In case you haven’t heard: banana skins are edible. But I have to admit, that’s just a teaser to pique your interest in the recent cookbook by Tainá Guedes. At the moment it’s available only in German, under the long title “Die Küche der Achtsamkeit. Mottainai: Nichts verschwenden, kreativ kochen, gesund essen” (2017, Kunstmann Verlag). “Mottainai“, as you may know, is a term borrowed from Buddhism and loosely translates as “don’t waste anything that has value”. That’s to say: this book is all about delicious food, but most of all about handling ingredients with love and care and using leftovers for new dishes. It’s not a dry lecture in food ethics, however — instead, it’s a practical, inspiring recipe book for everyday meals, as is encapsulated in the cover, which features a smiling Tainá Guedes. The author was born to a Japanese mother in Brazil and, luckily for us, she moved to Berlin to inspire this city with her cosmopolitan spirit and knowledge — founding the Entretempo Kitchen Gallery, amongst other projects. It’s precisely Tainá’s unique blend of Japanese-Brazilian-European influences that make her recipes special. Like that banana peel — it’s fried, by the way. And it’s only one of many delicacies shared in the book, next to “São Paulo-style couscous”, Japanese noodle dishes, napkin dumplings and much more. (Text: Nina Trippel / Photos: Pamina Aichhorn)
Tainá Guedes: “Die Küche der Achtsamkeit. Mottainai: Nichts verschwenden, kreativ kochen, gesund essen” (2017, Kunstmann Verlag)
