July 2014 Cookbooks

The New Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook by Ellen Brown

I was lucky enough to inherit a few pieces of cast iron cookware and this book has inspired me to pull them out and get them seasoned and ready to cook with. The author gives a chapter at the beginning of the book about the benefits of cooking with cast iron and how to season and care for cast iron cookware. Then it's broken down like a traditional cookbook with breakfast, sides, main dishes, breads, and desserts. There were lots of great recipes I'd like to try. This one will make you want to ask your grandmother if she has any old cast iron pots around you could "borrow" for awhile.

The Real Food Cookbook by Nina Planck

As the subtitle reads, this book is full of "traditional dishes for modern cooks." The author describes changing from trying to eat a supposedly more healthy vegetarian diet, to changing to what she calls "traditional foods," including meat, dairy, and fat which are often disparaged as unhealthy. There are lots of yummy sounding basics that look very easy to pull together quickly. It's broken down like a traditional cookbook with appetizers, salads, soups, sides, main dishes, etc. But, I like that at the end there are a few pages about how to source good, local ingredients - which makes a big difference in my opinion. There are definitely a few recipes I'd like to try from this. Another great cookbook for anyone looking to make more homemade, traditional food.

The Nourished Kitchen by Jennifer McGruther

This cookbook has TONS of great, seemingly very easy recipes for basics and staples that most people use all the time. I am a firm believer that doing things from scratch or homemade can sometimes be even easier than the "convenience" ways. I also think society and media have steered us away from using traditional things like lard that is rendered from pig fat to seemingly "better" options that are just full of chemicals. There are recipes for homemade sour cream, lard, curing your own bacon and more traditional recipes too. There are quite a few things I hope to try from this one. If you're interested in more traditional and homemade ways of cooking this one is for you!