The Forest Feast

I am trying something new. On Fridays post about a book that I have been reading as kind of like a book club type thing. I am just going to see how it goes and if you guys like it, great and if not, I'll just move on to something else. Unless I love it, in which case I'll add a new day for more other stuff and keep my book club for just me :)

So the book I am starting off with is actually a cook book, and it's not from my shelf... I was all excited to start pulling books from my neglected shelf and start reading, but then I realized that I am in the middle of moving and all my books are still at the farm and I did not think ahead enough. So this book belongs to my sister but I love it!

The name is The Forest Feast by Erin Gleeson. It is a cook book with a bunch of really simple recipes that look amazing and gourmet! Most of them have less than a handful of ingredients and very easy cooking instructions. Often the instructions are just to throw all the ingredients together and serve.

Those are all great things about the book but what I really love about it, what makes it really exceptional to me, is that all of these recipes could be made from complete scratch on a farm or homestead. It takes beautiful fresh ingredients, most of which you can grow right in your garden! Some recipes take cheese (like the Watermelon Salad with fresh mozzarella) but I dream of someday raising cows and goats and making fresh cheese of my own. A few take bread or maybe a tortilla, but that is all (relatively) easily made at home too. The eggs are easy if you have chickens (which I want too!). Beyond salt and oil, she really doesn't use anything that can't be very easily made or grown by yourself.

The recipes include delicious appetizers, fun drinks, beautiful salads, enticing entrees and more!
I would highly recommend this book to anyone, even if you never want to grow food or raise animals. You can be involved as much or as little in the process as you want. Everything in it that I have tried so far has been amazing so, if no other reason does it for you, there is always that.

What are your favorite cookbooks?
Is there a kind of cook book you want but haven't been able to find?

p.s. I feel super weird taking bad pictures of someone else's awesome photography...