cookbook – That's Just Me

Library Monday (No Love for Gwyneth)

I promised my buddy Angela from Test Kitchen Tues that I’d review the new Gwyneth Paltrow “It’s All Good” cookbook I borrowed from the library.

Well the book was due back to the library, but unfortunately, there is no review.

I tried, I really tried to remain impartial, but there was so much extra “stuff” clouding my judgement of the book, that I thought it best to return it and possibly re-borrow it at a later date.

But here are my initial observations.

The book is full of beautiful photos…. of Gwyneth.

Gwyneth in shorts holding a tray of eggs. Gwyneth snuggled in a blanket. Gwyneth (wearing shorts again) breaking open an avocado. Close-up of Gwyneth eating a frozen dessert pop. Get the picture? It’s all about Gwyneth and how wonderfully billowy and blonde (w/soft-focus lens) she looks after eating all this wonderful food. {{sigh}}

I just couldn’t get passed her ego, so back to the library it went. Maybe in a couple of months, I’ll borrow it again.

What else is happening in the world of books this week?

Well I thought it was going to be a slow Monday, but I ended up at three different libraries! Yes, I know, I have an addiction problem, I can’t help myself!

I picked up the new Sherri Brooks Vinton preserving book “Put ‘Em Up Fruit” – the sequel to her awesome “Put ‘Em Up” book.

I also picked up another book I requested, “Clean Gut” by Alejandro Junger, plus I found Kitchen Gardening For Beginners on the “new” table. I have heard about the author, and I’m curious. He is also Gwyneth’s doctor, but I’m trying not to hold that against him ;)

And a boatload of other books:

“Crazy sexy kitchen” by Kris Carr (I think I borrowed this before, but it caught my eye on the new shelf again)

“Living with less” by Mary Lambert (also on the new shelf, it’s tag line is how to downsize to 100 personal possessions.)

“Canal House Cooks every day” by Hamilton and Hirsheimer (this is one heavy book! And it also looks intimidating, but it promises to be an “everyday” simple cookbook)

“Diet for a small planet” Frances Moore Lappe (I have heard about this book for years, and it was mentioned again in the “China Study Cookbook” so I’m finally gonna check it out)

My father’s daughter by Gwenyth Paltrow (an old fave; what a difference between this book and the new one! I could barely find any photos of her, most were big beautiful colorful plates of food, which, HEL-LO, is what a cookbook should be)

“Cooking in the moment” by Andrea Riesling (I saw this old fave on the shelf and couldn’t resist it again. This book screams spring and summer to me with so many awesome farm-fresh recipes. It’s also the first time I heard the phrase “Friends, Don’t Let Friends Eat Imported Shrimp” and that really stuck with me!)

“Melissa’s everyday cooking” by Cathy Thomas from Melissa’s Produce (I heard about this book from somewhere recently but can’t remember. Glad I found it on the shelf.)

“Glamping with Mary Jane” by Maryjane Butters (this book looks like a hoot. Glamping=Glamor Camping!! It’s got some DIY and a few recipes.)

“Latin d’lite” by Ingrid Hoffman (on the new book shelf, at first glance, the recipes looked yummy)

“The I love Trader Joe’s vegetarian cookbook” (I’ve seen books from “I Love TJ’s” series before, but never read one. With big bold photos, I couldn’t pass it up, also on new shelf.)

“The great vegan bean book” by Kathy Hester (Also found on the new bookshelf, I’m always looking for new bean books, and this one is brand spanking new!)

“The sprouted kitchen” by Sara Forte (another old fave, and another that screams farm-fresh summer to me)

Phew, I could barely carry my book bag into the house! In the next few weeks, I’ll be sure to post some new book reviews.

Vegetable Literacy by Deborah Madison – Book Review

I first noticed the Vegetable Literacy: Cooking and Gardening with Twelve Families from the Edible Plant Kingdom, with over 300 Deliciously Simple Recipes book on the library “new books” shelf and it immediately leaped into my hands.

I opened the book and while flipping through only a few pages, I knew this book was something special!

I should first mention that I am a big fan of the author, Deborah Madison. Long ago, I bought her famous “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone” cookbooks and I’ve also borrowed the rest of her publications from the library.

I knew as soon as I saw her name on the binding, before I even opened the book, that “Vegetable Literacy” would be something that I needed to read.

The book itself is stunning. It’s a big heavy book, with well-crafted binding. It’s even got one of those fancy ribbon bookmarks (aah, the little things that thrill me!). The book cover is lovely photo of pretty garlic scapes, curling and knotting themselves into unique shapes.

The photographs inside the book are artistic, yet meaningful. What I dislike are photos that are added to a cookbook just for the sake of art, or the author’s ego.

Vegetable Literacy includes photos that describe each vegetable whether just pulled from the ground, flowering, or showcased in a recipe. There is no wasted space in this book.

One of my favorite photos is her “bolting” rainbow chard.

It’s truly an encyclopedia of edible plants!

The book is divided into twelve chapters, one for each plant “family”, including:

carrot family,
mint family,
sunflower family,
knotweed family,
cabbage family,
nightshade family,
goosefoot & amaranth families,
the (former) Lily family,
cucurbit family,
grass family,
legume family
morning glory family

Each chapter then presents specifics about each plant/vegetable in that particular family, including history, varieties, nutritional benefits, food compatibilities, cooking wisdom, and several intriguing recipes.

The index is extensive so it’s easy to find a recipe ingredient or where a plant is discussed, and I did refer to it when I wanted to read about a specific vegetable.

There are many personal anecdotes sprinkled throughout the book that clearly validate her longtime love and respect for vegetables that she personally grows, or finds at the market. One story that fascinated me was when she forgot garden carrots one fall, they rewarded her with beautiful flowers the next summer.

The only thing missing is detailed growing advice, which she does occasionally offer, but you’re probably better off with a gardening book for that.

She did inspire me to grow grow grow, and to try new things like keeping my carrots in the ground after frost or until January or February! Can you tell I am suddenly obsessed with carrots! ;)

This woman absolutely knows her stuff!

Some Bits of Plant Knowledge

Did you know that the Carrot family includes parley, fennel, and caraway among others. I had never heard of the herb angelica, which looks like parsley, but the flavor is unlike anything familiar.

Chia seeds are part of the mint family and are a compete protein (didn’t know that!) It is sometimes called the “running food” because just a handful sustained Aztec messengers during their extended running bouts.

Rhubarb grown in a greenhouse usually have rosy-colored stalks and they’re milder and more tender than stocks grown in the garden or in the field. A common mistake is assuming green rhubarb is not ripe, it’s is! Never eat the leaves, they are poisonous.

Buckwheat is also a compete protein, containing all eight amino acids. Buckwheat flour might need more liquid when using in batters.

The goosefoot and amaranth families include amaranth, beets, chard, lambs-quarters, quinoa, and spinach. For some reason, I thought chard was a crucifer vegetable like kale!

Here’s a recipe from the book I found at Epicurious: Doesn’t Peas with Baked Ricotta & Bread Crumbs sound scrumptious? And the recipe photo is divine!

I admit I didn’t have time to read every single word about every single plant, but I couldn’t believe how much I learned, and how much Deborah inspired me.

Read This Book!

Today, I am sadly returning Vegetable Literacy, admittedly a couple of days overdue, with the promise that I’m going to request a copy again very soon, because I didn’t have enough time with it.

If you find a copy of this book, it’s certainly meant to be cherished, and read over and over.

And that’s my Library Monday!

Disclaimer:
I love reading cookbooks, like some people love reading novels! I am inspired by recipes, and enjoy learning ideas from cookbooks, which means I’d rather put my own spin on a recipe than follow it exactly. Please keep in mind that my opinions might be completely different from the other home cooks.

“Good for You” by Williams Sonoma Cookbook Review

I just returned the cookbook “Good for You (Williams-Sonoma): Easy, Healthy Recipes for Every Day” by Dana Jacobi to the library and I already have plans to borrow it again!

I am a fan of Williams Sonoma publications, and this was no exception. It offers information as well as recipes, a lot of which are available on their web site.

The first chapter “start with the plant” offers a brief reference to each food group, such as “cabbages & crucifers” which enlightens the reader to the wonderful benefits of bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, napa cabbage and cauliflower.

The book offers a lot of nutritional snippets that I was happy to learn!

Did you know that red cabbage gives you twice as much vitamin C as green cabbage? And that kale beats broccoli in beta-carotene and carotenoid content as well as vitamin A and calcium? And that oregano has the highest antioxidant level of all herbs?

Then there were recipes, which were divided into Breakfast, Main dishes, Sides & snacks, and Desserts. At the end of the book, there are two pages of “Basics” which covers recipes like gremolata, pesto, and homemade yogurt.

Some of the inspiring recipes I found were:
Butternut squash and pears with Rosemary,
Spaghetti squash with garlic, oregano, and Parmesan
and Olive oil chocolate mousse, which utilizes olive oil instead of cream!

I returned “Good for You” to the library only because someone else requested it. Otherwise, I’d be keeping it for another few weeks! It’s worth a check-out for sure! Recommended!

Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman Book Review

I’ve been an occasional reader at the Smitten Kitchen blog by Deb Perelman, but after reading her new cookbook, I’ve become a regular subscriber.

I borrowed the The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook from the library and I knew I needed to read it quickly as the library wait list was extensive.

I started out flipping through pages reading the recipes, noting a few favorites, and checking to see if I could find similar recipes online. But as I read one of her many book reviews/recipes online, she mentioned how funny and charming Deb’s stories were, as it was the first cookbook to make her laugh out loud.

I was intrigued so I slowed down, and started reading from the beginning. I have to admit up until that point, I was already hooked, but reading her charming narrative really did add another interesting aspect.

I even found several recipes that I originally bypassed, but after reading her recipe back-stories, I was excited to try. The whole wheat raspberry scones was one recipe!

Besides the sweet stories, she makes many elaborate sophisticated recipes seem attainable and simple to make, such as pizza dough, scones, and blintzes. I love her take on unique flavors and ingredients, and she assures that all but fifteen of the recipes are brand new!

There are tons of detailed, wonderful photos, including plenty of all-important finished dish photos. The one thing I can’t stand is wasted space for artistic photos of fancy cookware and close-ups of ingredients that illustrate nothing about the actual recipe. There’s none of that in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.

Just a few of the recipes that I want to try:

Emmentaler on Rye with Sweet & Sour Onions – tell me that sandwich photo doesn’t make you salivate!
Cheddar Swirl Breakfast Buns – Another salivation-fest! I’ll try it with whole grain flour though.
Gingerbread Spice Dutch Baby – I’d love one big fluffy oven pancake for our dinner!

I’m sad to return this cookbook back to the library this week, but I have requested it again; in a few weeks I’ll have one more chance to read through it.

Update (May, 2013): I have borrowed this book at least 2 more times because I am so inspired by it!

The Sprouted Kitchen Cookbook – Cornmeal Cakes Recipe

I borrowed The Sprouted Kitchen: A Tastier Take on Whole Foods from the library and I’m loving this book! I hope I have time to write a complete review, but until then, I wanted to blog the details of her cornmeal cakes recipe.

the sprouted kitchen - cornmeal cakes

I made a batch this morning and was extremely impressed. Pancakes are hit or miss with me, usually because I wing it and don’t follow a specific recipe! This time, I followed her directions, well, up to a point. I still put my own spin on the ingredients, but it worked beautifully.

Her original cornmeal cakes recipe also includes cherry compote, but we topped with some of my own homemade Concord grape syrup instead.

Cornmeal Cakes Recipe sans Cherry Compote

Recipe adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen by Sara Forte (page 42)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup fine cornmeal or corn flour
1.5 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp boiling water
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp chia seeds (or experiment with other seeds, like sesame, poppy or even caraway)
1/4 cup yogurt mixed with 3/4 cup water
1 egg, beaten
coconut oil for pan

Directions:

Add cornmeal to large bowl, then stir in oil and boiling water. Allow to rest for 5 minutes to soften cornmeal.
In another small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt, then set aside
Add chia seeds, yogurt liquid and egg to the cornmeal mixture and mix until blended.
Pour the dry flour mix into the cornmeal mixture and stir carefully until blended.
Cook pancakes over medium heat in cast iron pan or griddle, adding 1/2 tsp of coconut oil to the pan for each batch.

NOTES:

Blending the cornmeal with the liquids beforehand seemed to make it a lot easier to blend in the flour. Sometimes I feel like I’m over mixing.
Sara’s original recipe included honey and sugar, but I don’t like adding any sweetener to pancakes since we always top with sweet syrup of some sort. Truthfully, even plain, these pancakes were really delicious! I didn’t miss the extra sugar at all! Anyway, I replaced 2 Tbsp honey with more boiling water. If you want to go by her original recipe, add 2 Tbsp honey with the cornmeal, olive oil, and boiling water, and 3 Tbsp of natural sugar to the dry flour ingredients.
Sara made her pancakes with 3/4 cup buttermilk. I had plain yogurt on hand, so I mixed 1/4 cup with 3/4 cup of water, making a full cup of liquid which was 1/4 cup more liquid than the original recipe. I like a really thin batter, and the consistency of this was perfect for me.
The original recipe used all butter, but I replaced with olive oil and coconut oil.
The chia seeds were my idea. I love adding seeds to pancakes!

I will definitely make these pancakes again. I love the taste of corn pancakes, and next time I’m thinking 1/2 cup of shredded coconut might be a nice addition. Yum!

the sprouted kitchen - cornmeal cakes

Grateful: Giving Thanks in November

November is the perfect time to give thanks.

I started a separate Gratitude Blog a couple of years ago but I don’t post very often. I figured this month it would be a good to once a day, pause, and feel a moment of gratitude for something wonderful in my life that day or week.

I might not be able to blog every day, but I’m going to set an alarm on my phone for a gratitude moment.

To start off today, I am so very grateful to live in a community with many awesome public libraries that offer free access to as many books that I can handle! I found a new (for me) library in Methuen today, as I was closeby picking up apples at a local farm. The library is beautiful and I found a bunch of wonderful cookbooks to borrow.

Life is good!

Food Network Magazine 1000 Easy Recipes Cookbook Review

I saw The Food Network Magazine 1000 Easy Recipes cookbook showcased on QVC and I immediately requested it from my local library.

When I picked up the book, the library staff mentioned how impressed they were when they browsed the recipes, so I was looking forward to diving in.

When you initially flip through the book, you immediately notice the stunning photos; pages and pages of detailed, full-color photographs illustrate how the finished dish looks.

The first part of the book highlights a few chosen recipes to consider for specific menus. Menus like Pizza Party, Thai Dinner Party, Tex-Mex Night, Autumn Dinner Party, Farmers Market Lunch, Vegetarian Night, Cozy Winter Supper and Family Picnic to name just a few.

I was really looking forward to checking out some of these recipes: Ginger crackles, maple walnut trunks, bell pepper pasta salad, veggie burgers, popcorn, oat walnut thins, and peanut butter mousse. Yum.

The book is separated into main chapters with sub-chapters:

Appetizers & Snacks: Crostini, Dips, Tea Sandwiches, Nachos & Potato Skins, Chips & Party Mixes
Breakfast & Brunch: Smoothies, Pancakes Waffles & French Toast, Eggs & Bacon
Main Dishes: Soup, Kebabs, Burgers & Dogs, Panini, Pizza & Pasta
Salads & Sides: Tossed Salads & Slaws, Potato & Pasta Salads, Beans & Grains, Veggie Sides
Drinks & Desserts: Cold Drinks, Hot Drinks, Cocktails, Brownies & Cookies, No-Bake Desserts

As the book sub-title “super fun food for every day” suggests, it’s all about putting together uncomplicated, quick family meals: Grill a burger, throw together some salad veggies and you’ve got dinner.

Make no mistake, this is not your average instructional cookbook, I suppose you could say the “recipes” in the book aren’t even recipes – for each type of dish, there are dozens of variations, each with only a simple paragraph “description.” The concept is very similar to Mark Bittman’s “Kitchen Express” cookbook.

While there are a thousand recipes in the book and a few tips scattered here and there, there are no instructions for basics like roasting a whole chicken or peeling a fresh artichoke. No one is holding your hand as you braise a beef chuck roast or make your first creme brulee.

For that reason, this book might not be the best choice for a beginner; although, I suppose it could be a helpful companion cookbook if the newbie also owned a copy of something more detailed (I highly recommend Cook with Jamie or the Essential NY Times Cookbook as cookbooks for beginner cooks.)

The Food Network Magazine 1000 Easy Recipes cookbook motivates a lot of experimentation in the kitchen, but does it go overboard with so many variations for one type of food? Sure, you will probably never need 7 pages of crostinis or 40+ kebab variations, but at the same time, it is inspiring and interesting to read their flavor combinations.

Bottom line, I don’t recommend buying The Food Network Magazine 1000 Easy Recipes cookbook, unless of course you are a big collector and must have every cookbook ever published.

If you are wise, you’d just grab a copy from the library to browse through first. Then find your favorite recipes online at the Food Network web site or just jot down a few notes from a few favorites as the recipes are so short and sweet.

This cookbook seems more like of a novelty, which isn’t necessarily bad, it’s just that personally, I can’t envision myself referring back to it again and again as I would with a more “mainstream” cookbook.

A Couple of my favorite recipes (found online) at Food Network:

Connecticut Farmer & Feast Book Review

I found the Connecticut Farmer & Feast: Harvesting Local Bounty book at the library, and took a few weeks to read it.

The book opens with an introduction and I was saddened & shocked to learn that Connecticut’s farmland is disappearing at an unbelievable and alarming rate of 8000 acres a year! The author, Emily Brooks, states that it is one of the fastest in the country! In less than 20 years, CT has lost 21% of their farmland; residential and commercial building is taking over.

She also states that farms require less than 50 cents in town services for every dollar they generate in local taxes while residential development costs towns more than 1 dollar for every dollar of revenue generated.

That statement puzzled and intrigued me, so I did some research. With the cost of schools/education, police/fire, road maintenance, towns that have a choice to purchase & save open space vs allow commercial/residential development, are much better off in the long run choosing to save the open space. Real estate taxes go up for everyone to recoup the cost of more children attending schools.

Here is a great link I found while searching:
http://www.greatswamp.org/Education/anjec.htm

When I think about it though, we can’t blame the farmers for selling out to developers. The local farmer is overworked and vastly under-appreciated.

That’s why this book is so important. It shines the well-deserved light onto local Connecticut farmers.

The book is divided by county. Each farm is highlighted with a few pages, including their location info and a full description/interview with several photos.

There are many different types of farms including many that grow vegetables, several that raise animals, and some even operate a fishing/shellfish business.

I was amazed that there were also a few maple syrup producers, although the book states that only tenth of % of all maple trees in Connecticut are actually tapped for their syrup.

This is not necessarily a cookbook although there are lovely recipes using some ingredients that the highlighted farm sells. It’s more like a history book with stories from each farm with photos so you can really see each farmer and the land they work.

Some stories are heart warming and some are heart breaking. For instance, the owners of Futtner’s Family Farm (3 generations) are going through financial problems due to health issues. They are drowning in medical bills. Theirs is a sad but hopeful story of family and deep love for each other and farming.

I wish we lived just a little closer to Connecticut and some of these marvelous farms.

It’s exciting that the author is currently writing a ” target=”_blank”>similar book for NYC. I really hope she considers a Massachusetts version in the future! It’s something that could be a fantastic reference for every state!

If you live nearby to Connecticut, I recommend finding a copy of the Connecticut Farmer & Feast: Harvesting Local Bounty book, even if it’s from the local library. It’s a great resource to learn more about specifically where your food comes from!

Cook This, Not That 350 Calorie Meals – Book Review

When I first started changing my lifestyle, one of the first books I borrowed from the library was “Eat This, Not That” and then the “Eat This, Not That: Supermarket Survival Guide.”

Yeah, these books get you thinking in the right direction (and they did help me initially), but truthfully, they are really just about eating better-quality junk food; at the end of the day, it’s still junk food.

The original ETNT book was published in late 2007, and since then, the authors/publishers have cultivated this “brand” into a huge franchise, publishing new, updated versions every year, and coming up with more titles, such as “Drink This, Not That” and their “Restaurant Survival Guide.” According to wikipedia, as of Sept, 2011, they’ve sold more than 8 million books!

Cook This, Not That

I was curious about the “Cook This, Not That – 350 Calorie Meals” version, so I borrowed it from the library.

As expected, it was true to the franchise formula, offering recipes to home-cook a restaurant-style dish (eat this,) while claiming they could save the reader money and calories compared to the restaurant counterpart (not that.)

Big problem though. I found some, if not most, of the book examples weren’t fair comparisons.

For example, lasagna rolls (page 196) compares itself to Olive Garden’s Lasagna Rollata al Forno. The recipe calls for 6 oz of long thin lasagna noodles, to make a 6 serving recipe. That’s only 1 oz of pasta for each person, calculating a total of 380 calories for each serving.

Come on! Do they really think we’re going to be satisfied with only one serving? Compared to the size of the Olive Garden plate, I would venture a guess that you’d need at least TWO (or more) servings, totaling 760+, coming a lot closer to the Olive Garden’s 1170 calorie plate.

A second example, the California Pizza Kitchen Original BBQ Chicken Pizza (page 180) is calculated at 1136 calories for a whole pizza (web site states current calories are less at 1055). The recipe makes 2 pizzas divided into 4 servings, at 380 calories for half pizza. How is that fair? Eating the whole homemade pizza brings the calories up to 760. A little sneaky and misleading that they’re not comparing apples to apples and pizzas to pizzas!

Most recipes were pushed down to the 350 calorie mark, but don’t be fooled, because in order to reduce calories, they weren’t giving you complete meals. Most so-called meals were only proteins. No carbs, no vegetables.

For Example, 360 calories for Chicken Pizzaioli (page 222) is compared to 1090 calories for the Olive Garden’s Chicken Parmigiana. Well, they kind of left out the fact that their version gives you a much smaller portion of chicken and doesn’t include any pasta, so in reality, it’s really not such a mind-blowing difference, is it?

Same with Herb Roasted Turkey Breast (page 228) compared to Bob Evans Turkey and Dressing. The recipe just calculates the turkey at 140 calories, but remove the dressing and gravy from the Bob Evans plate, and I bet it comes in just about equally. Very sneaky!

Don’t Waste Your Time and Money on this Book

Don’t waste your time with “Cook This, Not That – 350 Calorie Meals“, you’ll only be disappointed; their low 350 calorie meals are unbalanced and incomplete. They will not fill you up, and you’ll be searching for something else to eat, adding more calories to your daily total.

When you need a special treat, isn’t it better to splurge on something decadent? No, living a healthy lifestyle shouldn’t include a visit to the Olive Garden or Wendy’s very often, but sometimes you just want a good plate of junk food from a chain restaurant. Don’t worry about calories for ONE crazy treat meal, just enjoy and savor it while it lasts! :)

Recommendations Instead of This Book

If you need help to cook healthy, satisfying meals at home, borrow a Jamie Oliver book from the library; I especially love to recommend Cook With Jamie.

Also highly recommended is Hallmark TV channel’s “Mad Hungry” with Lucinda Scala Quinn. I love her down-to-earth, simple recipes!

There are also countless amounts of instructional cooking videos on youtube, and even many cooking podcasts on iTunes.

These are all much better choices than anything offered from the Eat This, Not That franchise. Good luck!

Jamie Oliver’s Meals in Minutes Cookbook Review

jamie's meals in minutes by jamie oliver

I borrowed the book Jamie Oliver’s Meals in Minutes: A Revolutionary Approach to Cooking Good Food Fast from the local library.

I was looking forward to reading this book. I love Jamie Oliver. His books are so helpful for beginners and I love watching his tv shows and internet videos. I’ve learned so much from him.

But unfortunately this book bored me, which pains me to admit, because I’m such a fan. I did read it all the way through, but it was a quick read. I just flipped pages for a couple of hours, and when I was finished, I promptly put it on the shelf by my front door, waiting to be returned to the library.

So, what’s wrong, exactly? Let’s start with the recipes.

Recipes Too Complicated

The book includes 50 complete meals: each meal includes 3 or more recipes on one page. The concept sounds great in theory, until you actually start to read them.

Like prior Jamie Oliver books, his recipes are written in paragraph style, but with 3+ dishes on one page, it’s very difficult to read & cook and then try to find your place again on the page. You’re switching from one dish to another and back and there’s just too much going on at once.

I realize Jamie wants to get people back in the kitchen, cooking homemade meals. He strives to give the reader as much information as possible to succeed, but cookbook recipes aren’t meant to read like a novel with paragraph after paragraph of detailed text. I wish he wrote the book using simple steps with bullet points.

Not So Easy Ingredients

Besides the complicated format, a lot of the ingredients are not items that the average home cook has in their pantry or even has access to at their local grocery. If you’re gonna include something like halloumi, you need to also include some sort of food product definition so people know what the heck they’re cooking!

Unnecessary Mandatory Kitchen Gear

And it’s not just ingredients that bugged me, he actually has a section in the beginning introduction titled “You Need this Equipment” – naming 2 columns of absolute “must-have” kitchen gear that he priced out at $550 – a hefty chunk of change for someone that is just starting out in the kitchen.

Yes, I have most of the recommended tools, but it’s gear I accumulated over time, not in a few days. It’s disappointing because Jamie Oliver has always been a minimalist (naked) chef, informing us that we don’t need no stinkin’ ice cream scoop or electric kettle. But now he is pushing a page of mandatory tools, but only because they’ll help you stick to the book’s promise that you can cook these meals in 30 minutes or less. That’s a silly reason to buy a garlic press, 4 cutting boards, a 3-level steamer, or an expensive food processor with extra blades and discs.

And to boot, it looks like the speed of the recipes has been greatly exaggerated anyway. It’s been reported that some recipes take upwards of 90 minutes instead of 30, as promised in the book, while others complain that it’s too stressful to try to keep up the 30 minute time crunch. If cooking is hurried and frantic, then it’s not fun; I don’t think that is the message that Jamie is trying to get across to people, is it?

Free Range and Cage Free Are NOT What They Seem

I’m also dismayed that he’s still recommending animal products labeled with out-dated “cage free” and “free range” misnomers. People are so easily confused by all the misleading terminology. I wish for once someone of his fame and influence would get it right!

Videos Are Better

Now, on a more positive note, check out the corresponding “30 Minute Meals” videos online instead. You can find a bunch on YouTube.

I think newbie home cooks would learn so much more with visual instruction, but if a book is needed, I highly recommend one his previous books:

I know a lot of time and effort went into the book and Jamie has made it his lifework to get people cooking at home; maybe this book will work for some people. It just doesn’t work for me.