As the coronavirus pandemic unfolds and shelter-in-place and quarantine guidelines are enacted and extended around the country, many of us are experiencing more anxiety and free time than we are accustomed to, and looking for activities that are creatively fulfilling and therapeutically soothing. One such activity is cooking—a way of extending kindness to your family and roommates, not to mention yourself, as well as keeping healthy, active and engaged.

Not sure where to start? Check out the following cookbooks, all written or co-written by SVA alumni, that will help you move confidently in the kitchen.

Canal House: Cook Something—Recipes to Rely On

Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton (BFA 1983 Fine Arts)

Voracious

Hardcover/e-book, $24.99/$16.99

Canal House co-founders Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton are renowned in the culinary world for their ongoing series of cookbooks, which prioritize quality ingredients and straightforward preparations. Other titles by the pair include Canal House Cooks Every Day and various seasonal and occasion-themed volumes.

The Forest Feast: Mediterranean

Erin Gleeson (MFA 2007 Photography, Video and Related Media)

Abrams Books

Hardcover/e-book, $35/$14.27

This latest book in the Forest Feast series by Erin Gleeson—a photographer who began collecting her plant-based recipes after moving to rural California—was published last fall. Earlier Forest Feast installments include Simple Vegetarian Recipes from My Cabin in the Woods, Colorful Vegetarian Recipes That Are Simple to Make and Gatherings.

Almonds, Anchovies, and Pancetta: A Vegetarian Cookbook, Kind Of

Cal Peternell (BFA 1987 Fine Arts)

William Morrow Cookbooks

Hardcover/e-book, $16.99/$1.99

The third cookbook by Cal Peternell—who spent more than 22 years as a chef at the iconic Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, California—likewise focuses on vegetable dishes, using meat and fish sparingly and for flavor, rather than as centerpieces. Peternell's previous titles are the acclaimed Twelve Recipes and A Recipe for Cooking.

My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method

Jim Lahey (1986 Fine Arts)

W. W. Norton & Company

Hardcover, $19.97

Jim Lahey, founder and owner of the Sullivan Street Bakery in New York City, is responsible for one of The New York Times' most enduringly popular recipes, for "no-knead bread." He has also written The Sullivan Street Bakery Cookbook, My Pizza: The Easy No-Knead Way to Make Spectacular Pizza at Home and the above title, which builds on his famous Times recipe.

Eat, Drink, Animate: An Animators Cookbook

Tom Sito (BFA 1977 Animation)

CRC Press

Paperback/e-book, $39.95/$10.61

Tom Sito, considered one of the hundred most important people in animation by Animation Magazine, is the creator of this cookbook that celebrates the works of other legendary animation artists from around the world. This book was also recently awarded with the Best In World award at the 25th Gourmand International Cookbook Awards.

Happy feasting!

This feature has been adapted from items in the Visual Arts Journal.