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New cookbook encourages cooks to follow charts, not recipes [Aerodrome fi]

Julia Turshen wants you to break the rules.

Once she was ruled by weighing or measuring everything to the gram or teaspoon — due to her own self-described challenges with disordered eating and the requirement to be precise in the recipes she has developed for the cookbooks she’s penned or coauthored.

Over time, Turshen has learned to loosen up in the kitchen. And now she wants us to do the same. How? Through a series of charts.

“Keep Calm & Cook On” is the mantra (and podcast/newsletter name) from the Hudson Valley, New York-based author and food equity advocate, who introduced the concept of recipe charts on Instagram and in her Substack in 2023. “One-pot rice + stuff” was the title of the first chart she shared on Instagram. Take some cooked rice, she coached, then choose a meat, a vegetable, spices, a liquid and toppings. This template style of culinary instruction garnered such a positive response, she followed up with soup, salad and cornbread charts — and quickly realized she had the makings of a book.

“The charts have given me a way to show how I think about cooking rather than tell you how I think about it,” Turshen said. “This isn’t just a collection of recipes but also a blueprint for how the recipes work. Understanding that is empowering and unlocks so much space to explore.”

Turshen’s October 2024 cookbook, “What Goes With What,” includes 20 charts, 100 recipes and “endless possibilities,” with sections that focus on stews (Mushroom Cacciatore), quick pastas (Caesar Spaghetti), fruity cobblers and crisps (Pear, Cherry and Almond Crisp) and more. The book wraps up in fitting fashion with menu suggestions ranging from brunch to a holiday meal formatted in — you guessed it — a chart. Just in time.