Monday, August 24, 2015

Cookbook Review: Bowl + Spoon

Bowl + Spoon
Sara Forte and Hugh Forte
Ten Speed Press, 2015

Flipping through cookbooks and "reading" them is something I do to gain new inspiration and just plain pass the time. It's fun. When a cookbook is about something I already enjoy, even better! I've talked about our "bowl" approach to meals before, so when I saw a cookbook that promised mea-in-a-bowl recipes, I sensed a perfect fit.

Sara Forte comes up with new recipes on her blog, Sprouted Kitchen, and her husband Hugh turns them into delectable photographs. With their background, this new cookbook promised to be inventive and beautiful. In that sense, it fully succeeds. On a first "flip through," I dog-eared several recipes that sounded especially delicious. Coffee table book success.

But for a "simple," weekday approach to meals, it doesn't work as well. Forte may believe these are simple, ordinary meals, but for me (and most of my friends), they are too complex for a simple weeknight dinner. I love vegetables, and I'm certainly not averse to the chopping and prepping a reasonably healthy and fresh meal takes. But when a recipe calls for multiple ("simple") steps, it's still multiple steps. Add in multiple dishes to wash, and I'll keep flipping the pages. I think of "bowl" meals as simple fair.

My goal is to try at least 3 recipes before rating/reviewing a cookbook. However, even though I've had this cookbook for a couple of months, I have only tried two. Both were delicious, and the oatmeal has changed the way I cook oatmeal! (Forte combines both steel cut oats and regular, old-fashioned oats for a delightfully creamy, hearty concoction.) I'm sure the rest of the recipes will be just as delicious when I get around to them. For now, though, I find myself trying new things from The Great Big Pressure Cooker Cookbook and others on my shelf.

Thanks to blogging for books for a review copy of this book in return for my fair review.



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