Author: Kathleen Flinn
Pages: 304
Published: 2011
Challenges: 2012 Support Your Library
Genre: Non-fiction, Foodie books
Edition: Hardcover and Audio
Source: Library
Description: The author of "The Sharper Your Knife" tells the inspiring story of how she helped nine others find their inner cook.
After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, writer Kathleen Flinn returned with no idea what to do next, until one day at a supermarket she watched a woman loading her cart with ultraprocessed foods. Flinn's "chefternal" instinct kicked in: she persuaded the stranger to reload with fresh foods, offering her simple recipes for healthy, easy meals.
"The Kitchen Counter Cooking School" includes practical, healthy tips that boost readers' culinary self-confidence, and strategies to get the most from their grocery dollar, and simple recipes that get readers cooking. (via Goodreads)
Thoughts: I quite enjoyed the book and learned a lot when I read the book. One reason that I don't read a lot of foodie type books is mainly because a lot of the writers talk about the food that inspires them as cooks, rather than inspiring others to learn the proper techniques and Kathleen Flinn has certainly has inspired me to start making more of my food by scratch rather than buying my food from the center aisles. Sure I know that I am to do that, but where do you start when you basically have little or no cooking skills and Kathleen's book clearly illustrates the fact that there is likely an entire generation of women who don't really know how to make things from scratch and rely heavily on the "center aisles" to feed not only ourselves, but also our families and to also realize that its much healthier for not only our bodies, but also our budgets to make our own food.
For me not only are their budget considerations to making my own food, but there are also health reasons. As some of you may know, I have been battling a rash for the past month that basically came out of no where and has resulted myself to go on a more restricted diet than I have been accustomed to. Its been frustrating, but this book gave me hope that I can eat most of the food that I have eaten on a regular basis and not break the bank doing so. I hope that in the coming months I can tackle the recipes from the book that I photocopied and use them to my benefit (and yes, I do plan on purchasing the book).
While the breaks from the classes were nice, its hard to say if they added anything, other than maybe a few extra recipes (one of which I realize I missed, but when I purchase the book, I'll get it)
Bottom line: This is a really good book, especially if you find yourself fumbling in the kitchen, not sure where to start. It is a perfect book for those that are learning to live on their own and really don't know the cooking basics. And judging by the carts that I see in the grocery store on a weekly basis, there are clearly a lot of people who could use the help!
Rating: 4/5
Pages for 2012: 4213
3 comments:
This has been a big hit with so many readers.
@Beth F I am thinking of purchasing a copy and put it where my cookbooks are.
I'm currently reading this one with my mom and sisters and am really enjoying it. I'm going slowly because I feel like I have to REALLY absorb everything that she mentions--like how to properly hold a knife?!
In March my husband and I are planning on eating as naturally as we can. We're not going nutso but we're going to try to not eat out of the box or package. Will be interesting!
PS--my google reader held the post you did about no one reading. That might not be the case. For me--I skip the memes and try to hit the book posts but can sometimes only blog once a week. Hate that but I'm just not in front of a computer that often.
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