And I enjoyed the recipes not less than the cover
927780
An interesting set of recipes that can be prepared in the morning, afternoon and evening. And also during the whole week to please yourself with different dishes. And I enjoyed the recipes not less than the cover. I wish there were pics coming too, but the meals look pretty healthy and really simple so I am satisfied with this book. I absolutely love this book! This book will help you to prepare delicious meal by a little effort. Many recipes have been included here to cook through instant pot. The recipes are amazing, the ingredients are affordable pricewise and easy to find. The language is simple to read and the suggestions are easy to follow. All instructions and recommendations are very detailed, clear, effective and helpful. The author's enthusiasm for healthy clean food shines through the pages. I'm sure everyone would benefit from buying this book.
3823594
I bought this book on a whim, because the cover looked pretty.  I'm very glad I did.  While there are certainly problems (the book won't stay open, and some recipes need the tweaking and intuition that comes with being a knowledgeable cook), I don't find that they outweigh the benefits.

1. The pictures are gorgeous.  I adore cookbooks with pictures, because it's always helpful to know what I'm aiming for!  Also, presentation is a large part of serving food.  And I love pictures of food.

2. The recipes are out-of-the-ordinary.  If this is not your thing, don't get this book.  But I love it.  I love experimenting, trying new foods and new combinations.  This is a book for a foodie.  For someone who loves trying new things.  I've greatly enjoyed everything I've made so far from this book (which has been about 5 things over the past month), particularly the vol-au-vent filled with creamy celeriac and wild mushrooms with a red onion compote.  So.  Good.  I did need to know a bit about making pie dough, in that the recipe said to add "a few drops" to the flour and butter to make a smooth dough.  Having made quite a bit of pie dough, I know enough to add water a bit at a time until the dough comes together.  A beginner would not, but this is not a beginner's cookbook.  And that's ok.  Other cookbooks with perfectly good recipes also have mistakes or vague instructions.  Probably something that should be caught by an editor, but not the end of the world.

3. There's a huge variety of foods.  My husband has recently become vegetarian, and though all the meat options in this book look amazing, there are plenty of vegetarian options that make the book worth-while for us.  There are drinks, cheeses, yogurts, starters, sides, main courses, foods for special occasions (Christmas, Epiphany, Halloween, St. Patrick's Day), and desserts.

As a fairly experienced home cook, this book really excites me and makes me want to get in the kitchen.  My husband has enjoyed the end products of this book as well.  It should be noted that this is not a Julia Child cookbook.  There aren't exact lists of required supplies or step-by-step instructions on how to make pie dough.  But there are a lot of delicious recipes.  And I can't wait to make more of them!
4234292
This is interesting and enjoyable to read,  rather than to use.  There is a good introductory section. The recipes sound delicious, but many of them are based on ingredients that are hard to find where I live , for example, game. It is lavishly illustrated.
2777160
I had never heard of their blog, so didn't know what to expect from this cookbook.  I was pleasantly surprised.  You'll find a wide variety of recipes in here--from one's that serve only one or two people, to recipes large enough for a crowd.  Over the past few days, I've made:

* Coconut Banana Pancakes (super yummy--my kids and I loved them)
* Noodles with BGSK Peanut Sauce (wonderful--similar to other recipes but adds in Worcestershire sauce)
* Joanne's soft scrambled eggs (similar to what I did already--but still, my favorite way)
* Pretzel toffee chip bark (Oh My Yum)

This week I'm planning on yogurt carbonara and work week tomato soup.

This would be a great gift for a new grad--or any 20 something who is just setting up their own apartment/home.  Also good for newlyweds.  One thing I liked a lot about this book is that encourages entertaining--even if one has a small apartment where everybody sits on the floor. :)

This is a really useful, accessible cookbook.  Lots of good recipes, not too exotic, that I can see myself cooking for family and friends for many years to come.  Pictures are nice.  Instructions are easy to follow.  So far, I haven't been disappointed.
1119096
This is a fun read.  It is much more than just a cookbook. It does have some recipes that are a little highfalutin for cowboys, but I am not disappointed.
2281815
I am not vegan and have never tried to eat vegan, but wanted to incorporate some vegan recipes into my repertoire to try and be healthier and more environmentally conscious. I have tried three recipes in the past week, and I LOVE this cookbook. The recipes are fun to read, and of the three I've made, two were ready in about half an hour (about my attention span on a weeknight). And the irreverent tone has my husband excited to read the recipes and help me in the kitchen, which is a big bonus.
One thing to note is that the recipes do not note cook times and the prep-work is not a step of the recipe but is just part of the ingredient list, i.e. diced onions. Reading the recipe in full before you start is pretty necessary. For example, I was making enchiladas that had ingredients listed under separate headings, sauce and filling. I was halfway through the recipe before I realized I needed to chop more garlic for the filling.
That's a very minor note, though. I strongly recommend this cookbook to anyone looking to try some new vegan recipes and have some fun in the kitchen.
1730338
You'd be forgiven for thinking that a diet without animal products, processed foods, nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplants), alliums (onions and garlic), wheat, and oil would be a particularly cruel form of punishment. Blissful Bites proves otherwise. While it didn't convert me to author Christy Morgan's super healthy way of eating, I definitely did enjoy the colorful and, yes, tasty recipes within it.

Blissful Bites is a collection of over 175 vegan and macrobiotic recipes, including some raw and gluten-free dishes. Most are low in oil and (more importantly for me) can be made in under 45 minutes. There's an emphasis on seasonal, whole foods and hardly a stick of Earth Balance or bag of Daiya to be seen. Also good: lots of glossy, full color pictures to inspire you. Sections, which feature recipes organized by season, include breakfast, salads, soups and appetizers, sea vegetables, grains, and desserts.

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't immediately attracted to many of the recipes. The author favors very different spices and seasonings than I do -- lots of recipes call for miso, different vinegars, sea vegetables, brown rice syrup, ginger, coriander, and nutritional yeast. But I rolled up my sleeves and started cooking. Instructions were clear and easy to follow, and although everything tasted very different from what I usually eat, nothing was less than enjoyable. I faced down my tofu prejudices and surprised myself by liking the Southwest Tofu Scramble. The Un-Tuna sandwich filler, which calls for garbanzo beans, was a welcome change from my usual mock tuna recipe with green onions, and the Sweet Carrot-Ginger Bisque had a delicate, mild flavor with a definite zap at the very end. The soup section is my favorite; there are quite a few that I'm looking forward to trying this fall.

A few caveats: I didn't find the dessert section very interesting, since 1) my kitchen is not equipped for vegan, gluten-free baking, and 2) I refuse to believe that tofu has any place in dessert. I also found that a few of the recipes sacrifice a little flavor or time to be healthier. If I make the Sage-Infused Polenta Fries again, I will probably pan-fry rather than bake them. Also, a number of the recipes in Blissful Bites will require either substitutions or trips to Whole Foods for the more obscure ingredients (palm sugar, arrowroot powder, dulse flakes, brown rice flour).

Being neither vegan, macro, low-fat, nor gluten-free, I'm probably not quite the right type of eater to get the most out of Blissful Bites. But macrobiotic vegans and other health conscious eaters might well fall in love with its bright flavors and emphasis on healthy yet tasty meals.
2858121
This is a great little cookbook... I was originally drawn in by the delicious looking cookies on the cover, and a burgeoning understanding of how good for our bodies coconut is.  The balanced approach the author takes is nice; it's fun and many of the recipes are simple - although some are more complicated.  I have a very healthy kitchen, and I try to start into any cookbook using only things I already have in my kitchen.  (For me, a cookbook is too complicated if I have to run to the store to buy obscure ingredients just to make a recipe from the book!)  This book is full of yummy treats, and although I couldn't make the cookies on the cover until I bought a dehydrator (which I recently did for other reasons; and the cookies turned out well!), it was well worth it.  I was also quite pleased to see that a lot of the recipes don't include coconut at all...it made the book even more useful for me.  Definitely glad I purchased it; even though I originally balked at the price.  I'll be coming back to this one again and again.
4838357
Truly a delight. I enjoyed the history and of course, the wonderful recipes that were not beyond the average Cook's pantry or skills.
2633848
It was a refreshing read, and I enjoyed the recipes.  Will have to try some of them.  I ordered a couple more books by Joanne Fluke.
908421
I am hardly a novice to the kitchen, but this book opened up some new perspectives for me. Although I'm a fairly experienced cook, I often follow recipes to the letter, sometimes not even tasting them before serving because I've imagined (accurately) how they will taste. This book is more about techniques and a philosophy of fresh food than just a set of recipes. The recipes are good, but the "lessons" are better. How to make pilaf and why you do which steps when. Basics of a good chicken broth. How (and when, and what kind) to grill or pan fry meat.

I enjoyed the book very much and continue to develop new ideas based off of the approaches presented. My only complaint is that although the recipes emphasize fresh food and using free range, in season and local ingredients, many of the recipes are not whole grain, using white rice and white flour most of the time. But that's a minor complaint. With some experience, you can substitute and have good results, which is part of the whole value of this book.
2800625
This gentleman has a unique way of showing how to make meals that are not only thrifty but delicious; and many using leftovers. I enjoy this little book - mainly because it's easy to read, it's not bunglesome, and if you can muster up enough energy to open the book, work your wrist into a stir, turn on the stove, you've done the hard part : )
3508194
This cookbook not only has great recipes, it is fun to read.  I rarely read a cookbook cover-to-cover, but I did this one!
166421
Some cookbooks I get because I am looking for recipes in a particular category - slow cooker, meals for 1, low calorie. You get the idea.  Other cookbooks I get because they are a good read.  This cookbook is one of those.  With this type of cookbook, I look at any recipe I get out of it as a bonus.

I am very familiar with Alex Guarnaschelli since I watch The Food Network a lot, as well as subscribe to their magazine.  I have had many opportunities to see Alex at work.  I even saw her two efforts to become an Iron Chef, and was pleased when she won.  I knew she got her start helping her mother in the kitchen and that she has a daughter, but not a whole lot more about her background.  Having read Old School Comfort Food, I now know so much more.

This book is filled with Alex's memories of food, from early childhood to during her training.  She shares her favorite kitchen tools as well as foods she uses frequently, even naming brands.  It was nice reading about the importance certain foods and recipes have in her life.  When you get to the recipes, each has a paragraph or two telling you how to pick the ingredients or special tips you need before you start to prep.  Here you will also learn the origin of the recipe for her.  The recipe follows in a step-by-step format making following it easy.  The end of the recipe you will often find additional tips or even handwritten notes.  Many of these tips and notes apply to cooking in general, not to just this particular recipe.

I like pictures in cookbooks.  This one has many.  Not all recipes have a picture, but the ones that do are beautiful.  They really make you want to make it.  The one thing missing from this book, that I would have liked, is the nutritional values.  With the number of sites where you can enter a recipe and it will produce this information for you means this is a minor inconvenience.  This cookbook was a very enjoyable read.
2058762
I bought this book after a friend cooked us a meal using the "recipes".  Its fun to read and an adventure to try using his non-recipe style of cooking with unusual combinations of ingredients.  My husband loved the results too.
2668431
While not a cook book per se (except for one truly, um, interesting recipe), this book was very amusing and actually contained a lot of valuable information as well as entertaining trivia-most popular burger toppings, Super Bowl pizza stats, and a look at what really goes on behind the scenes at a drive-through. In addition to the fun stuff, though, there was a lot of good advice about serving, storing, and reheating different food, how to make healthy choices, and better living through mindful eating. This book was not only a fun read, but is something I'll keep on hand for future reference.
2963792
I was attracted to this book because many of its recipes were unique. The book has several sections titled breakfast, lunch (soups and sandwiches), dinner (salads and mains), party time (snacks and desserts), drinks and basics. The photos in the book are brightly colored, well lighted and appealing. The book fits nicely in my aluminum book holder and stays in place. There are separately listed ingredients for each recipe and the steps to make the items are numbered and are accurate.

I have tried 6 recipes. Of the 6 that I have tried, 4 are ones I will make again and of those, 2 are ones that will become part of my regular offerings in my home  they are that good. The chipotle chicken and black bean soup was delicious and easy to prepare. My other favorite was a curried tuna with apple and golden raisins sandwich. I substituted a garam masala for the curry, which follows the theme of the undefined curry powder in the recipes ingredients.

Two recipes that I really enjoyed were the Asian celery, fennel and edamame salad and a turkey burger. The salads dressing was a mixture of candied lemons (that I made the night before), soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar etc. The dressing called for Siracha sauce, which is spicy hot, but I omitted it because I served it with the chipotle-flavored turkey burger, which already had some heat. The turkey burger was okay. My wife, who doesnt eat beef, really enjoyed it. The ground turkey I bought for the burger was very lean, but adding an egg, bread crumbs, chipotle pepper and some feta cheese made it more like a meat loaf. The final product was moist and tasty but it didn't match the flavor of a beef burger, at least for my palate.

The 5th recipe that I tried was a peanut butter squash soup. My son, who is college aged, said he would eat some more of it if he was really hungry. I didn't enjoy it much the first day; the flavor grew on me the second and third day for lunch. It helped that the temperature outdoors was near zero degrees F. A nice hardy soup hit the spot.

The 6th recipe was a tomato soup that called for a smoked salt. I bought some hickory-smoked salt and made the soup using 2, 28 ounce cans of plum tomatoes. The rest of the ingredients are fairly standard for a tomato soup recipe: onions, garlic, carrots, etc. The recipe called for a few cups of vegetable stock or water. I didn't have any vegetable stock on hand so I used water. The finished product lacked flavor. I should have substituted chicken stock. I would have been better off opening a can of Progresso. That said, if I had used the vegetable stock or substituted chicken stock it might have been a much better recipe.

In summary, I am very pleased that I have added two recipes to my list of more than 100 of my favorites and two more that were very good. I highly recommend this book. The author is well known for her pastries and baked goods but her book  Flour, Too  is a big hit with this cook of savory foods.