I thoroughly enjoyed reading I Love You: Recipes from the Heart. And nothing has surprised me more.
Why? Because the author is… Pamela Anderson.
Yep, my fellow Elder Millennials. That Pamela Anderson. Has written. A COOKBOOK. An absolutely wonderful cookbook that you need to buy and read and start cooking from.
What’s I Love You: Recipes from the Heart about?
Pamela Anderson’s cookbook overflows with cozy, simple, rustic, nature-based vegan recipes. She covers breakfast, lunch, salads, soups and sandwiches, light dinners, desserts, and even frickin’ afternoon tea. I Love You: Recipes from the Heart is also filled with the most beautiful photographs of Pamela’s life on Vancouver Island. You get glimpses of the landscape that inspires her, the flowers and vegetables blooming in her gardens, and, of course, the incredible-looking food she puts on the table for those she loves.
Pamela has traveled all over the world, but two places that really seemed to make an impression on her are London and Paris. She embraces the European mindset of cooking that I love most: the best food just needs simple, fresh, and few ingredients, as long as they’re good. The recipes throughout the book are vegan, which means we’re talking no meat of any kind, and she’s using plant-based butters and nut-based creams.
I love You also contains recipes for homemade dog treats, different types of rustic breads, homemade beauty products, and canning and preserving ideas and tips.
Why I decided to read I Love You: Recipes from the Heart
I shouldn’t be surprised that I found my way to a Pamela Anderson book. Pamela caught my attention back when I was a pre-teen — a.k.a., when I had the biggest bustline in my middle school. Pamela felt like a kindred spirit; she knew what it was like to be judged on how you look, even if she used those judgements to her advantage whenever she could.
I never watched Baywatch (though one of my friends would give me detailed synopses of episodes on the playground every day), but I loved Pamela’s guests stints on The Nanny, where she brilliantly embraced a role that poked fun at the “dumb blond” stereotype.
Admittedly, Pamela had fallen off my radar for the past 20-something years. But when I saw her appear recently on a red carpet without makeup, looking confident and gorgeous and free, I was like, I see you, girl. And I’m here for it.
Shortly thereafter, I discovered she’d written a cookbook. I browsed a few pages online then requested a copy from my local library.
What I love about I Love You: Recipes from the Heart
This entire cookbook is lovely. I oooh’d and ahhh’d with each turn of the page. Everything about I Love You: Recipes from the Heart is a cozy, inviting hug. The photos of flowers, water views, gardening, soft gauzy white dresses and soft cloud-grey sweaters, and, of course, the meals and drinks and desserts.
Pamela herself seems just as lovely as her cookbook. I loved the tidbits that she reveals about her life in I Love You, mainly her travels and what foods she picked up there, and what she loves to cook for her family these days at home. She just seems incredibly natural and down-to-earth, and it makes you really curious about how she was able to live the Hollywood Lifestyle for as long as she did. She’s clearly in her element now, living wild and natural.
I never thought Pamela Anderson would be an inspiration for cozy seasonal living and recipes. But, folks, you never know where life is going to take you.
Recipes I’ve tried and want to try from I Love You: Recipes from the Heart
Longtime Tartlets will be surprised to learn that I’m touting a vegan cookbook. So am I.
Even though I don’t plan on going vegan, I loved the ideas that I Love You: Recipes from the Heart gave me. The hardest part of meal planning is coming up with cooking inspiration, especially when you’re tired of the same old, same old. This cookbook provided fresh new ideas about how to eat the rainbow, and I’m there for it.
So many of the savory recipes are easily adapted into non-vegan and non-GF versions. It’s probably a little harder with the baking recipes, but I plan to give a few of them a try. So far I’ve made:
- Herby French Potato Salad
- Herby Pistou
- Shaved Fennel and Apple Salad
- Moroccan Anti-Inflammatory Lentil Soup
- Golden Milk Hot Chocolate.
Everything was delicious. A friend of mine made the Warrior Chocolate Chip Cookies and said they were yummy.
Here are some other recipes on my radar to make from I Love You: Recipes from the Heart:
- Pan Bagnat Sandwich
- Almond Tea Cakes
- Lemon Vanilla (spelt) Scones
- Homemade hummus
- Artichoke dip (which I will make vegan because the amount of calories in traditional artichoke dip appalls me
- Stone Fruit Clafoutis
Should you read I Love You: Recipes from the Heart?
While I initially borrowed I Love You: Recipes from the Heart from my library, I ended up buying my own copy a few days later because I knew this was a cookbook I wanted to have on hand. If you’re looking to eat fresher and healthier, if you’re looking for fun new ideas in the kitchen, or even if you just want to see former Mrs. Tommy Lee living in all her witchy woman-and-elemental glory, pick up a copy of I Love You: Recipes from the Heart. I really don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
What’s the book-inspired recipe?
Check back in for the book-inspired recipe: Heirloom Tomato Galette.
