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vireogirl's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.75
Very well thought out. No photos, but she explains why—to make it easier to imagine the food on all kinds of tables. The groupings are creative for a cookbook but made a lot of sense. There’s subtle color coding. There’s lots of quirky comments that made me want to read all the recipe intros. My favorite section had recipes for when you need to cook for emotional reasons, like to ground and calm yourself.
Recipes seemed doable.
Recipes seemed doable.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing
lorimichelekelley's review
1.0
So I'm looking through this book and find things I think I'd like to make, but they call for the very thing the recipe is called. For example, Meatballs with Basil, Cream and Mustard, calls for Meatballs. Really?? Then Fries with Chaat Masala, Pickled Onions, and Pomegranate, calls for chunky oven fries. Fish Sticks with Japanese Curry and Rice calls for fish sticks. Seriously??? If I wanted to buy the processed crap from grocery stores, I would, and I don't need a $32 cookbook to tell me how to make that stuff. I get it that this cookbook was trying to make cooking easier, but this was just too much.
We did enjoy the Cinnamon Apple Oven Pancake, but I have to say, overall, I am super disappointed in this cookbook and what it claimed to be versus what it is.
And in spite of saying it is a "Cook as you are," there are surprisingly few alternatives for each recipe. For example, "chayote" - which I have never heard of, but a quick google search revealed zucchini as a good substitute. Why not include that??? Also, I want to know reasons. For example, why can't I use frozen spinach instead of fresh, or what's the consequence if I use dried instead of fresh dill. This book claims to help me become more independent as a cook, but instead is just like every other in that I have to rely on their recipes as is because they aren't helping me to figure out more alternatives.
And peanuts in so many recipes?? Why not let us know if another nut might be a good sub?? Can I do almond butter instead?? I wish I hadn't written in this book already, or I would return it
We did enjoy the Cinnamon Apple Oven Pancake, but I have to say, overall, I am super disappointed in this cookbook and what it claimed to be versus what it is.
And in spite of saying it is a "Cook as you are," there are surprisingly few alternatives for each recipe. For example, "chayote" - which I have never heard of, but a quick google search revealed zucchini as a good substitute. Why not include that??? Also, I want to know reasons. For example, why can't I use frozen spinach instead of fresh, or what's the consequence if I use dried instead of fresh dill. This book claims to help me become more independent as a cook, but instead is just like every other in that I have to rely on their recipes as is because they aren't helping me to figure out more alternatives.
And peanuts in so many recipes?? Why not let us know if another nut might be a good sub?? Can I do almond butter instead?? I wish I hadn't written in this book already, or I would return it
lorialdenholuta's review against another edition
5.0
I think by now we all know that cookbooks filled with glorious food photography, recipes written in country-cute fonts, and scatterings of anecdotes from the author about how easy it is to whip up a Black Forest Cake for a dinner party for twelve while Zooming with the office gang and bouncing a toddler on one hip can make for amusing reading, but are those the cookbooks you pick up when you really need help getting a meal prepared? Of course not.
When you're low on emotional spoons, when your energy is spent, when you haven't shopped but need to pull something together, you need a cookbook that meets you where you are. This is that cookbook. And the recipes aren't just mac and cheese (though there is an amazing cauliflower version), this is gourmet stuff! The recipes are international and wildly varied. And you *can* make them, thanks to plentiful advice on how get a meal on the table without exhausting yourself.
The recipes are written with a good balance between a friendly conversational tone and no-nonsense detailed instructions. The friendly blue-edged boxes containing "Variations and Substitutions" advice is included with almost every recipe. Not only are you told what you can substitute, you'll learn what you cannot - if a recipe won't turn out well with gluten-free flour, for example, you'll be told about that here.
Novice cooks, cooks with fatigue issues, or mobility challenges, cooks who can't easily get to the store all the time, cooks with eating disorders, dietary restrictions or allergies - this cookbook will empower all of you. And guess what? No glossy, gorgeous food photography to make your personal efforts seem unworthy! Instead, there's friendly cartoonish drawings of everyday folk making their food in regular, sometimes messy kitchens. They could easily be any of us.
My thanks to Ruby Tandoh, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.
When you're low on emotional spoons, when your energy is spent, when you haven't shopped but need to pull something together, you need a cookbook that meets you where you are. This is that cookbook. And the recipes aren't just mac and cheese (though there is an amazing cauliflower version), this is gourmet stuff! The recipes are international and wildly varied. And you *can* make them, thanks to plentiful advice on how get a meal on the table without exhausting yourself.
The recipes are written with a good balance between a friendly conversational tone and no-nonsense detailed instructions. The friendly blue-edged boxes containing "Variations and Substitutions" advice is included with almost every recipe. Not only are you told what you can substitute, you'll learn what you cannot - if a recipe won't turn out well with gluten-free flour, for example, you'll be told about that here.
Novice cooks, cooks with fatigue issues, or mobility challenges, cooks who can't easily get to the store all the time, cooks with eating disorders, dietary restrictions or allergies - this cookbook will empower all of you. And guess what? No glossy, gorgeous food photography to make your personal efforts seem unworthy! Instead, there's friendly cartoonish drawings of everyday folk making their food in regular, sometimes messy kitchens. They could easily be any of us.
My thanks to Ruby Tandoh, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.
kathrynreading's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
5.0
This book is one of the only truly accessible cookbooks I’ve seen. It covers all the seasons we go through in daily life from excited to cook through to starving and so exhausted you want to cry. There are so many great recipes for when you are exhausted and tight on funds. It’s truly grounding how incredibly blunt and realistic Ruby is about cooking for yourself every day and the challenges that presents. Ruby gets it and she won’t make you use any extra bowls.
Content Warnings
Minor: Fatphobia, Ableism, Eating disorder, and Mental illness
Ruby is honest about her struggles and the pressures we feel to “eat right”welaneyding's review
5.0
This is one of the most thoughtfully structured and inclusive cookbooks I’ve ever encountered. It is a delight to read and provided many insights that have already improved my cooking. The material is made to weather a kitchen and I look forward to using it for years to come!
canadiantiquarian's review against another edition
3.0
Great in theory, lacking in execution. One book simply cannot avoid being aspirational when introducing readers to an expansive mix of global recipes with their own pantries and ingredients requiring specialty stores and online shopping. With extensive website and book references, it works best as a current reference to the recent books and websites that showcase the cuisines Tandoh includes.