a few good looking cookbooks

i have felt a little uninspired in the kitchen lately- just that rut of only cooking the same few recipes you have cooked over and over for years (well, that is if i cook at all... there have been a lot of salads, pasta and take-out happening in our house since the move...) but i feel a change coming! i was recently peeking through my amazon wish list and noticed a yummy theme.. lots of beautiful cookbooks!! here are a couple that i will be trying to hunt down in the near future.

what katie ate
the photographs! oh those beautiful images! 'what katie ate' is a blog i have followed for quite a while now. she has some of the most beautiful food photos i have ever seen EVER. something about the moody colours and imperfect perfectness of it all - i love all the drips and dribbles that we are so naturally accustomed to making disappear before taking a picture. katie is a master of food styling and makes even the simplest of foods look irresistible.

Smitten Kitchen
smitten kitchen is one of my all time favourite food blogs - deb posts some of the most amazing and incredible tasting food. if ever you are hunting for a perfect recipe, sk's archives are sure to have a few variations that always impress- i have yet to cook a recipe from the smitten kitchen blog that hasn't been an instant favourite in my house. this cookbook has been on my wish list since its release date but for now, the website will most definitely tide me over. (there is a 185 person wait list for this one at the library! yikes!)

the sprouted kitchen
i'm not sure what it is, but since our move i have been craving fresh whole foods. so many salads and vegetables... crisp crunchy greens and complex natural flavours. its been a wonderful and welcome change, but i have quirky run out of ideas on how to spruce up mixed greens and vinaigrette. this book looks like it could add a little bit of excitement to my everyday, usually-the-same creations.

a year of pies
no secrets here- i LOVE pie. a lot. and love the idea of making it a sunday tradition in our house. when we were in calgary, we would head over to my parents every sunday night for a big family dinner. its definitely something i miss the most since moving to vancouver... maybe pie could help fill that void :)

footnote: all photographs in this post respectfully borrowed from their owners blogs/ archives.