Rooted Kitchen: Seasonal Recipes, Stories, and Ways to Connect with the Natural World

YouTuber Rodriguez (Let’s Stay In) encourages readers to commune with nature in this inspirational collection. “Cooking over a fire connects to a deep ancestral relationship with Earth,” she asserts in a primer on campfire cuisine. Recipes are divided into seasons, with summer featuring zucchini blossom fritters with garam masala, and autumn offering a salad of roasted delicata squash, radicchio, and apples. Seattle-based Rodriguez promotes the local gathering of ingredients, but her taste ranges internationally; included are recipes for a simplified mushroom mole from Oaxaca and a green take on North African harissa. Some entries—like a carbonara with the nontraditional inclusion of clams—come with instructions for both cooking over an open fire and preparing in an indoor kitchen. Each chapter also includes a specific technique that ties into the season, such as preserving for summer. Rodriguez finds inspiration all around: foraged maple tree blossoms perk up a vinaigrette while fig leaves infuse the cream for panna cotta. The recipes lean toward the simple with innovative touches, as in a Caesar salad with a preserved-lemon dressing and roasted lentils scattered on top. There are a few inconsistencies, as when mushroom hunting appears in the spring chapter, and then wild mushrooms are a featured fall ingredient, but that’s a minor quibble. Overall, this proves a thoughtful guide for those looking to forge a deeper connection to food. (Mar.)