Start where you are. Feed yourself. Do your best, and then let go. Be helpful. Slow down. Don’t be afraid of food.
Alana Chernila has these phrases taped to her fridge, and they are guiding principles helping her to stay present in her kitchen. They also provide the framework for her second book. In The Homemade Kitchen she exalts the beautiful imperfections of food made at home and extends the lessons of cooking through both the quotidian and extraordinary moments of the day. Alana sees cooking as an opportunity to live consciously, not just as a means to an end.
Written as much for the reader as the cook, The Homemade Kitchen covers a globe’s worth of flavors and includes new staples (what Alana is known for) such as chèvre, tofu, kefir, kimchi, preserved lemons, along with recipes and ideas for using them. Here, too, are dishes you’ll be inspired to try and that you will make again and again until they become your own family recipes, such as Broccoli Raab with Cheddar Polenta, a flavor-forward lunch for one; Roasted Red Pepper Corn Chowder, “late summer in a bowl”; Stuffed Winter Squash, rich with leeks, chorizo, apples, and grains; Braised Lamb Shanks that are tucked into the oven in the late afternoon and not touched again until dinner; Corn and Nectarine Salad showered with torn basil; perfect share-fare Sesame Noodles; Asparagus Carbonara, the easiest weeknight dinner ever; and sweet and savory treats such as Popovers, Cinnamon Swirl Bread, Summer Trifle made with homemade pound cake and whatever berries are ripest, and Rhubarb Snacking Cake.
In this follow-up to Alana’s wildly successful debut, The Homemade Pantry, she once again proves herself to be the truest and least judgmental friend a home cook could want.
Pick up your copy here...
ALANA CHERNILA writes, cooks, teaches cheese making, and blogs at EatingFromTheGroundUp.com. She lives with her husband and daughters in Western Massachusetts.
The Homemade Kitchen has won over my heart. This isn't your normal cookbook, but that is meant in a very good way. The cookbook begins with a topic called starting to cook. The topic talks about why we cook? The second topic is being a beginner. The author tells how her daughter is learning how to cook and the topic ends with how to cook an egg. Alana tells how to cook an egg in every way possible.
The recipes are completed with the things that are found in your pantry. Each recipe is easy to follow and guides you through each step of the recipe. The pictures of the final dish are very good and professional.
The things that were a lovely surprise was the things that normal cookbooks don't have. The book is filled with tutorials that will help you in the kitchen. For example How to use fresh herbs and how to make pasta. I think this cookbook should be in every cook's possession no matter the level of experience of cooking. My favorite thing in the book was the tutorial about scaps you shouldn't throw away. I found this cookbook to be very helpful, interesting and informative.
I gave this cookbook 5 stars. I recommend this cookbook and it would make a great gift.
I was given this book by the publisher for my honest review.
