Something-out-of-nothing Recipes

Artist Alexandra Kalinicheva about her new book Bold Chef or Brave Cook: Recipes for Making Something Out of Nothing in Any Uncertain Situation

I'm not particularly into cooking, but I often find myself wanting to eat. In fact, several times a day. Because of this, I gathered "something out of nothing" recipes from my friends and made a book. Now, please take a look at the pictures for this project.

I can't quite bring myself to call them illustrations; they're more like images meant to spark the cook's imagination and boost the appetite. In other words, they don't depict specific recipes.

All the watercolors in this series carry a touch of the landscapes from where I live. Perhaps I've been drawn to a bit of light surrealism.
Today, enjoy the gory-pomidory (mountain-tomatoes), please.

Foreword
Here is a cookbook that doesn't aspire to earn Michelin stars. You won't find pineapples or game birds here. But as our precious communal experience shows, simple solutions often turn out to be far more practical than sturgeon in champagne.

There are plenty of jokes about how texting with your spouse almost always boils down to "buy bread," with not a hint of romance. Perhaps there's some truth to that. We decided to create this guide for the young homemaker based precisely on such everyday dialogues with loved ones—those moments when we share with each other what and how to cook.

We love food and always feel a bit happier after a good meal. And very often, we don't have the ingredients called for in most even the simplest recipes. That's why we offer you these options for preparing meals from the kinds of messages you send on the way home so that dinner is ready and waiting.
I hope you'll find here simple recipes for dishes "made from nothing" and appreciate the true poetry of everyday life.

The pictures in this book are not traditional illustrations but rather guide the cook's imagination and inspire a moment of reflection on the beautiful.