Happy New Year & Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Matrix Cookbook Review.

Happy New Year friends! Hope you are all having a fantastic week, and can you believe that it’s already half way through the month? Where has the time gone, I’m in denial. The past few months have been just insane packed; between work travel, personal travel for the holidays, holidays and buying a new house (more on that later)… it’s just been crazy.

I don’t do the whole “new year’s resolution” business. For me, the year renews on my birthday and let’s be honest… how many resolutions do we actually keep? I much prefer choosing a few things to work on and be mindful of as the year progresses to front loading my things to update list. My thing this year is to be better about cooking different things. There’s a cooking “rut” that I can easily slip into when life gets hectic. My go to recipes are played over and over like a worn our record and in the same way that listening to the same song 50 times get’s old, so does eating exactly the same thing day in and day out. That being said, I feel like I do need to give an honest disclaimer here and say that when the Coldplay “Sky full of Stars” and Adele’s new song “hello” came out I played those bad boys like they were going out of style.

FullSizeRenderBack to resolutions, I decided that with a new kitchen and finally having an oven again after what felt like an eternity, it was time to crack one of the stacks of cookbooks and try a few new recipes. The first cookbook I reached for was Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Matrix. This book is my mantra. He builds this cookbook on the idea of improvisation; presenting multiple ways to cook the same ingredient or ways to play with a certain method of cooking. This book is about finding an ingredient that gets you excited to cook, then shopping for the recipe.

Regardless of your cooking style, this book will inspire you. By the book recipe follower, you’ll be happy. Improv loving pinch of this and that cook, you’ll be inspired. There is truly a recipe for everyone, gluten-free, meat loving, paleo, vegan, etc.

The diagrams and imagery in this book, not to mention the organized and mindfully chaotic way each page is laid out, was so easy to digest and kept me turning the pages. It really is a kitchen bible, from a DIY condiments/sauces like homemade ketchup and teriyaki, to an entire section devoted to how to make your own spice mix, 12 ways to cook eggplant and mouth watering meat recipes, you’ll be able to cook and improv to your hearts content.

I received a free copy of this book for my honest opinion, and my opinion was in no way biased.

She’s back and there’s a cookbook review

6168K-vVrEL._SX419_BO1,204,203,200_Hello friends…

It feels like it’s been ages since the last blog post. Between our first trip to Italy, getting engaged, moving and loads of work travel I haven’t done much home cooking. Well, except the trip to Italy which was a cooking trip to one of the most amazing villas with my favorite chef in Seattle and there are MANY blog posts about that. But, for today all I have time to do is a quick cookbook review.

If you thought that yogurt is only for breakfast, you have a lot to learn!  You’ll learn how to use yogurt in appetizers, salads, soups, sauces, marinades, beverages, and desserts. The biggest value of this book was the step by step instructions for how to make your yogurt at home! While I haven’t tried that recipe yet, mostly because I barely have a kitchen, I totally will once I have space to make it! The recipes feature both conventional recipes as well as ethnic and savory dishes and has a nice balance between the two. Books like this help you think more about the ingredients that make up a dish, and how you can completely change a recipe by changing one ingredient.

The pictures were beautiful and inspiring but I most of the recipes are more of the novelty “ made this one time” versus being part of the regular round-up. Stay tuned for a few recipe posts from the book in the coming months.

Please note, I was provided a free copy of this book by Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest opinion.  

Cookbook Review: Relæ

A chefs dream of short essays51AKo+BdKAL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_

Unconventional, non-traditional, story telling at it’s finest. This is more than a cook book full of recipes and measurements, this is a glimpse into the practice and philosophies behind Puglisis’ kitchen magic. Read at your own speed- each recipe is interconnected but stands on it’s own but has it’s own magical, deeply personal, story.

Relæ was opened by Chef Christian F. Puglisi in 2010 in one of Copenhagen’s most crime-ridden areas. He had one simple goal, to serve impeccable, intelligent, sustainable, and plant-centric food of the highest quality. His approach was simple, forget focusing only on the frills and serve amazing food.

More of an essay read than a recipe book, but ingenious and engaging.

Joy the Baker (A woman and a cookbook)

joy the baker cookbook (Photo from her website)
joy the baker cookbook (Photo from her website)

I was SO excited to see that she was had on her calendar not one or two but THREE book signing’s in Seattle! How special are WE! Reading Joy blog feels like sitting down to coffee or opening open a bottle of wine and ruffling some delicious creation in the kitchen with a good friend. You’ll immediately be endeared to her fun-loving realism (Can’t we just say medium at Starbucks!?) and have the urge to take a bite out of every one of her photos. With the inspiration of cooking parents, Joy developed her baking skills with the most esteemed tasting committee a baker can have, their own taste buds and those of friends. Joy the Baker has been around since 2008 and is now producing her FIRST cookbook (Congrats!!), Joy the Baker Cookbook: 100 Simple and Comforting Recipes.

Any food blog whose Recipe” list starts with Booze is okay by me! And let’s be real… this excerpt from her latest post, “Coffee and Bacon Sandwiches” talking about the motivation and inspiration for her cookbook just proves that recipe addicted, food photographing, culinary bloggers are cut from the same thread:

“I know you eat popcorn for dinner.  I know you bake brownies for boys.  I know you’re just looking for an excuse to make biscuits for every meal of the day…. and I love you I love you I love you!!!”

Well, my version of popcorn was gourmet nacho’s with rice cheese BUT I was that girl, okay okay…and still am, that bakes the corresponding cookie for each holiday. I’m the girl who dreams of recipes in her sleep and finds every excuse to throw a dinner party. Bake Popovers is the first item on my  to do list and yes, I spend hours on Pintrest looking at food pictures and plotting about what I can cook for the next meal.  But Joy, we love you too!!!Can’t WAIT to get the book, have her sign it, and meet the woman behind one of my favorite blogs! Where do I add the count-down ticker until book signing day! There’s an app for that right?

Joy the Baker Cookbook: 100 Simple and Comforting Recipes View Product on Amazon.com