Eat Your Flowers

California chef Stern uses botanicals to craft eye-catching dishes in her offbeat debut. She starts with a guide to edible botanicals, outlining their flavor profiles and typical uses, and many of her recipes come with the option for several variations: gluten-free crackers can be made in an array of colors, while doughnuts baked with almond and coconut flour are tinted with “colorant dust” glazes (the chart showing how to achieve different tones using botanical ingredients is a handy reference). Some of Stern’s dishes are familiar, like a kale Caesar salad with vegan dressing, and chicken poached with herbs, though others draw from more unconventional ingredients, such as turkey meatballs with lemongrass atop a coconut carrot sauce or flank steak rubbed with dandelion tea. Baked goods provide the best canvas for Stern’s visual artistry, as she presents buttermilk biscuits with fresh herbs pressed into the surface and various desserts decorated with flowers, including shortbread cookies and a vegan cheesecake made with raw cashews. The recipes are as whimsical as they are unusual, and Stern’s creativity is spotlighted throughout: long beans are braided into wreaths, purple potato disks are dotted with orange salmon roe, and a dark chocolate tart incorporates mushroom powder said to possess “magical superfood health powers.” Nature-savvy chefs should give this a look. Agent: Katherine Latshaw, Folio Literary Management. (Apr.)