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nicole_reads_everything's review
4.0
Interesting book filled with a variety of different types of salad--mostly vegetarian, lots of seasonal ingredients, and some gorgeous plating. Every recipe had a photo, which I love, though it doesn't have lie-flat binding, which I don't love. The recipes are, on the whole, quite bougie with a number of expensive ingredients/just written in a way that feels a little inaccessible, which is frankly exactly what I expected based on the description. I marked a number of recipes for later, and I've generally been approaching my cooking a very seasonal way, so I appreciated having some inspiration for a number of veggie-forward options throughout the seasons.
mmajer's review
4.0
3.5/5 stars. My current rating is solely from reading the book - I have not yet made any recipes. I'll update my review (and maybe rating?) as I cook through it.
Highlights:
- Love the index with dressings - perfect for when I'm looking for inspo
- Good tips on buying and storing ingredients
- Appreciate how it's broken down by season
- I'm definitely looking forward to cooking bacon "Snoop style." Sounds very easy.
- The writing. Oddly enough though, some of my favorite lines aren't about the food.
"I loved him before he broke the melon open with his hands, but that day on the beach was one of my favorite days and stands out in my memory - one of those that makes me laugh when I'm angry and believe in my bones that it's right."
"It's July, it's summer. It's hot and the nights are long, and it's the time of year when you can get lucky with evenings that hold a certain kind of magic, the way a certain song can, the way it can linger in your mind, when you can really feel it. Did you dream it? Sometimes the only proof is the sand at the bottom of your bedsheets."Swoon to that imagery.
On the flip side:
- Some of the recipes are laughably simple. I'm all for simple, but a recipe for scooping balls of melon? No herbs, salt, nada. Sure there's a nice anecdote to go with it, but scooping balls of melon is not a recipe (at least not to me). Neither is adding some edible flowers to tomatoes.
- Back to the simplicity - this book relies heavily on the quality of ingredients. Meaning if you don't get the best quality out there, some of these recipes don't really have much else to save them. One of the problems with this is some of these ingredients (at least for me personally) are going to be hard to find. This is a real bummer since she romanticizes these dishes so much in her writing that it leaves me wanting to try things I may never be able to get a hold of. Luckily, the author does break the book down by season, so that will be handy to remind me what's in season and when it will taste best.
Overall it's a cool concept, and as someone who is always looking for new lunch ideas, I think I'll be able to get some good use or inspiration from this.
Highlights:
- Love the index with dressings - perfect for when I'm looking for inspo
- Good tips on buying and storing ingredients
- Appreciate how it's broken down by season
- I'm definitely looking forward to cooking bacon "Snoop style." Sounds very easy.
- The writing. Oddly enough though, some of my favorite lines aren't about the food.
"I loved him before he broke the melon open with his hands, but that day on the beach was one of my favorite days and stands out in my memory - one of those that makes me laugh when I'm angry and believe in my bones that it's right."
"It's July, it's summer. It's hot and the nights are long, and it's the time of year when you can get lucky with evenings that hold a certain kind of magic, the way a certain song can, the way it can linger in your mind, when you can really feel it. Did you dream it? Sometimes the only proof is the sand at the bottom of your bedsheets."Swoon to that imagery.
On the flip side:
- Some of the recipes are laughably simple. I'm all for simple, but a recipe for scooping balls of melon? No herbs, salt, nada. Sure there's a nice anecdote to go with it, but scooping balls of melon is not a recipe (at least not to me). Neither is adding some edible flowers to tomatoes.
- Back to the simplicity - this book relies heavily on the quality of ingredients. Meaning if you don't get the best quality out there, some of these recipes don't really have much else to save them. One of the problems with this is some of these ingredients (at least for me personally) are going to be hard to find. This is a real bummer since she romanticizes these dishes so much in her writing that it leaves me wanting to try things I may never be able to get a hold of. Luckily, the author does break the book down by season, so that will be handy to remind me what's in season and when it will taste best.
Overall it's a cool concept, and as someone who is always looking for new lunch ideas, I think I'll be able to get some good use or inspiration from this.