Cookbook Review – The Nourished Kitchen

I received a copy of the Nourished Kitchen by Jennifer McGruther awhile ago. But as life is very full I have not gotten a chance to do my review until now.

Let me start by saying that this is another beautiful cookbook with stunning photos of most of the recipes (although a few do not have a photo). She has chosen an interesting way to organize the recipes. Chapter headings include titles like “from the garden”, “from the pasture”, “from the waters”, and “From the orchard”.

“From the pasture” is the 2nd chapter in the book and the focus is on dairy and eggs. She teaches several different ways to make  yogurt, yogurt cheese, clarified butter, milk, kefir, sour cream, fresh herb frittata, and olive oil mayonaise (eggs).

This is not a dairy free, gluten free paleo cookbook. The subheading is “Farm to table recipes for the Traditional Foods Lifestyle.” If you are looking to get back to a more traditional whole foods way of eating then this cookbook will be value to you. Of the cookbooks in my kitchen, I find this most similar to the classic Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Mary Eng. Because it is not a faddish diet, this cookbook will last long with remakes of traditional classics. 

As a sourdough baker I was pleased to see a number of sourdough recipes, including “simple sourdough pie crust”,  “sourdough crumpets”,  a basic “whole wheat and spelt sourdough bread”, and 4 full pages on tips for working with sourdough and the starters.

Another helpful section is a 2 page spread on beans and lentils with a handy chart of different beans and lentils, their flavor, nutritional information, and how to prepare. It is followed by a number of helpful recipes with different beans.

If you have been wanting more information about fermenting various beverages like kombucha, water kefir, and ginger bug sodas, there is an excellent section on how to make each of these, including some great ideas on flavoring the various drinks.

The only qualifier to this review is that some of the recipes do call for more unusual ingredients. Stinging nettle soup or wild mushroom soup are probably not recipes I will make as I don’t really have access to either of these ingredients without some unusual effort. On the other hand, sometimes having recipes like this in my kitchen push me to be more creative and get out of my comfort zone. Jenny McGruther’s recipe for preserved lemons is something I hope to use if I am able to get a box of organic Meyer Lemons again this winter like I did last year. I did not preserve them in her suggested manner because I had no idea that was even possible. I would like to try it this year especially since fermenting the lemons means they can be used for up to 2 years. Great way to extend the harvest.

Overall I am very impressed with this cookbook and give it a 5 star rating. It has earned a place in my kitchen and I am grateful to have it as a resource.

For a look at the table of contents and a few of the recipes in the book there are several recipes at this link.
To get your own copy click on the link below.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Shared at  Wellness WEdnesday, Wildcrafting Wednesday,  Natural FAmily Today.