The Nourished Kitchen : a cookbook review

If you're a regular visitor of my blog, you've probably noticed by now that I like to review cookbooks. I receive a free copy of each cookbook in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoy reading and looking at cookbooks anyway. As anyone who has seen my library record can tell you, I read a lot of cookbooks. I actually have a stack of them waiting for me on the other side of my room.
So why am I telling you this? It's important for you to understand before reading my review of this book that I enjoy cookbooks the way other people enjoy novels.
As I was browsing through the list of possible books to review, The Nourished Kitchen by Jennifer McGruther caught my eye, because the cover has a beautiful picture of preserved lemons and says "Farm-to-Table recipes for the Traditional Foods Lifestyle."

I do not currently live a farm/traditional food lifestyle, but I'd really like to someday. I have a little urban homestead on about 1/4 acre, but I dream of someday owning several acres, growing and raising most of our food, and selling items at a local farmer's market.
This cookbook, gave me a glimpse into that world and I excitedly imagined myself in the settings that she detailed from her day to day. As I read through her recipes I pictured my ancestors making similar things and learned some new methods and techniques for cooking and preserving various ingredients.

Overall, I really enjoyed this cookbook and will refer to it for ideas. However, the recipe I tried wasn't the best. I made Roasted Plum Ice Cream. The recipe actually has a lot going for it, but one ingredient stuck out like a sore thumb and kind of overpowered the roasted plum flavor. I wasn't sure if it was just me or not, so I sent it over to a friend's house and while all of her kids tried it without complaint, they didn't ask for seconds. To top it off, the recipe had an editing error in it. The ingredient list called for a tablespoon of sugar, but the recipe doesn't say what to do with it. I figured it out, but it's always annoying to find an error like that in a recipe. That all being said, I do plan to make the recipe again with a few alterations.

So as far as recommending this book goes, I'd recommend it with reservations. These recipes are not ideal for a novice as it makes some assumptions about what you should already know. This book is probably great for a hardcore homesteader. If you use cookbooks for ideas or as a substitute for novels, then this book is for you too.

Check out a sample of the book here, to decide if it's for you or not.

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review. All opinions are my own.