Scan barcode
elainegl's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book! I've never read Alana's blog, Eating From the Ground Up, but I love her writing style in this cookbook. I don't know that I've ever read a cookbook cover-to-cover (except maybe a Laurie Colwin book), but I did this one. Alana's personal stories, anecdotes, and advice sprinkled throughout the book were inspiring and informative. Though she's definitely NOT gluten-free, I have made her muffins recipe subbing gluten-free flour mix and it turned out great. She does have a section on baking bread that I can't use, but otherwise it is fine for gluten-free cooks. I left lots of comments along the way, so check those out, too.
lsparrow's review against another edition
4.0
A simple book that goes through many of the basics - from how to cook eggs to making your own tofu. With instructions on variations and lots of great ideas. A book to give a new cook, someone starting out on their own or just wanting to learn the basics.
lflintsoms's review against another edition
2.0
Some good recipes, but organized in a manner that made it difficult to find recipes.
khchristensen's review
4.0
I liked this cookbook a lot more than I thought I would. A couple things that turn me off from a cookbook:
-recipes for pickling things
-the insistence that "if you make it yourself, you'll never go back to buying it from the store!" (usually talking about cheese)
-recipes that use kefir, or whey, or any other byproduct of cheesemaking (again with the cheesemaking!)
...etc. As you can probably tell, I'm not big on the "homesteading" movement. This cookbook includes all of the above. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this book. The photos are lovely without being too lovely. The food looks like actual food. Alana's writing style can be flowery at times (which I normally can't stand), but I found myself enjoying it, rather than hating it.
This cookbook is quite a departure from Chernila's last cookbook, which was just 100+ recipes of "things to make at home and never buy from the store again" (see above list)
I would recommend this cookbook to "brave cooks," which is how the author refers to herself. But I would also recommend it to people who enjoy and appreciate simple meals, easy homemade foods, and fresh ingredients.
-recipes for pickling things
-the insistence that "if you make it yourself, you'll never go back to buying it from the store!" (usually talking about cheese)
-recipes that use kefir, or whey, or any other byproduct of cheesemaking (again with the cheesemaking!)
...etc. As you can probably tell, I'm not big on the "homesteading" movement. This cookbook includes all of the above. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this book. The photos are lovely without being too lovely. The food looks like actual food. Alana's writing style can be flowery at times (which I normally can't stand), but I found myself enjoying it, rather than hating it.
This cookbook is quite a departure from Chernila's last cookbook, which was just 100+ recipes of "things to make at home and never buy from the store again" (see above list)
I would recommend this cookbook to "brave cooks," which is how the author refers to herself. But I would also recommend it to people who enjoy and appreciate simple meals, easy homemade foods, and fresh ingredients.
stacers1973's review
5.0
This is everything I want in a cookbook. Stories, pictures, anecdotes and recipes that make my mouth water just reading them.
thecatwood's review against another edition
4.0
Rereading this cookbook makes me appreciate it more and more. For some it might seem exhaustive, the recipes to make your own yogurt, tofu, and pasta. Chernila has a wealth of knowledge in this book, a long with seasonal, not too fussy recipes. Her personal vignettes promote a charming and holistic view of good food, cooked well and enjoyed.
asealey925's review
5.0
I loved The Homemade Pantry and use it as a reference weekly in my own kitchen. This latest offering from Chernila is even better - as much narrative as cookbook, beautiful photographs, and honest writings on eating more plants, chasing local and why, and so much more. I savored this one for almost a week and can't wait to start cooking.
nicole_p's review
5.0
I love this book! I have been trying to clear out my cookbook shelves and NOT bring in any more. I don't have an enormous amount, but plenty. Still, this one has such simple, gorgeous, homey recipes using fine (but not hard-to-find), simple ingredients, that I will be buying this one after I have returned this copy to the library. I love recipes with a small list of ingredients that create terrific flavor blends that play off one another.
Chernila includes great basics to build upon (for example, the perfect time and temps to roast nearly every kind of commonly found vegetable) and reminds us that current trendy foods and preparations (such as fermenting) have been essentials in kitchens for centuries and are easily accessible and achievable. I also like that she includes a handful of quick, flavorful recipes for one when one may be tempted to just grab another bowl of cereal or piece of toast.
I also love that she is a cheerleader for exploring and messing up in the kitchen and vegetable garden. Your garden can and will have weeds and not look like all the pictures you admire and you can still use the food you manage to grow. Likewise, the things you create in the kitchen will sometimes not come out picture-perfect, but with a little practice they'll taste pretty darn good and you still may end up with some picture-perfect things from time to time. Maybe I like this so much because it matches my own approach to cooking and gardening of which I have been doing both long before social media. Thus, in this instance she's preaching to the choir, but in our image-saturated, western culture and to a generation who has not known any different, her encouraging message may be just the one some need to hear.
Chernila includes great basics to build upon (for example, the perfect time and temps to roast nearly every kind of commonly found vegetable) and reminds us that current trendy foods and preparations (such as fermenting) have been essentials in kitchens for centuries and are easily accessible and achievable. I also like that she includes a handful of quick, flavorful recipes for one when one may be tempted to just grab another bowl of cereal or piece of toast.
I also love that she is a cheerleader for exploring and messing up in the kitchen and vegetable garden. Your garden can and will have weeds and not look like all the pictures you admire and you can still use the food you manage to grow. Likewise, the things you create in the kitchen will sometimes not come out picture-perfect, but with a little practice they'll taste pretty darn good and you still may end up with some picture-perfect things from time to time. Maybe I like this so much because it matches my own approach to cooking and gardening of which I have been doing both long before social media. Thus, in this instance she's preaching to the choir, but in our image-saturated, western culture and to a generation who has not known any different, her encouraging message may be just the one some need to hear.
sarahc3319's review against another edition
4.0
What on earth was I waiting for? I follow Ms. Chernila on Instagram and Facebook... and yet it took me months to check out this book. Just reading the introduction was a lightbulb moment: her approach to cooking, and to food, is the same as mine, the ideas and ideals I strive for. I made rye bread yesterday and it's divine. I am going to try culturing my own cream cheese this month. Inspirational, approachable, useful and pretty to look at, to boot.