“Cooking is not difficult. Everyone has taste, even if they don’t realize it. Even if you’re not a great chef, there’s nothing to stop you understanding the difference between what tastes good and what doesn’t.”
–Gerard Depardieu
Category: Thoughts
Weekend Photos I
Looks like something tasty is in the works! Cold holiday weekends are for baking, what else is there to do?!?!
Some Great Valentine’s Day Desserts
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! With the pandemic still affecting “normal life,” I figured most people would be spending more time indoors this weekend. And if you live in the North East, like I do, we may be getting an ice storm! Yay for winter!! (Is it spring yet??….anyone….)
Anyway….I decided to scour the interwebs to find some Valentine’s Day worthy desserts that you can whip up and serve to a loved one. If you try one of these, let me know what you thought of it in the comments down below!
Continue reading “Some Great Valentine’s Day Desserts”
My Go-To Plant-Based Cookbooks
Even though this is an Ina Garten cook-through blog, I have been broadening my recipe stash and blog posts since the beginning of 2021. Every so often I take a break from Ina’s recipes and when I do, I try to go plant-based. Over the years, I’ve toyed with going vegetarian or full-on vegan. As of yet, that has yet to happen…just look at a few recipe reviews posts.
However, I am still trying to include more plants in my diet on a regular basis. Thus, I have amassed a collection of cookbooks — both in print and on my Kindle e-reader — that have come in handy over the last couple of months.
Below, I have included photos of some of my favorites. You’ll notice that many of them are “general cookbooks.” The huge tomes that cover the gambit. Think Joy of Cooking but for plant eaters!
This book was one of the first vegetarian cookbooks I purchased! It is still a great reference and resource for me. Plus with Bittman’s extensive knowledge of all types of culinary escapades, I feel good making one of these recipes since I can trust them.
This book has a much different tone than that of Mark Bittman’s book. The author’s humor and love for food easily comes across on each page. There are some great recipes in here, and Dragonwagon’s approach to plant-based meals is much more loosey-goosey than other authors. This makes it a great book for beginners!
I call this one the “Vegan Bible.” It literally has every recipe you could ever want as a vegan. I highly recommend this book, especially since many of the recipes are approachable, even for those starting out on a vegan journey. If you are looking to buy a vegan cookbook, make it this one!
Some books that I have on my Kindle e-reader include:
Love Real Food by Kathryne Taylor, the creator of the food blog Cookie + Kate. It has many wonderful recipes that are whole food and plant-based. One added benefit is many of them include ways in which to make the recipe vegan or gluten free.
American’s Test Kitchen The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook by the Chefs at America’s Test Kitchen. While I know that the Mediterranean Diet is not vegetarian or vegan, it is plant-based. It uses animal protein to supplement the plant-based proteins. Even if you ignore the meat-based chapters, there are still some wonderful, tried and true recipes in this book!
I hope you enjoyed this peek into a small section of my cookbook shelf.
Until next time…
Cooking Thoughts Week of 2/1/21
This week I am planning to move away from Ina Garten when it comes to my weekly Friday cooking. As of this moment, I am planning to make a vegetarian dish. Probably a soup. It seems like this time of year, my family enjoys having soup in the house on the weekends.
But the question remains….what soup?
Spiral Cookbooks?
Does anyone else like spiral-bound cookbooks? Personally, I love them! I think they hold up much better than hardcover, and especially softcover ones. It’s a shame that they aren’t printed more often. I guess I’m in the minority on this opinion. After all, publishing is a business.
What I Do on Snow Days
I bake bread!
Friday Cooking January 29, 2021
So I know earlier in the week I posted how on Friday I was planning to switch things up a bit and make something out of the Gourmet Today cookbook. However, sometimes plans change and the weather in southern New England today calls for a hearty soup. So, I’m back to making an Ina recipe. I’ll be making Winter Minestrone & Garlic Bruschetta out of Foolproof. I can’t wait to try this recipe since I am a big fan of minestrone soups in general. They’re so hearty. Especially in the winter.
Ok, I’m Obsessed With Discovery+
Have you heard of it? No! Well then…
Discovery+ is a streaming platform that has past and current television shows and specials from a variety of Discovery-owned networks. These include the Food Network, HGTV, Animal Planet, and more! It also has a preview of what will be available on Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network, which will be launching soon!
One of the reasons I love Discovery+ is its large library of content. I have really only poked around the Food Network options (are we surprised by that?), but there is so much there alone. Lately I’ve been watching the original Barefoot Contessa episodes. This was before the Back to Basics sub heading was added. These episodes are from the early 2000s (2003 and on). They also have a much different artistic style than the later Barefoot Contessa episodes.
I have also been watching old classics from my younger days. Sandra Lee’s and 30 Minute Meals starring Rachel Ray. There is also the entire back library of Pioneer Woman and the streaming even includes some episodes from the latest season of the show!
But there is so much besides Food Network content. Like Animal Planet’s The Zoo and Mega Zoo. Also you can find episodes of Dr. Pimple Popper if you’re into that sort of thing.
If you haven’t tried it yet, I highly recommend getting it. You won’t be sorry!
P.S. This is NOT a sponsored post, I just really LOVE this platform!
Changing it Up a Little
Hey everyone!
This week, I am thinking of breaking out of the Ina-shell once again. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve made a recipe that wasn’t out of one of Ina Garten’s books. If you follow me on Instagram, I teased that I may be cooking something out of the Gourmet Today cookbook. I still have not decided what that will be. But, I’m busy thumbing through the pages, looking for something enticing.
I will surely let you know what recipe I am making Friday morning whether I chose to make one out of Gourmet Today or another cookbook entirely. In addition to my usual Friday-night dinner cooking plans. I will also be making a chocolate cake for a family member’s birthday. However, I will not be making an Ina Garten chocolate cake. She has quiet a few recipes for chocolate cakes. They vary in shape and size, but I just want something a little different.
The cake and frosting recipe I make for the birthday celebration will be out of The Magnolia Bakery Handbook. This is a dedicated baking book and for the price, you get A LOT of recipes and information. If you buy one baking book, I think it should be this one! The recipes are easy to follow and the results are well-worth it.
I’m so excited to share with you photos of the chocolate cake this weekend and whatever recipe or recipes I decide to make for Friday’s dinner.
In other news, I may start doing more than one post a day every now and then. I’ve always wanted this blog to evolve a bit over time. I may have some general life related posts or just little “updates” about things that I am doing that day or that week.
Until the recipes are made….
P.S. The photo at the top of this page is not something I’ve made. (But boy, do I WISH I had the recipe!) I just liked it and felt it went with the theme of this post a little bit.
