The past couple of weeks have been crazy busy. It seemed like every day there was something new to check off my list and each week I had more and more things to get done.
However, now that Chanukah is over I feel like things are finally starting to calm down. I have a trip to Costa Rica planned for a New Year’s vacation with my dad, and I’m looking forward to making use of my Chanukah gifts (a marble rolling pin, board, and flavored salts!) to do more baking and cooking, especially from my beautiful new cookbook, The Homemade Kitchen.
I’ve been focused on building my cookbook collection for a few months now. I have cookbooks specializing in bread, pie, and ice cream, but I love this one because it’s all encompassing. It’s filled with classic recipes that call for simple ingredients (I can’t wait to make the rhubarb snacking cake in the spring!) and there are wonderful how-tos sprinkled throughout the book; whether it’s a formula for making jam with any fruit, culturing kefir or guidelines for roasting any vegetable, it’s full of easy, useful information for home cooks.
It doesn’t hurt that the writing is soothing and the photography is stunning. And while a lot of the focus is on DIY food- making your own cheese, for example, I find that thanks to clear instructions, it’s accessible enough not to overwhelm. I’ve already made the Chicken Pot Pie (with leftover turkey broth + meat from Thanksgiving) which my family loved, the Spicy Pumpkin Hot Chocolate, and the Cinnamon Raisin Bread, which I adapted into a wonderful staple recipe that I can’t wait to share soon.
All in all, it’s a wonderful book, and I’m slowly easing back into the kitchen with it. The past few weeks have been full of food, both making and eating, but a lot of it felt rushed. Now, I want to take the time to think about the foods I’m making and be a little more thoughtful with how it all happens.
Have a great weekend!
Chaya
“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!” – White Queen, Alice in Wonderland.
Six impossibly awesome things.
*I was given a free copy of The Homemade Kitchen in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. All opinions are mine, and I definitely think this is a worthy addition to any shelf!
∞ Whole wheat cinnamon raisin swirl bread from The Homemade Kitchen ∞
∞ Latke making scenes from Chanukah ∞
∞ Fall florals from a family friend ∞
∞ On Chanukah, my friends came over for a doughnut party and we made glazed chocolate and vanilla doughnut holes and churros ∞
∞ Menorah bokeh from the third night of Chanukah ∞
∞ Chanukah gifts, cookbooks and salts ∞
retrolillies 