see. make. eat. | the Picture Cook

Cooking is a nonverbal activity that many people best understand visually. However, today's standard format for cookbooks is a recipe for ultimate intimidation for the aspiring chefs ; a mathematical formula accompanied by beautiful, close-up photographs of the prepared meal taken on a DSLR camera. It is with this notion that artist Katie Shelly began rendering her recipes entirely in handsketched image form and created “Picture Cook”. A fresh and original cookbook with artistically illustrated recipes, concentrated into one page each, that are as fast to learn and easy to follow as they are delicious. Drawing recipes and keeping them to a page is hard, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the content is dumbed down. See the book on Amazon here.

Dispensing with lengthy directions, Picture Cook distills 50 homey recipes into their most basic components and renders them step by step in enchanting line drawings like nothing ever seen in a cookbook. Perfect for visual learners, novice chefs, and design aficionados, these whimsical recipe blueprints provide quick and simple guidance for making classic dishes every cook should have in their repertoire. Her collection of friend-tested dishes like fresh pesto, carrot soup, eggplant Parmesan, and sweet potato fries will become readers’ go-to recipes for quick weeknight meals and dinner parties alike.

Other highlights of the book include a detailed tutorial on knife skills and charts that show multiple variations for tacos, omelets and more. In between recipes Shelly offers helpful advice in the form of drawings, such as the best way to peel ginger (use the edge of a spoon) or suggesting coconut milk or yogurt instead of milk in a smoothie for a "tangy" flavor. Be sure to check out the helpful index in the back that indicates which recipes are vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and/or no sugar added. Picture Cook could be the perfect gift for budding chefs, college students, or any home cook in need of some visual inspiration.