Praises for Leslie's Catering and Personal Chef Services:
"Leslie Cerier is the consummate master of conscious cookery, a veritable culinary goddess."
-- Chris Kilham, author of Tales from the Medicine Trail and Psyche Delicacies
"An inventive cook, Leslie Cerier concocts ingenious ways to make even the healthiest food not just palatable, but delectable."
-- Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence
"For the past four years Leslie has cooked for my daughter, a student at Amherst College. What a blessing! Kate
has been incredibly grateful for the healthy and delicious food and we are both convinced it's thanks to Leslie that
she's made it through with practically no illness. Is Kate fighting a cold? Leslie shows up with miso soup full of
greens and ginger--and Kate doesn't get the cold. On the other hand, is it Valentine's day? Leslie shows up with her
to-die-for chocolate mousse and I can hear the delight in Kate's voice as she describes this week's desert. After
hearing Kate's happy description of many delicious meals, I had to get Leslie's latest cookbook, Going Wild in the
Kitchen. Her mushroom strudel has become a favorite for holiday meals and her seitan quesadillas are very popular.
Leslie is a real artist. When she cooks, healthy, joyful and imaginative all go hand in hand. She is truly
extraordinary."
-- Sandy Robinson, Maryland
"What a wonderful evening we had with Leslie in the kitchen and at dinner. Everyone here thoroughly enjoyed the cooking demonstration and the food! Lunch on Sunday before the gang got on the road was a repeat dinner, and the flavors were even better after blending. Erik said he had never had a professional cook for him ever! Steven said it was an inspired idea. So there you have it. Wonderful for all!"
-- Margaret and Sandy, Shutesbury, MA
"Leslie experiences food as prevention, medicine, nourishment, but mostly pleasure. When you meet her you will find a woman aglow with vitality and energy. For healthy, affordable, timesaving, earth-friendly, and good-for-the-soul food, I 'll have what she's having!"
-- Madeline Charney, Reference Service Librarian, University of Massachussetts-Amherst, and Co-Host of Farm to Fork: The Pioneer Valley's Local Food and Agriculture Show 103.3FM, Valley Free Radio, WXOJ-LP Fall 2008
"Participating in a life-long love affair with food - from the days of cooking strudel in her grandmother Ethel's kitchen to teaching classes today from the kitchen in her passive solar home in Shutesbury, Cerier sees the preparation of healthy food as an act of creativity.
For Cerier, being in the kitchen is a melding of the culinary arts with the grace and whim of interpretive dance. Cerier's ever-changing menu combines what's in season with color and mood, whimsy and what's in stock, she says.
Experiencing whole foods during the entire year brings pleasure and fun into her life, she says, as wells as nourishing her and keeps her healthy."
-- Noah Hoffenberg, writer for Many Hands, Northampton, MA Winter 2009
“Dear, Marvelous Leslie:
What a superb feast…'the boys' dug right in Monday night, chomping and 'yumming' as they went. They continue to do so.
I am delighted with the food you made for us; you are a wonderful person and a loving chef. You are also a loving
person and a wonderful chef. Thank you for being meticulous, wise, caring and fun.”
-- SB Shelburne Falls, MA… Personal chef client April 2010
Praises for Cooking Classes
"First, let me take a moment to thank you for teaching your classes at the Natural Gourmet last week (September 2008). They were well received. I really enjoyed sitting in and listening to you. You have a nice and easy way about you and are generous with your information. I heard your "Wild" book sold well."
-- Judith Friedman, Director of the Natural Gourmet Institute for Food and Health
"Leslie's approach to cooking fits into my life. Giving definitions of ingredients, easy-to-follow charts, clear directions, and substitutions/variations, Leslie has inspired me to eat healthier and to expand the repertoire of meals that I prepare. Leslie's recipes are quick and easy, and with a little advanced planning, they can be made when I get home from work. I took a 5-day program with Leslie and found her to be very supportive, encouraging, and approachable - she answered every one of my many questions! Thank you again Leslie, for a wonderful workshop. I hope our paths will cross again some day."
-- Namaste, Diane McNamara, Philadelphia, PA, Participant in Quick Meals with Whole Foods April 2007
"I came home and was inspired by you. I cleaned out my pantry and realized I had some products right in my pantry that I thought I would have to buy... Your class was great and I enjoyed it immensely. I also enjoyed your attitude towards food and your understanding and patience of those that are just starting to contemplate changes within themselves."
-- Rasheeda, Dietician, Bronxville, New York Participant in Cooking for Womens Health workshop May 2008
"Great Class! The instructions, guidelines and basic information were clear. The answers to specific questions were answered in detail. I believe I can apply this class to cooking at home."
--Lisa Moore, Sunderland, MA
"Thanks for SUCH a great class yesterday ... I already made the peanut butter choc. chip cookies w/ the teff flour ... so yummy! You empowered me -- which is exactly what I needed ... I needed to deconstruct my intimidation with things like quinoa ... so thank you! It's been fun flipping through the book, I'm really glad I bought it. Grrrreat to meet you -- thanks again -- I'm sure I will see you again."
-- Love & Peace, Tricia Armstrong, Northampton, MA 6/3/07
Praises for Cookbooks
"In the age of pre-packaged, heat and serve, mealtimes often lack nourishment; that is, food that satisfies both body and spirit. But fortunately there's a remedy: A unique cookbook by Leslie Cerier, Going Wild in the Kitchen. This cookbook not only offers150+ healthy, palate-pleasing vegetarian recipes, but also inspires and guides readers toward greater creativity in the kitchen.
There is much to like about Going Wild in the Kitchen, not least of which are the many glossaries, charts, and tables that provide all the information one will need in order to prepare the delicious and exciting vegetarian recipes contained in the book - and perhaps a few of your own culinary creations! One particularly handy table details cooking instructions for over eighteen different varieties of grains, including a few "ancient grains," several of which I've never heard of before. And then, of course, there are the recipes! Quinoa with Cauliflower and Feta, and Italian Lentil Stew with Creamy Grano are just two favorites. What's grano, you ask? No worries, it's all in the book!
Going Wild in the Kitchen is beautifully illustrated, however one will not find it includes any glossy photographs, yet surprisingly they are not missed! The author, who is an expert cooking instructor as well as a gourmet organic caterer, awakens the imagination by sharing her knowledge, experience, and passion in this superbly substantive vegetarian cookbook. Indeed, Going Wild in the Kitchen is bound to present more than a few welcome surprises for even the experienced chef."
-- Vegetarianwomen.com
"Simple, instructive and systematic, yet wildly creative, Leslie Cerier's book is nourishment for body and soul. Approaching cooking as sacred play, it is a tool for those who wish their daily fare were more "organic" but don't quite trust themselves at the sacred art of "cooking from scratch."
-- Vicki Noble healer and author of Motherpeace: A way to the Goddess
"Venture into the wild side of the garden and you'll probably find cookbook author Leslie Cerier foraging for a handful of wild greens she features in Going Wild in the Kitchen, a very vegan-friendly, vegetarian cookbook that expands the boundaries of traditional cooking. Inspired, curious, and effervescent about cooking, Leslie aims to ignite that spark of excitement in others to help them explore new foods and discover their creative sides.
"Cooking is a daily ritual that feeds your spirit as well as your body," says the author, while expressing it's more than just eating to satisfy hunger. She views cooking as "a celebration of the earth's bounty" and embraces the changing seasons that bring new taste inspirations to the everyday table.
Recipe for Inspiration is an invaluable nineteen-page chapter that encompasses the author's how-to's like refreshing favorite recipes by exchanging a few ingredients, cooking on the grill when steamy weather chases us out of the kitchen, and presenting suggestions for collecting edible wild plants. This section is packed with informative, detailed charts that inform the reader about uncommon edibles and when to harvest edible flowers, wild greens, and roots, and how they will taste. Here she discusses sweet, sour, pungent, and spicy herbs as well as spices she uses to enhance her recipes.
An extensive glossary of grains and beans along with cooking charts for both introduces the reader to less familiar foods like amaranth, carnaroli rice, and grano. The glossary also includes a primer on mushrooms, Asian vegetables, sea vegetables, noodles, sweeteners, and ingredients new vegetarians may not have encountered, like kudzu and umeboshi paste. Concluding the Recipe for Inspiration is an old-fashioned glossary of cooking terminology to bring newbies up to speed.
Mother Nature lavishes new gifts like leafy greens, vegetables, herbs, edible flowers, and edible wild foods sprouting up from the earth with each change of season, providing Leslie with a never-ending harvest to keep her fired-up.
The author is a true believer in starting the day with breakfast. Her choices range from simple blender treats like Raspberry Almond Smoothie or porridge to more moderately involved Scrambled Tofu with Tomatoes and Fresh Basil. Alternatively, a special morning meal could include Teff Banana Pancakes, Cranberry Scones, or Blueberry Muffin Cake. While each recipe lists specific ingredients, the Mix and Match page at the beginning of each chapter suggests alternatives to create recipe variations.
Clearly, the author loves to prepare soups. One can almost taste a ladleful of hearty Moroccan Lentil Soup with Saffron, a delicious pot of vegetable-enhanced lentil soup seasoned with garlic, ginger, cumin, and cayenne. The facing page, titled Great Garnishes, contains an almost encyclopedic listing of ways to dress up a soup.
Wilder than her soup combinations, are the wild ingredients Leslie uses to make Flavored Oils and Vinegars. Imagine infusing pine needles into white wine vinegar! Wait five to six weeks, then, enjoy this very exotic treat. To season tabbouli salad, she suggests a combination of lemon balm, mint leaves, and violet flowers that become her Lemon-Mint Oil.
The section on Sauces, Dips, and Dressings brings the cook into the world of fusion, where the author expresses untamed creativity in combinations like HummBaba, her blend of Hummus and Baba Ghanoush. While Mexico and the Mediterranean are far apart, they become one in a bowl of tasty Cilantro-Olive Spread.
There's absolutely nothing buttoned-down about this creative cookbook author, a delightful trait that shines through on nearly every page of Going Wild in the Kitchen. Knishes, filled with potatoes or meat, are old-world traditional turnovers found in Jewish delis, but no deli will ever encounter the likes of Curried Vegetable Knishes with Chickpeas. These knishes are seasoned with cinnamon, cayenne, garlic, ginger, fennel, and cumin seeds and filled with butternut squash, raisins, and chickpeas.
Whether its grain dishes, main dishes, side dishes, or anything in-between, it's a wild ride in this author's kitchen. And she gives her dessert recipes equally unbridled creativity. At dessert time, home cooks can dig deeply into heavenly dark chocolate land for recipes like Hot Fudge, Dark Chocolate Cake, and Vegan Chocolate Mousse Pie, or if they yearn for fruity flavors and spiced treats, they can plunge their forks into Maple Cranberry Pecan Cake or Pumpkin Date Pie.
There's plenty of bedtime reading in Going Wild in the Kitchen to inspire a plan for the next day's dash into the kitchen, book in hand. Leslie Cerier packs this volume with loads of Mix and Match ideas to inspire anyone interested in cooking with a multitude of variations. Sidebars, cooking tips, head notes, and For a Change suggestions all share a common theme-there are no have-to's in these recipes, only variations and more variations in this innovatively crafted cookbook."
-- Vegparadise.com Reviewed July 2008
"For
those consumers who want to vote with their forks and knives for a
organic future—and reward their palates at the same time--here's a
cookbook that will serve you well." --Ronnie Cummins,
National Director, Organic Consumers Association
-- Living Without Magazine
In the August September 2009 issue of Living Without Magazine, there was a wonderful review of my
latest cookbook, Going Wild in the Kitchen on page 60: “Creative Cooking” Stuck in a rut? Let Going Wild in the
Kitchen, The Fresh and Sassy Tastes of Vegetarian Cooking (Square One Publishers) free you from culinary
mediocrity – and how. With over 150 wholesome recipes, this exciting and yes, playful cookbook will have you
creating new dishes using fresh ingredients in deliciously imaginative ways. Author Leslie Cerier’s philosophy?
Delight in the Earth’s seasonal bounty and enhance your diet with Mother Nature’s never – ending variety.
Recipes (many are free of gluten, dairy and soy) contain edible flowers, seasonal herbs, wild berries, sea
vegetables and ancient gluten-free grains like teff, amaranth and millet. This book does more than tame your hunger.
It is inspiration to kick – start innovative vegetarian cooking.
For Taste Life! the Organic Recipe Cookbook:
Real
people from Hawaii to Brooklyn swing wide their home kitchen doors and
invite us all to share real foods, simply prepared, with full-flavor
and healthy results. --Deborah Good,
Communications Director
Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust
Praises for Photography
BREATH-TAKINGLY BEAUTIFUL! INSPIRATIONAL!
A GREAT VISUAL HOMAGE TO AUTUMN, BRAVO!
THANK YOU FOR THE LIGHT AND MAGIC.
Simply beautiful work! Jonathan Klate, Amherst Massachusetts
Leslie, what a wonderful delight! I want to jump right into your census. WOW!
Love, Jayne Pearl, Amherst Massachusetts
Dear Leslie: Just love your magic! Or rather nature’s magic captured by you. Thanks for seeing this! Love Annique,
Pelham, MA
LESLIE -- BEAUTIFUL MEDITATIVE WORK! Terry Rooney
Dear Leslie - just this morning we walked on an autumn path carpeted in gold - you have captured this beauty in your
art. Margaret and Sandy, Shutesbury, Massachusetts
You capture the essence of nature - beautiful and breathtaking. Janet Winston, Amherst Massachusetts
Beautiful images! I love seeing the images repeated (on canvas and under glass). This picks up the rhythm of it of
images reflected back by the water lovely. Leslie Scott.
I especially enjoyed the use of natural light in combination with the moving water. Kudos. Mia
Your work touches soul and ego. Ruedi, Switzerland
Leslie, my need for beauty in connection with nature and beyond have been met. All the best Julie R. Pelham,
Massachusetts
Leslie, what a beautiful way to end a busy day with the calm contemplation your work inspires congratulations on a
lovely show! Julie Rivera Leverett Massachusetts
Praises Leslie Cerier's Cooking Videos
Since taking your class in January my two friends and I have had a great time reading, cooking and eating from your cookbook
"Going Wild in the Kitchen". I personally have an extensive cookbook collection ranging from the Classics, to international
cuisines, to books from church fundraisers from around the country. I now find myself reaching for your cookbook most of the
time. "Going Wild in the Kitchen" contains all that a great cookbook offers: ease of organization, readability and receipt
preparation, classic tastes that can be enjoyed by all, whether first time cooks or seasoned gourmets and the invitation to
expand ones own repertoire of gardening, cooking and eating aided by many charts and tips for a personal twist on a receipt.
I loved your cooking videos for making your own flavored oils and vinegars...music was classy and very soothing to listen to
reflecting your voice, the wealth of knowledge and tips given in the video was generous reflecting your spirit, the colorful
inside-outside earth connection embraces all of us in visual nourishment. I could smell and taste the joy! Thanks and keep
them coming!
Love and Best Wishes --- Paula O'Brien, D.Ay ---
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