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I want to share this brand new cookbook with you today from Jenny McGruther. She was kind enough to send me a copy of her new book late last week to review and I was so excited to receive it. Jenny not only writes The Nourished Kitchen website (which was one of the very first blogs I ever read), but she is also a fellow Coloradoan!

I received the book last Thursday and was so excited to dig into it. I had high expectations of making a bunch of stuff over the weekend but ended up being quite under the weather, so my recipe testing got pushed back. I’m not concerned though because I have tried a lot of Jenny’s recipes and they are wonderful, so I know her new book’s recipes are going to be just as great.

This is Jenny’s very first cookbook and I am so excited to help support her. The book launched this week and you can find it on Amazon here.

One of the things I love about Jenny’s website is her fantastic photos. They are so warm and inviting and really capture the essence of the food she is presenting. It is so true when they say we eat with our eyes — if it looks good, we want to taste it.

The Nourished Kitchen Cookbook Review // deliciousobsessions.com

Her book, just like her website, is filled with gorgeous photos that make you want to dive right in. The recipes are rustic and unique, offering flavor combinations and ideas that you will not see anywhere else. There are over 160 recipes, all inspired by the different seasons, using fresh, nourishing ingredients. No matter the time of year, there are hearty recipes that will fill up your bellies and make your soul happy too. I don’t know about you, but for me, there is much more to food than just nourishing my body. Cooking and eating nourishes my soul as well.

One thing that makes this book stand apart from other cookbooks is the way it is organized. Rather than your typical sections like “appetizers”, “entrees”, “desserts”, etc., Jenny has chosen to lay her book out by source – The Garden, The Pasture, The Range, The Waters, The Fields, The Wild, The Orchard, and The Larder.

This book focuses on traditional foods as a whole, which means it does include grains and dairy, but for me, that’s OK, because as I was reading through the recipes, many of those containing dairy can easily be modified with other ingredients to make it suitable for my dietary needs. I do have to skip the bread and baked goods section, but that doesn’t bother me, as I am more interested in the other sections anyways. Though, I sure do miss homemade sourdough bread! 🙂

All in all, I was thrilled with this book and already have a long list of recipes to try. At the top of my list are:

  • Roasted Beet and Walnut Salad with Spiced Kombucha Vinaigrette
  • Kohlrabi Apple and Pomegranate Slaw
  • Spring Vegetable Stew
  • Sherried Chicken Liver Pate with Apples and Sage
  • Fried Roe with Homemade Tartar Sauce
  • Coriander Crusted Elk with Spiced Plum Sauce
  • Roasted Sweet Cherry Fool

Simply put, your kitchen needs this book!

The beet salad was one of the first recipes that caught my eye as I flipped through the book. I was thrilled when Jenny and her publisher granted me permission to share this recipe on my site. I’m going to be making it this weekend! I hope you enjoy it!

The Nourished Kitchen Cookbook Review + NEW Recipe! // deliciousobsessions.com

Reprinted with permission from The Nourished Kitchen written and photographed by Jennifer McGruther
(Ten Speed Press, ©2014)

Kombucha, a fermented tea of Asian origin, offers a flavor reminiscent of apple cider vinegar: it’s sour, but also mildly sweet. Its flavor pairs well with warm spices like cinnamon, cloves, and allspice, while its acidity is strong enough to stand up to the sweet and earthy flavors of root vegetables and nuts.

Beets number among the few vegetables that my family eats year-round, fresh in spring and autumn and stored in boxes of dirt during the cold part of the year. Lacking greens in the winter, we often eat beets as a salad, sprinkled with roasted walnuts and dressed with a spiced vinaigrette.

The Nourished Kitchen Cookbook Review + NEW Recipe! // deliciousobsessions.com

Roasted Beet & Walnut Salad with Spiced Kombucha Vinaigrette

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Kombucha, a fermented tea of Asian origin, offers a flavor reminiscent of apple cider vinegar: it’s sour, but also mildly sweet. Its flavor pairs well with warm spices like cinnamon, cloves, and allspice, while its acidity is strong enough to stand up to the sweet and earthy flavors of root vegetables and nuts.

Ingredients

  • Salad Ingredients:
  • 2 pounds beets
  • 1 tablespoon clarified butter (page 59)
  • 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 small red onion, sliced into rings no thicker than 1/8 inch
  • Vinaigrette Ingredients:
  • 2 tablespoons unflavored kombucha (page 286)
  • 1/4 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2 tablespoons cold-pressed walnut oil
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

    1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
    2. To prepare the salad, trim the beets by removing any beet tops and the tips of their roots.
    3. Dot each beet with a touch of clarified butter, then wrap each in parchment paper and again in aluminum foil.
    4. Roast the beets for 45 to 60 minutes, until they yield under the pressure of a fork.
    5. Refrigerate the beets for at least 8 and up to 24 hours.
    6. To prepare the vinaigrette, whisk the kombucha tea with salt, allspice, cloves, and walnuts, and olive oils.
    7. The vinaigrette will store at room temperature for up to 3 weeks, but remember to shake it vigorously before dressing the salad because the oil will separate from the tea and spices when left sitting.
    8. Just before serving, heat a skillet over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes until very hot. Toss in the walnuts and toast them for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid scorching.
    9. Remove the cold beets from the fridge, peel them, and chop them into bite-sized pieces.
    10. In a large bowl, toss the beets with the sliced onion and toasted walnuts.
    11. Drizzle with the vinaigrette, toss again, and serve.

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