Cookbooks that focus on a specific group (e.g., beans, pies, soups), preparation (e.g., barbeque, Chinese, French), or apparatus (e.g., wok, air fryer, slow cooker) follow a fairly standard content. Grains for Every Season is no exception. Following a brief introduction, McFadden addresses the nature of grains and covers whole-grain basics and techniques. Chapters on barley, brown rice, buckwheat, corn, millet, oats, quinoa, rye, wheat, and wild rice follow in order, and the basic ingredients you should always have on hand are covered in the concluding chapter.

Each of the ten chapters on grains begins with a brief tutorial on the grain, followed by an assortment of recipes. The chapter on brown rice, an all-time favorite, was of particular interest, but one pleasure of perusing a cookbook is the discovery of the unexpected. For example, including barley in meatloaf, peanut butter, and peanut brittle caused me to reconsider a grain I have largely ignored. Whatever your favorite or proclivity to experiment, you will find something that makes your time with this book worthwhile.

Like most cookbooks I review, Grains for Every Season is best considered a reference. Search through to bookmark some favorites, then keep it on your shelf as a handy reference for the next time you are trying to think of a tasty use for the (name a grain) on your pantry shelf. ( )

I probably need to buy this book. I want to try almost every recipe. ( )

Yet another cookbook that I have preorder after thumbing through the digital arc from NetGalley.

I was more than impressed with how well this book is laid out, the beautiful photography, the recipes and the fact that it is filled with plenty of gluten-free grains. Yes there is a section on wheat, but there is also millet, brown rice, wild rice, buckwheat, corn, oats.... They all get their own section. What I love most, besides the delicious looking recipes, is the fact that each section talks about the grain itself. What it tastes like, the weight per cup, the water ratio. All of these small details put this book ahead of all the others I've seen. As someone who mills their own grain, having those weights per cup is invaluable to me, it saves me time from looking them up.
There are both sweet and savory dishes in here. Full meals, to sides, to appetizers, to dessert. Simple and easy to follow without super weird or difficult to source ingredients. Oh and a picture for each recipe which I love. If you're looking for a good introduction to whole grains and how to use them, then this is the book for you. ( )