The Paleo Kitchen… a review

Its been a long while since I have had the review mojo, so I have to catch up. There are a few books that have come across my kitchen counter that I have been super excited about and some I had no idea were coming! All exciting and delicious… at the same time.

When I opened the mail and got The Paleo Kitchen by the awesome paleo team Juli Bauer (PaleoOMG) and George Bryant (The Civilized Caveman), my son immediately took it and cozied up on the sofa. I looked at him and said “hey, I haven’t even opened that yet…” He said “well I will let you know what I want you to make.” Ah. I see. So, in all honesty my son should be reviewing the book, but I guess I get the grunt work.

The book itself is pretty loverly. The first portion of the book, like many paleo cookbooks is a layout in what is what, acceptable and unacceptable in paleo living and why. I don’t think folks can really ever have too much explaining (ok… maybe they can) of why certain foods are a no-go. It’s one of those relentless questions I get… “why don’t you eat (insert grain-type here).” So having a book or several that goes over it I think is really important.

Moving on, it’s broken down into various categories that you would expect like breakfast-like foods, chicken, beef, fish, sides etc. There are LOTS of yummy pictures to entice you to try the recipes, and they certainly do just that, just ask my son. After his review of the book, I was told that I needed to make 1. Cinnamon Rolls 2. Creamy Cauliflower Soup 3. Afternoon Pick-Me-Up (Coffee Smoothie) 4. Gingersnap Pumpkinbutter Sandwich Cookies.

So, just to be clear… I haven’t made all of those. That is also his shortlist.

What I have made though is the Cinnamon Rolls (with coconut butter drizzel!) Creamy Cauliflower Soup, Sweet Potato Quiche and Lemon Rosemary Roasted Chicken. And I will tell you that all of these were made with what I had in the house to fill a meal (or dessert-like) meal. I would like to say that I am a blogger that really preps to review books, but I think its more honest to cook the way you would normally cook and these recipes really do fit that bill. So much so that I only have a decent picture of the quiche and cinnamon rolls, everything else was devoured so quickly.

This passed week we had a few really chilly days and I was deep in soup making mood. I always have bone broth on hand (that I make regularly) so I thought a nice creamy soup would work nicely. The Creamy Cauliflower soup did not disappoint, at all. It took a little longer to cook than I expected, but while the cauliflower was roasting, I worked with our chickens in the yard. Plus the roasted cauliflower really did add to the flavor, so don’t skip it! The bottom line with this recipe… my kids asked if they could have the leftovers for school lunch the next day. You have to admit, when kids ask for a cauliflower soup for school lunch, that is impressive.

Last night we made the Roasted Chicken, because I was at Whole Foods and there was a local roaster sale… so I have a freezer full of whole chickens. I tossed this baby together pretty quickly and again (I do this whenever I need to kill time) went out to the garden. I walked in later and the house smelled ah-mazing. It was a simple recipe, yielding a delicious and super moist bird. The kids totally tore that thing apart before I got a picture.

A wee darker than it should be but delicious!

Sweet Potato Quiche. Did you know I LOVE quiche? I could make every quiche recipe I come across, ever, and I still probably wouldn’t have my fill. Lo and behold I had some Brussels sprouts that needed to be used. So I decided to make this the night before for breakfast the next day. I had an early meeting, so it would streamline things for me. My sitter helped me pulling this together and the only criticism on the recipe (seriously the only one) is that it took us MUCH longer to actually make it than listed in the prep time in the book. So, if you plan to make it, I think its perfect for a nice family brunch or something like that, but for a weekday breakfast… heck no. Now, I don’t think that is the intent of the recipe anyway… I just really wanted my quiche.

Lastly… Cinnamon Rolls. Stacy (Paleo Parents) had a test recipe for Cinnamon Rolls by Urban Poser at her house the last time I was there. Ever since then, I have wistfully thought about paleo cinnamon rolls. So when my kiddo shoved the book in my face open to the Cinnamon Rolls, I admit, I was pretty excited to try it. So, I woke my butt up early this morning to pull these guys together. After all in the book it says prep time of 15-20 mins and 17-20 mins for cooking. Well… I know the gooey factor on cinnamon rolls is a personal preference… to me, I just didn’t dig them being so soft at the 17-20 minute mark. I tried to pull apart and they were pretty doughy. I popped them back in for another 5-7 minutes and then pulled them out. To me, that was a little better consistency, but again, many people like it gooey-er. Now, I served these babies to the kids and you would have thought that Santa Claus had just delivered all their hopes and dreams. They bobbed as they ate them with such happiness, it was something to see. I guess much like myself, food makes my kids happy… I can’t say I feel there is too much wrong with that…. when its good food.

So there you have it… I suppose this book is now in circulation for meals and all… the kids have decided. Thanks Juli and George for a great new book- it is sure to keep me busy! (I still have to tackle the kiddo’s LONG list!)

To get your hands on a copy of The Paleo Kitchen: Finding Primal Joy in Modern Cooking by Juli Bauer and George Bryant check out Amazon and other book dealers, releasing on June 10th!

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