​I have reviewed a number of digital books, courtesy of NetGalley, a site that sends ebooks to librarians in the lead-up to their publication. The idea is to encourages book reviews and hopefully purchases for our libraries.  This is the first NetGalley book that I ordered a personal copy of before I even finished  reading the galley. No Recipe, No Problem by Phyllis Good does an excellent job of capturing the methods of improvisational cooks like me. (The joke in my house was always, "Any resemblance to the original recipe is purely coincidental.") My choice to buy the book was based on a need to see the photos in color! The Kindle version just wasn't doing it for me.

Phyllis Good was the creator of the "popular Fix-It and Forget-It" cookbook series. She also pulls in a circle of other accomplished improvisational cooks to share their expertise. The book contains a handful of recipes as jumping off points, with plenty of tips on how to use the dressing or sauce in a variety of combinations or how to take it off in a completely different direction by substituting different ingredients. For the most part, however, Good explains how to make soups, salads, egg dishes, sheet pan dinners, roasts, and other main dishes, using what is on hand.

There are enough pro tips thrown in that even an experienced cook will find gems about how to give soups and sauces a bright finish or how to use unexpected flavor combinations.  But another audience for this creative cookbook would young people who are just starting out cooking and who may have followed recipes slavishly with good results and who want to take a more off-the-cuff approach. It would be a good fit too for people focusing on local foods or who have their own garden. The author expects cooks to have a decently stocked pantry, but she also discusses how to use an abundance of specific veggies and how vegetables harvested at the same time of year tend to make for solid flavor combinations. 

The library has purchased a copy and it is available for checkout. Checking out cookbooks can be a way to try one out to see if you too need your own copy, or if it might make a good gift for a wedding shower or graduation. 

No Recipe, No Problem by Phyllis Good was published April 21, 2021 by Story Publishing, LLC. 

Dr. Benjamin Gilmer began his medical practice in a rural  clinic in the mountains, just outside Asheville, North Carolina. Coincidentally, the clinic's previous doctor was also Dr. Gilmer, first name Vince and no relation to Benjamin. Vince was in prison, sentenced to life for the brutal murder of his father.  

Although he'd initially been unconcerned about sharing a name with the man he'd replaced, Benjamin's feelings shifted over time. The more he heard about Dr. Vince, the more mystified he became. Why did the easy-going country doctor kill his father and then show up at the clinic for the next few days, seeing patients as usual? And his patients had been devoted to him. By all accounts, he was a kind and giving person, a little quirky at times, but never cruel. 

What was the truth then? Had Vince been hiding violent tendencies for years? Was he a psychopath? A sociopath? How might such a disturbed individual feel about the new Dr. Gilmer? Benjamin found himself jumping at shadows, irrationally fearful that Vince might somehow return to seek revenge on the man who'd taken over his practice. At that point Benjamin decided the best way to settle his nerves was to visit Vince in prison. 

That first tentative visit was the beginning of an unusual friendship between the two Dr. Gilmers. Benjamin came away from it little more insight into the murder. What he did recognize was that the man in the prison jumpsuit was seriously ill, shuffling his feet, struggling to speak. He appeared decades older even though the two Dr. Gilmers were just a few years apart in age. His brain, Vince said, wasn't working, probably due to coming off SSRI antidepressants. But that had been years earlier. Benjamin thought it unlikely that Vince's current symptoms could be explained solely by that. So began his journey to find out what had caused the other Dr. Gilmer's symptoms and to seek help for him. 

This story had been featured several years ago on the podcast "This American Life," and I happened to have caught the remarkable episode, though I'd forgotten some of the details. If you want some spoilers, you can listen to journalist Sarah Koenig's hour-long collaboration with Dr. Benjamin. Even if you do, be sure to read the book for the latest updates on the story of the two doctors. Benjamin Gilmer is an excellent writer, but also uniquely suited to take on this cause. Raised by parents and step-parents in the helping professions, he was unable to turn away from a prisoner who needed medical attention and someone who simply cared. 

The Other Dr. Gilmer is a true crime/medical mystery but also a critical look at the failures of prison and healthcare systems in the US. The struggle to get a definitive diagnosis of Vince's condition and then to get him even minimal treatment raises questions about states' responsibilities to incarcerated people. 

The Other Dr. Gilmer was published March 1, 2022 by Ballantine Books, and is available for check out at Moon Lake Community Library.