The Kitchen Counter Cooking School

I purchased this book after reading a review from another blogger; and, it was well worth the investment!

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School written by Kathleen Flinn

After finishing her culinary degree at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, Kathleen found herself wondering what to do next.  However, after a chance encounter at the local grocery store where she helped a mom figure out how to replace her pre-packaged grocery supplies with fresh ingredients, she embarked on a project that would bring confidence to nine hesitant home cooks. Kathleen began by putting together a group of volunteers that would allow her to come into their homes to investigate how they cook, and then teach them how to be proficient in the kitchen. She taught these women, from diverse economic backgrounds, how to perform elemental tasks such as chopping vegetables, roasting chicken, making stock, and creating soups. The results for each volunteer were different, but they all gained confidence and know how that changed the way they ate.

As someone who teaches simple cooking classes on a regular basis, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have seen the same sense of accomplishment on the faces of women that Kathleen describes in her book. The overall feeling of community that takes place in the kitchen is something that is essential to the health of our bodies and our families; and, this book definitely portrays that feeling. I would recommend this book to both seasoned home cooks and new cooks alike. It offers a wide range of hints and tips along with some tasty looking recipes. A great read for anyone who needs inspiration in the kitchen!

To learn more about this weekly reading report, click on the tab above.

Fascinating Find - No Bake Chocolate PB Bars

I saw this recipe a couple of months ago on Talking Dollars and Cents. When I was making these delicious treats, I was thinking that they were going to be like granola bars. Boy was I wrong! These are definitely dessert. They were simple to make, and everyone loved them. Plus, the kids were especially pleased to be served a dessert instead of a granola bar.

Be sure to check out Kathryn and Alexandra’s blog where you will find lots of great recipes, menu planning ideas, and coupon tips and hints. Thank you Alexandra for sharing such a decadent dessert recipe!

Blog Link: Talking Dollars and Cents

Recipe Link: No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars  

Homemade Croutons

Food waste ruffles my feathers a little bit. And it is because we have lived through some very lean times in our marriage over the years. So, when I see recipes that literally create something from nothing, it does my heart good to know that others take food waste as seriously as I do. Cindy over at The Christmas Plan wrote a post recently titled When Life Hands You Lemons. Cindy talks about a ruined batch of sour dough bread and how she turned the inedible bread into tasty croutons.

Well, with the stale pieces of my recent loaf of No-Knead Beer Bread, I tested out Cindy’s recipe for croutons. Not bad for a first try. We ate more of them off the pan than in the salad. I think that I may have baked them too long because they were hard to spear with my fork, but still yummy. I will definitely be trying out this technique again to perfect it.

Be sure to check out Cindy’s blog to read more about her desire to live a simpler life while instilling within her children the meaning of true wealth. You will find recipes, craft projects, and fun stories about learning to raise ducks! Thank you, Cindy for sharing a great recipe that reduces food waste and illustrates “the joy of doing more with less.”

Blog Link: The Christmas Plan

Recipe Link: When Life Hands You Lemons (Crouton Recipe)

This post has been linked to Frugal Tuesday Tip.

Recipes To Try...

I have not been doing much cooking or baking lately. We have spent so much time coordinating our move by packing, unpacking, cleaning, and organizing that we have been eating the simplest foods possible. However, I have seen a few recipes that I am looking forward to trying once our life gets back to normal and settles into a routine again.

Cinnamon Streusel Dessert Pizza

English Muffin Bread

Chocolate Chickpea Spread

Have you tried anything new lately?

Food Rules

Do you find food complicated? Do you walk the aisles of the grocery store reading labels and shaking your head? Do you wish that you knew what to do with all of that great looking produce at the farmer’s market? Well, you are not alone. And, Michael Pollan, has written a short and sweet book on how to figure all of this out.

Food Rules: An Eater's Manual written by Michael Pollan

This is a book of food wisdom complied to help people navigate the grocery store and eat better. The rules are simple and straight forward. And, you do not have to have a degree to understand them. For example:

Rule #2 Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food

Rule #45 The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead

Rule #74 Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does

If you need a quick jump start to eating more responsibly, this would be a great place to begin. Eating real food is intimidating, but this book takes out some of the guess work and offers some fun advice to get you on track. And, now that summer is here, and farmer’s markets are opening again, it is a great time to make a commitment to healthy eating.

To learn more about this weekly reading report, click on the tab above.

Fascinating Find - No-Knead Beer Bread

You already know that I am in love with Artisan Bread. It is versatile, simple to work with, and frugal. However, it takes some planning ahead to make. This No-Knead Beer Bread can be made in a single batch and does not require refrigeration before baking. So, although it still takes 4 hours from start to finish, it is definitely a quicker process with a great flavor. We ate it with butter slathered on it with dinner one night, made Panini out of it the next day, and used the final scraps for homemade croutons. It was crusty, flavorful, and tasty. I will definitely be making this again.

Chef John at Food Wishes is the author of this fantastic recipe. You can find the recipe and an instructional video at the link below. Chef John also has lots of other delicious looking recipes on his blog, so be sure to check it out!

Blog Link: Food Wishes

Recipe Link: No-Knead Beer Bread

This post has been linked to Try New Adventures Thursday.

Artisan Bread Dough Recipes

Recently I tried a couple of new ideas with my Artisan Bread Dough: Cinnamon Rolls and Pretzels. My kids gobbled up both recipes, but neither one of them were what I was looking for. So, I will keep trying.

If you have successfully used your Artisan Bread Dough to make either one of these recipes, please share them with me! Or, if you have other Artisan Bread Dough recipes that your family loves, I would love to hear about them in the comments below.

Note: I use the method outlined in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day written by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. You can find the Master Recipe for this Artisan Bread Dough and an instructional video here.

This post has been linked to The Thrift Home: Penny Pinching Party.