Lemon, Love & Olive Oil by Mina Stone

Lemon, Love & Olive Oil by Mina Stone

This book came out in September of 2021.

Now, if you're a cookbook lover, you know Mina's debut cookbook, Cooking For Artists, was a smash hit. It was also self-published. And, right now, if you go on Amazon and try to get a copy of that first cookbook, you'll pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $150.

To me, Mina's story is fascinating. She went to school to be a designer, and then, on the side, she started cooking for families. And then she started cooking for special events.

Eventually, she started cooking for a gallery, where she also started cooking for artists. Thus, the name of her first book.

The story behind the second book, Lemon Love and Olive Oil, stems from the fact that whenever people ask MIna for ingredients to make something taste great, her answer is always lemon juice, olive oil, and a little bit of salt. So, those are her go-to ingredients.

Mina contends that you can make anything taste good with her favorite three ingredients: lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. So that became the name of the cookbook, except salt was replaced with love.

When this cookbook was released, it met with rave reviews. The New York Times rated it a best cookbook of the year, writing,

Author of the cult-favorite Cooking for Artists, Mina Stone, returns with a collection of 80 new recipes inspired by her traditional Greek heritage and her years cooking for some of New York’s most innovative artists.
 

I've watched a couple of interviews with Mina, and she says repeatedly that when she was creating this cookbook, she was constantly thinking about the love aspect of these recipes. By that, Mina was focusing on the food's comfort level and coziness factor, which is what she was trying to capture with these 80 recipes. I found that so poignant, especially because she was putting this together during the pandemic while in lockdown in 2020.

Mina is not the kind of person who comes up with a cookbook and then has to go out and create many recipes. That's not how Mina works. Instead, Mina pays attention to the recipes that she starts making again and again. So these are recipes that have staying power. They are the recipes that pass the Mina Test and rise to the top of her favorites because they are naturally so good.

Also, if you are a lover of reading cookbooks, you are going to really enjoy Mina's book.

Before each section, Mina shares essays with stories about her family—and her grandmother, who is kind of the original Greek cook in her life. 

Mina provides great insight into these recipes and ingredients, as well as her personal experience. As I was reading this cookbook, I couldn't help but think that Mina could write a memoir because her stories are so intriguing.

In addition to the essays for each section of the book, every recipe gets a personal introduction.

For an excerpt, I selected a few snippets from a section Mina calls My Kitchen. This chapter is about the key ingredients that Mina uses on repeat.

She writes,

I've always found pantry lists in cookbooks to be intimidating. Asa self-trained home cook, I never sought out hard-to-find ingredi-ents it never crossed my mind as an option. The ingredients inmy recipes and the food found in my pantry reflect my surroundings touched with a dose of Greekness. (It can't be helped.)

Here are some thoughts on how I approach cooking in mykitchen, what I like to keep in my cupboards, what I run out tothe store for, and some clarification on how I wrote the recipes.
 
Salt

Sea salt is more salty and kosher salt is less salty.
Because kosher salt is less salty it gives you more control over the seasoning. For example, it is great for seasoning meat because you can use more and achieve a lovely salt crust as well as the
right amount of seasoning without oversalting. It is the salt up using the most.
 
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

I like to use olive oil sparingly during cooking (this makes thedish lighter) and add the bulk of it at the end, once cooking is completed. use much more olive oil in the recipes than people are accustomed to using. suggest adding more than you would think when you're cooking from this book.

That's a great tidbit, especially if you're using olive oil to cook for your garden harvest. So much of what comes out of our garden goes into the pan with a ton of olive oil. But now, maybe you can dial that back with this tip from Mina.

Lemons
They add floral buoyancy but above all a fresh form of acid that I usually prefer tovinegar. When using lemons for zest, try to always use organic ones. 

I've never considered lemons that way, but I love how she describes that floral buoyancy. And, you know, she's exactly right. Lemon juice is also a little less harsh than vinegar. So, if you have a sensitive tummy, consider incorporating lemon juice instead of vinegar.

Green Herbs: Parsley, Mint, Cilantro, and Basil

I like fresh herbs in abundance and can often find a place to incorporate them with relative ease. In the recipes, herbs are usually measured by the handful: 1 handful equals about 1/4 cup. It doesn't need to be exact, but that is a good place to start if you need it.

This advice is also helpful because if you're planning your kitchen garden, you need to consider how many plants you need to plant so that you can have an abundant harvest.

To give you an idea of how much Basil I use in the summertime, I usually buy about four to five flats.
 

Dried Oregano

Oregano is my number one dried herb. Greek oregano has a pronounced savory and earthy flavor to it, and it is my preference to use in more traditional Greek dishes. Better-quality dried oregano, which is milder in flavor, is great to use as a general seasoning for salad, fish, and meats.
 

This book is 272 pages of more than eighty Mediterranean-style dishes and the stories that inspired them. These uncomplicated recipes are Mina's go-to. And, of course, they can always be enhanced with lemon, olive oil, and salt.

You can get a copy of Lemon, Love & Olive Oil by Mina Stone and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $15.