anything that dude says about food. FYI. https://www.amazon.com/Hunt-Gather-Cook-Finding-Forgotten/dp/1609618904?creativeASIN=1609618904&linkCode=w61&imprToken=Oa-OhVyETNZsB5TC0hJG3Q&slotNum=2

Author: Unenthusedman Body: This is my r/newfear

Author: BlueBingoDye Body: Damn! I caught a baby one of those before! They're so weird looking when they're big!!

Author: NickNail5 Body: In RI they are called Toadfish, or Sea Robin. I've never tried, but recently heard they are incredibly tasty. Because they are typically bottom feeders they often come up in quahog rakes, and often injured, so I only used them as bait (when mortally wounded) but I'm excited to try the next one I catch.

Author: Big_Bag_Of_Nope Body: Toadfish!

Author: rixxy249 Body: at first i thought it was a wet leopard with far too big a head

Author: SuddenlyCelery Body: Thank you for posting, /u/sral03! You've solved one of my greatest childhood mysteries!

Author: ctk041289 Body: One night in the Little Choptank (Eastern Shore MD) I caught one of these. I swore it was a mutant fish - though the locals did tell me the tail is delicious!

Author: Tombre Body: Caught too many toad fish in the Outer Banks, nasty fish

Author: Tims5life Body: kinda looks like a sculpin

Author: xXAllhailmegatronXx Body: I live in Delaware and we call those croakers.

Author: cuttlefish_tastegood Body: Used to catch these. It was the worst when you thought you actually caught something. Lots of people just let it dry out in the sun and die since it was a crappy fish.

Author: mashedpotatoes2001 Body: Looks like an irradiated pleco tf

Author: kapow Body: Taste great.

Author: Juggernaut78 Body: And my friends make fun of me for not going into water without jeans and boots on.

Author: munificentmike Body: Locals call them “ mother in law fish”.

Author: dropegron Body: Idk if it's a regional think but we call them sally growlers, caught them all the time by hand off my dock in NJ. Looking at the comments its seems like I'm not the only one to be bit before haha those suckers don't let go

Author: netvor0 Body: You're fishing in Virginia beach? Don't eat anything you catch.

Author: Shizzy813 Body: Growing up we called them a dog fish

Author: Blo0dbath Body: Fun fact, oyster toadfish (Opsanus tau) are incredibly common in estuaries all over the US east coast, esp from VA up to NY. Northern toadies (such as in the Hudson) tend to be a bit larger than those in the Chesapeake area. They’re one of the most numerous benthic fish around NYC! PM me for cute pixxx of toadfish

Author: KlossMaster Body: Another reason I’m afraid of VB waters. Water isn’t clear so you don’t know what the hell is around you

Author: horseshoein Body: I think my Grandpa used to call them " mother in law fish"

Author: algerrr23 Body: I know it's solved but it looks like a freshwater sculpin. Only these guys are harmless and don't take off your fingers. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mottled_sculpin

Author: jwood555 Body: I catch them all the time on the Yorktown pier.

Author: T-butylhydroquinone Body: That looks like a monkfish . Might be wrong tho

Author: mr_jasper867-5309 Body: My grandfather would just knife them in the head then taken em off the hook. The jaws on these bad boys are no joke.

Author: Ohmannothankyou Body: https://www.adventuresportsnetwork.com/wildlife/scary-sea-creature-buried-sand-prompts-warning-surfing-group/ Northern stargazer?

Author: rxvxrse Body: Rockfish?

Author: 19juu89 Body: People in Hampton Roads have always called them mudtoads when I go fishing.

Author: Moth_man96 Body: Monkfish aka toadfish aka stargazer. They can grow to big bois

Author: ThePaulDam Body: Good news, my hometown gets mentioned. Bad news, its because of some monster fish

Author: Pfunk4444 Body: Could it be a monk fish?

Author: lamenameduser Body: Call them croakers here in Charleston sc. fun little freak of nature that'll take your finger off if you let em.

Author: GorillyGrodd Body: You have no idea what this is, and no idea whether you're going to eat it because you're not sure if it's edible yet you we're going to not throw it back in the water? You suck OP.

Any of these books are great for beginners. I would recommend checking out these amazon links and skimming the reviews...

• Becoming Raw: The Essential Guide to Raw Vegan Diets by Brenda Davis
  
  
• Going Raw: Everything You Need to Start Your Own Raw Food Diet and Lifestyle Revolution at Home by Judita Wignall)
  
• Raw Food Made Easy For 1 or 2 People by Jennifer Cornbleet
  
• Ani's Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes by Ani Phio
  
  Goneraw and Rawfoodtalk are good for recipes.
  
  EDIT: Broken links

For me, it was easiest to explain why I went vegan to my friends and family from a health and environmental perspective. Unfortunately, bringing up animal rights often ends the conversation and you get labelled as 'extreme' or an 'idealist' before a discussion can commence. I've found that a calm, quick summary such as, "I don't need to use animal products or eat meat to survive and they do serious harm to my health and the planet, so I choose not to" is most effective; people will usually want to hear the evidence for such a provocative claim!

There are so many fabulous, science-based arguments for the health benefits available online as well as the environmental benefits, especially if you have access to scientific publications (e.g. as a university student). Some of my favorites include:

• Dr. Michael Greger
  
• Dr. Neal Barnard
  
• Dr. Hans Diehl
  
• "Diet for a Small Planet"
  
• Mangels 2013: p. 12
  
• Marlow et al 2009
  
• Frank-White et al 2011
  
• Ercin et al 2011
  
  Hopefully all of the above links will work for non-university viewers. There is so much more information out there, but admittedly I'm only 2 months into being vegan so I've got a lot more research to do! Hope this helps you :)

It’s not hard to make diary free cheese! Highly suggest checking out this book or this blog.

I eat a lot of real cheese and although you will never get anything better than the real thing (IMO), there are ton of EASY cheese recipes and best of all they don’t include sketchy ingredients you often find with vegan store-bought “cheese”.

Also, if you haven’t heard of nutritional yeast, look into it now. It’s full of protein and a great substitute for parm or a cheddar flavor.

It sounds like your argument is that your rights should supercede the rights of content creators do what they want with their creations. That's rather silly.

That said - there are stores where you can go to buy books that will let you look through them beforehand. I also just went through and picked some of the more obscure or generic names from the torrent and they all had a bunch of reviews and "Look Inside" on Amazon.

For example:

500 Vegen Reciples

Gluten-Free and Vegan Holidays: Celebrating the Year with Simple, Satisfying Recipes and Menus

Vegan Diner

Fast, Fresh, Green

Those are literally the first four I chose and I explicitly avoided the authors I recognized. The lowest one still had over 20 reviews! You've got so many resources available at your finger tips to prove the books worth in a way the author is OK with. Let's not pretend otherwise.

My best friend got me The Gluten Free Vegan for my birthday this year. The recipes seem pretty tasty, we haven't made any yet though.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jekkas-Complete-Herb-Book-Association/dp/1856267415/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504455888&sr=1-3&keywords=Jekka

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Preserves-River-Cottage-Handbook-No-2/dp/0747595321/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504455955&sr=1-1&keywords=pam+the+jam
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hedgerow-River-Cottage-Handbook-No-7/dp/140880185X/ref=pd_sim_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=F3VYXKB4NNCVEYAJEQ0K
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Booze-River-Cottage-Handbook-No-12/dp/1408817934/ref=pd_sim_14_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=2YHRTEAT811G23JYQSDR

I love these ones as they give you a target to go out and find stuff. They'll have links to other books that the authors use. All three are the best in their field(!) on foraging and using foraged items to make wondrous delights. Yesterday I also picked up
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hedgerow-Cookbook-delicious-recipes-wild-ebook/dp/B00PPHWYNO/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504456311&sr=1-1&keywords=The+hedgerow+cookbook

Moosewood restaurant cooking for health

I'm not vegetarian or vegan but I love this cookbook. The recipes are simple but flavorful and healthy. They also have info sections on things like oil types, grains, eggs, sugars, etc

I used this book when I first started making homemade baby food. I needed everything broken down for me, and this book worked great for that.

The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet: Know What Goes Into Every Bite with More Than 200 of the Most Deliciously Nutritious Homemade Baby Food ... Your Baby Will Love (Best on the Planet)

You should buy yourself this cookbook at the beginning of your journey. Love Real Food - Kathryne Taylor

It is amazing for getting great ideas to keep it interesting and create dishes that can get the omnivores in your life on board with your lifestyle

When I was a vegetarian I loved the Moosewood cookbooks. They have a cookbook based on nutrition that I have not personally used, but I have a few others of theirs and some of my favorite recipes come from them.

Here's a link to the nutrient rich cook book.

Yotam Ottolenghi has some nice cookbooks with great recipes and beautiful photos that I've given as gifts.

https://www.amazon.com/Plenty-Vibrant-Vegetable-Recipes-Ottolenghi/dp/1452101248/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

https://www.amazon.com/Jerusalem-Cookbook-Yotam-Ottolenghi/dp/1607743949/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

https://www.amazon.com/Ottolenghi-Cookbook-Yotam/dp/160774418X/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

I understand what your son probably means by too much flavor: Indian and Thai dishes have pretty complex flavor profiles and a lot going on in one dish. For a person who is still learning what tastes they like and don't like, complicated flavors make it hard to understand what you're tasting.

I raised my kid vegetarian until he took the opposite path: around age 6, he decided he wanted to be an omnivore. He still prefers vegetarian food, and it's what I cook at home.

I bought the original edition of Better Than Peanut Butter and Jelly when he was a toddler. It has a lot of recipes with simpler flavors that appeal to kids and adults alike, and most of them are pretty quick to prepare, too. What I frequently did was make the recipes with less seasoning, set aside a portion for my child, then spice up the rest of the dish to my taste.

My kid is 14 now, and is a much more adventurous eater – he enjoys eating dishes so spicy that they make adults cry.

I make my own cheese now. I still buy some at the store because it takes time to make it and the convenience is something I like, but it seems like you may need to go the homemade route. Here are two cookbooks that I use for cheeses.

Easier - This Cheese Is Nuts

More Advanced - Miyoko's

The author and chef Hank Shaw talks about them in his book "Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast" and mentions (if memory serves me) that their cheek muscles are delicious. And, like, I'd trust anything that dude says about food. FYI.

https://www.amazon.com/Hunt-Gather-Cook-Finding-Forgotten/dp/1609618904?creativeASIN=1609618904&linkCode=w61&imprToken=Oa-OhVyETNZsB5TC0hJG3Q&slotNum=2

I bought this book for a couple of friends, and my cousin when they all had their first babies.

Food

They have all loved the book as it even breaks out sections for the "age" of the baby and type of food that they would be eating at that time.

It's not really rocket appliances, but I'm sure with a first child, there are many, many other things that you need to be thinking about, so this is an easy item.

Tom Harrison map, Tenacious tape, wool hiking socks, leather man multi-tool.

You could go a diffent route that's a bit more personal you could make a personal backing meal or go with some sort of premade backpacking meal like mountain house (a bit on the heavier side) or astronaut ice cream (a bit better), perhaps a dehydrator like an Excalibur model if you want a big luxury gift.

Books; some picks for foraging, all that the rains promises and more , Stalking the wild asparagus, the foragers harvest ,

If you're into making stuff, I've heard this cheese is nuts is pretty good. It's all about how to make vegan cheese from nuts. My favorite store bought is Field Roast Chao. And I hear Miyoko's is good.

It sounds like it might be fun to explore recipes from Middle Eastern/Mediterranean cookbooks and Asian cookbooks. I think you might really like the recipes from the Ottolenghi books: Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, Jerusalem, Plenty, and Plenty More.

Here are the 2 guides I am using to research foraging. The plant guide is pretty good. I give it a 8/10. It just needs a few more pictures because it doesn't show all stages of growth. The mushroom guide is pretty incredible! 9/10. It has a subsection specifically for edible mushrooms and specifies poisonous look alikes side by side. I use these in conjunction with youtube to research foraging. The mushroom guide is very pocket sized. The plant guide is larger and would require a small backpack to comfortably hike with it, but it isn't by any means bulky. It is like 6x8 with 120 pages or so.

Jusy FYI, I am mostly and armchair forager so far. I have foraged for wineberries and raspberries in NJ but that is about it. PM me the area you live in. Might be able to explore with you.

Plant foraging
https://www.amazon.com/Northeast-Foraging-Flavorful-Wineberries-Regional/dp/1604694173/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491754003&sr=8-1&keywords=northeast+foraging

Mushrooms
https://www.amazon.com/Mushrooms-Northeast-Simple-Common-Mushroom/dp/1591935911/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1491754115&sr=8-2&keywords=mushroom+guide+northeast

I've got Food For Free by Richard Mabey which is pretty good, lots of information on how to prepare and cook food (and sometimes whether or not it tastes like shit!)

Might be more UK based, but it's well worth a look.

If you want an entertaining as well as an informative read, try Stalking The Wild Asparagus by Euell Gibbons. A bit less of a purely ID guide, and more about application of what you find, as well as personal accounts that are interesting to read.

Oh and I should mention this one too as it is a guide that is specific to coastal areas.

I'd like to recommend a couple useful books:

http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Vegetarian-Children-Health-Harmony/dp/0658021559/ - my favorite

http://www.amazon.com/Better-Than-Peanut-Butter-Jelly/dp/1590131223/ - kid-friendly recipes

http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Lunch-Box-Animal-Free-Grown-Ups/dp/1600940722/ - great lunch ideas

http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Lunch-Around-World-International/dp/0738213578/ - ditto

http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Vegan-Children-Non-Vegan-World/dp/0972510206/ - may also be helpful, but personally I found it quite preachy and medically inaccurate at times

Hank Shaw has a really easy-to-follow, detailed recipe on his website. Pretty sure it, and a few other easy curing recipes are in his book.

Love Real Food is my favorite https://www.amazon.com/dp/1623367417/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdb_t1_BdZtDb62KZSDQ

Vegan Diner has some of the best seitan recipes that I've come across. Steaming seitan make far better than boiling imo.
http://www.amazon.ca/Vegan-Diner-Classic-Comfort-Food/dp/0762437847

Thanks for so many responses. Anyone have thoughts on this book.

https://www.amazon.com/Northeast-Foraging-Flavorful-Wineberries-Regional/dp/1604694173/ref=pd_aw_sbs_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=9B1YSDMRW0SXYYH4M8KR

I’d love to know what the “go-to” book is for foraging in New England.

I too am in MD, pg county. i found this to be a great choice.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/303836.The_Forager_s_Harvest


I liked this as well.

https://www.amazon.com/Stalking-Wild-Asparagus-Euell-Gibbons/dp/0911469036

Jerusalem has a great selection of recipes from the Middle East (a sort of best hits of dishes).

I'm a big fan of Love Real Food: https://www.amazon.com/Love-Real-Food-Feel-Good-Vegetarian/dp/1623367417 I also second the Minimalist Baker recommendation!

Northeast Foraging: 120 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Beach Plums to Wineberries (Regional Foraging Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1604694173/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Ckm3Bb7NN4Z17

I have the Midwest version of this and I love it! It’s wonderful to just sit down and read, but also good to use as a field guide!

A few of these are vegetarian, not vegan, but they have lots of great vegan stuff:

https://www.amazon.com/Teff-Love-Adventures-Ethiopian-Cooking/dp/157067311X

www.amazon.com/Alternative-Vegan-International-Straight-Produce/dp/1604865083/

http://www.lotusartichoke.com

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0517581671/

https://www.amazon.com/Decolonize-Your-Diet-Plant-Based-Mexican-American/dp/1551525925

https://www.amazon.com/Afro-Vegan-Farm-Fresh-African-Caribbean-Southern/dp/1607745313

https://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Soul-Kitchen-Creative-African-American/dp/0738212288/

https://www.amazon.com/Food52-Vegan-Vegetable-Driven-Recipes-Kitchen/dp/1607747995

The (SAS Survival Guide)[https://www.amazon.co.uk/SAS-Survival-Guide-Survive-Collins/dp/0008133786/] has some good survival information whilst not taking up much room in a bag. I also have this one for foraging and this for identifying mushrooms. In an emergency situation I'd say knowing what is and isn't edible around you is important. When I'm out I often use my phone to identify anything I am not familiar with and have a reasonable knowledge now but having the books to be sure seems sensible.

I have an air rifle which will take birds and rabbits if it comes to it too and whilst they have made it harder to get one these days (you have to order it to a licensed shop to pick it up and can't just order it to your address any more... and these stores are often few and far between) it does seem like a sensible thing to have. Not for self defence but for having access to a food source that most people would not have.

Besides that I don't think the information varies too much from what you find on US sites. Though the prices often do so you have to economise more than they would... likewise of course with the size of houses here compared to there. I don't have the same kind of space for stockpiling food and water as I would in the US.

Hi there nineto, a 5+ year vegan & 20+ year vegetarian here.


Yes--if you blend your leafy greens, you get all the vitamins & minerals more efficiently than eating them; in a nutshell, it is less work for your digestive system to not have to break the food down into the tiny usable bits.


For a fantastic overview on the topic of green smoothie nutrition, look into Victoria Boutenko's well-liked book Green For Life at your local library as I did.

>I cannot actually recommend any specific such cookbook

I can! This one is pretty great for CICO, as it gives all your nutritional info on every recipe. And, unlike a lot of recipes you find online, these were tested over and over again.

p.s. This one is also good, although less food porn-y. Honestly, I prefer this one, but it doesn't have as much visual appeal.

The Forager Handbook by Miles Irving is very thorough in it's number of edibles, but not fantastic to carry around or for ID. I combine it with The Wild Flower Key by Francis Rose. I pick a couple plants from the Forager Hand book at a time and look for them on a walk.
Another book is the River Cottage Hedgerow by John Right, in fact all three of his book are well done; Mushrooms and Edible Seashore.

Deja vu! I just posted this the other day. But I love Euell Gibbons book Stalking the Wild Asparagus.

I'd recommend this book. We picked it up in Portland last time were there and really like it.

This is a great cookbook: Jerusalem

> (...) I don't think you'll find a single reputable source to tell you that vegetarianism is hazardous to your health.

The OP I was asking said he's a vegan, not a vegetarian. There's a difference there, I believe.

I'm not claiming anything, I'm curious and do not have much knowledge in that area.

I'll check out "Diet for a Small Planet" when I get my Kindle. Sounds interesting.

My sister got me this and I've been really happy with it.

I'm in the UK and I got this one.

It's cheap, small and easy to carry.

I did a quick search and these might be helpful:

http://www.amazon.com/Gluten-Free-Vegan-Delicious-Animal-Free-Recipes/dp/1600940323,

http://www.theglutenfreevegan.com/,

and http://www.fatfreevegan.com/gluten-free/index.shtml

Many of the edible weeds in N. America are also found (or have edible counterparts) in Europe also. Things like dandelions, dock, chickweed, and amaranth are all common.

Most seaweeds around the world are edible if you are going to be on the coasts.

I'd take a look at these books from Amazon's UK site as many of the plants will also be found on the mainland too:

Self-sufficiency Foraging

Food For Free

Hedgerow

Edible Seashore

You might also like this cheese is nuts

Dude if you want to make real money, write books that simply tell people that eating gluten is something they shouldn't eat. Even if they don't have any conditions preventing them from doing so.

These pocket sized guide books are worth having a copy of too if there's one suited to your location.

Here is the mobile version of your link

http://www.amazon.com/Diet-Small-Planet-20th-Anniversary/dp/0345321200/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394941993&sr=1-1&keywords=diet+for+a+small+planet

putting this here for the vegetarian/vegan gainers.

WRT complete proteins, "Diet For A Small Planet" (and Recipes FASP) are vegetarian guides, with traces of vegan. It is still available. You can also find info on Wikipedia.

You're thinking of the book/film ["Into the Wild"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Wild_(book). The book he read in it was Tanaina Plantlore.

There are lots of similar books out there. I personally have the book "Food for Free".

http://www.amazon.com/Stalking-Wild-Asparagus-Euell-Gibbons/dp/0911469036

The most readable one I know of is "Stalking the Wild Asparagus" by Euell Gibbons

http://www.amazon.com/Stalking-Wild-Asparagus-Euell-Gibbons/dp/0911469036

Very similar. This is the one I have: link

Artisan Vegan Cheese by Miyoko Schinner

This Cheese is Nuts by Julie Piatt (Rich Roll's wife)

DIY

Hiya mate.

New forager here from the UK too.

Just come across this book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Food-Free-Collins-Richard-Mabey/dp/0007183038/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1503150969&sr=8-1.

I'm going blackberry picking tomorrow!

Adding on to your comment, these are the books I'm lusting after:

Heritage

A Kitchen in France

Aeri's Korean Cookbook

The Slanted Door: Modern Vietnamese Food

Ottolenghi

Thug Kitchen

My Paris Kitchen

Any Barefoot Contessa cookbook

The Smitten Kitchen cookbook