I would qualify my cooking skills as average at best. I can follow a recipe, but I don’t have any instinct or flare when it comes to improvising or substituting. I am constantly texting my mom or my sister-in-law to answer my very basic cooking questions. In my defense, these questions usually relate to cooking meat. I’ve been a vegetarian since I was thirteen, so that explains why I have no idea how to cook a chicken! Besides often lacking in skill, other hurdles I face in the kitchen include a lack of time, a lack of inspiration for non-meat proteins and a lack of meals that my son will actually eat. On days when I am home with my children, time might seem to drag. However, time in which I can be operating a knife or using a hot stove is non-existent since the baby became a toddler. When I am working, I try to do some dinner prep when I’m taking a computer break (a perk of working from home), but sometimes I look up at the clock and it’s already time to pick the kids up from daycare. In terms of non-meat proteins, I have a quinoa salad recipe and a lentil stew … but I really want to add to that repertoire. As for Cub’s picky eating (a trait undoubtedly inherited either through genetics or karma from yours truly), this is probably not something a few new cookbooks will resolve, but I am willing to give it a try.
Here’s what I thought of four new books from DK Great Tastes Food & Drink Boutique:
The recipes in this book are designed to be completed in 20 minutes or less. The introduction includes some great checklists for what kinds of non-perishable ingredients to always keep on hand for easy meals, as well as items to buy in bulk and freeze. This is definitely the kind of book that would be perfect for a young person moving out on their own for the first time, especially since I think most schools don’t offer home economics classes anymore. The introduction also includes some tips that would help anyone who doesn’t spend a ton of time in the kitchen (*ahem* husband *ahem*), such as: “Read the recipe all the way through before you start.”
With some really cute and easy-to-follow graphics, the No Time to Cook Book presents some great ideas for spicing up some of my favourite go-to speedy meals, including omelettes, salads and sandwiches. It also introduced me to something I didn’t know existed: One-Pot Pasta. I was extremely skeptical that you could combine all the ingredients—including the uncooked pasta—into one pot and have a meal come out at the other end. Well, you can, and it was yummy! Cub even ate it!
As I mentioned earlier, I am a vegetarian. My husband used to refer to it as my “disease” while feigning embarrassment over my meat-free ways at dinner parties. Some Netflix documentary has finally convinced him that a plant-based diet is the way to go, and he has almost expressed gratitude for the fact that I have been cooking plant-based meals for the past ten years for him! Our favourite recipe so far is Grandma’s Chicken-y Noodle Soup. Not so vegetarian sounding, but that “y” at the end of “chicken” means there’s not actually ANY chicken in this hearty and comforting dish! I’ve made it three times so far, and it’s a very quick and simple soup to make in under an hour.
The other dish we tried, especially given the success of the One-Pot Pasta recipe, was the One-Pan Pasta Primavera. Once again, I was shocked to discover that I could pile in all the ingredients (uncooked pasta included) and make a delicious meal with no mess! The one thing I would change about this particular recipe is the moment at which I add the broccoli. I like my broccoli to be crisp and bright green, so next time I will add it closer to the end. The recipe makes such a large quantity that I froze some for quick lunches for the toddler.
Quinoa. Freekeh. Barley. Buckwheat. Spelt. Farrow. Grass-type Pokémon or ancient grains? Well, both have secret powers that you need a guide to unleash … so …. same thing? I have been cooking with quinoa for years, but there are so many other high-protein, nutrient-dense grains out there that I have yet to conquer. Grains As Mains features fourteen different grains, with an introductory section on their unique qualities and how to cook each one to perfection. For the first time ever, I bought and cooked buckwheat! Turns out Little Miss really likes just plain, cooked buckwheat, which she happily munched as I prepared the Beet and Buckwheat Soup with Lemon Yogurt Sauce.
I thought this soup was delicious, and Papa Wolf enjoyed it too. I cannot claim that Cub was a fan, but he did like the other recipe we tried from Grains as Mains: Mexican Quinoa Salad. This is the salad I made on my birthday since I liked it so much the first time! To be fair, Cub likes only parts of the salad, but I’ll take what I can get.
The last book we received is not actually a recipe book: it’s an idiot’s guide to wine! Wine: A Tasting Course is going to help Papa Wolf and I stop pretending we know what we are looking for when perusing a wine menu or browsing the shelves at the liquor store. Do you want to know how I currently select a bottle of wine? It’s a combination of the price tag and the label. And by label, I mean whether or not the wine has a punny name or a cute logo.
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Lesley F says
It would have to be No Time To Cook
Catherine Brown says
I would like to try the Plant Based cookbook
Bailey says
All three cookbooks! Wine doesn’t agree with me but I don’t have time to cook and I’m trying to do more grain and vegetarian based meals so they would be perfect.
jan says
I would love to see that Grains and Mains one.
Laura says
I would be most interested in using the NO TIME TOO COOK one! 🙂
Richard Brandt says
I’m most interested in the No Time to Cook Book because that’s my story in a nutshell.
Amber Ludwig says
I really would cook most from the NO Time to Cook book lol!! I swear I never have any time!!
Darlene Carbajal says
The No Time to Cook book lol.
Mia J says
I would like No Time To Cook.
polly says
I would love the No Time To Cook cookbook
Wendy R. says
No Time To Cook Would Definitely be a good cookbook for me.
Wanda Tracey says
The book I would be most interested in would be the No Time To Cook.Thank you for the great giveaway!! 🙂
Edye says
I’d love no time to cook!
Sarah De Diego says
Honestly, all of them! Canadians eat far too much wheat (and not enough of other grains) so I’m always looking to add them to our diet. We’ve cut back a lot on our meat eating and I’m looking for plant based foods to serve and wine, I can always read about wine!
Besos Sarah
Journeys of The Zoo
Linda says
I want to try cooking from the Plant-Based Cookbook.
KittyPride says
The Plant Based Cookbook appeals to me, I would love some more no meat options.
Ira says
No time to cook, I think.
Nicole van der Dussen says
The “No Time to Cook” book seems to speak to me, having 2 rambunctious toddlers to look after each day!
kathy downey says
Of the four books would i would most interested in using No Time to Cook
ivy pluchinsky says
I would like to try the Plant Based cookbook
Jennifer P. says
I absolutely would be most interested in the “The No Time to Cook Book” – I could really use some meal ideas that could be ready in 20 minutes or less!! I am always running out of time to cook!!
Cheryl MacPhail says
I would like the No Time To Cook Book 🙂
Jana Leah says
I think I would like The No Time To Cook book best.
Jeanna Massman says
I love The No Time to Cook Cookbook!
Carol M says
Grains and Mains, always looking for new ways to incorporate them on my diet.