Cover Image: Smorgasbowl

Smorgasbowl

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Yummy!!! Lots of wonderful (not overly complicated ) recipes with easily accessible ingredients. The pictures included made me want to lick the page they look so good!

Was this review helpful?

So, we're a smorgasbord kind of family so when we saw this come our way, I was immediately excited. We tend to make a lot of rice bowls, mix cereals, etc. This cookbook was a great way for us to actually think outside of the box. The photos were really pretty too.

Was this review helpful?

I’m so late on this review because I’ve been busy making the recipes but I love the results and as a cookbook foodie adore how much time went into the creation of these bowls. There’s a little something for everyone and the beauty of the color variations these bowls have had me constantly drooling! My only issue was I wanted more lol!

Was this review helpful?

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. A few recipes looked good, but most of them I would not try most.

Was this review helpful?

Nice well written recipe book I loved this book a lot and used the recipes a lot and found them easy to do and nit strange ingredient but easy to buy and add to grocery list
Again
Two less for netgalley app way of showing pages really annoying I was back and forward pages a lot trying not to open pictures and to turn page !!!!
Please let this cooking books available in kindle or epub or pdf format.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

Was this review helpful?

Smorgasbowl is great for people who like a little of a lot of things in their meals. I requested this book because I wanted to recipe for Sweet Potato Breakfast Cereal and it did.not.dissapoint. So good. It's become a staple for me. It's worth buying the book for this recipe alone. I got this book as an ARC through Netgalley and I'm so happy I did.

Was this review helpful?

Smorgasbowl by Caryn Carruthers is splendid. I thought it was superb and of course, beautifully done. The photography is gorgeous! We all love a bowl they're fun and help to keep in the whole foods arena.

The book is organized in a wonderful format. First, of course the introduction then the four pillars of what makes a balanced smorgasbowl, then flavor examples, texture examples, nutrition examples, temperature examples, an example build, the build, special equipment needed to create the recipes in this book, and much more! How much more do you need for an organized layout? I didn't need more I just dug right in and started devouring this fantastic cookbook!

I adored the flavor profile page, so helpful and beautifully photographed! Then the texture profile, gorgeous, smooth, soft, crispy, crunchy, meaty, thick sauce, thin sauce with this great mood background.

Also a part about what not to do when constructing a smorgasbowl. My favorite recipe was the Cajun Salmon Bowl. This cookbook has fun, healthy, and quick recipes. Absolutely recommend.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher Radicle Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this smashingly marvelous book, Smorgasbowl by Caryn Carruthers.

Was this review helpful?

This book’s digitization was really weird which made it very difficult to read. The pictures are great and I like the concept but there’s so many ingredients which require prep to make these bowls the meals themselves seem pretty unrealistic.

Was this review helpful?

There were a few good recipes in here but overall I though there could have been a bigger selection of recipes.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Fantastic cookbook! Without presenting it as such, Carruthers has created a cookbook that addresses two important needs: (1) creating healthy, delicious, and beautiful work lunches and (2) building an outstanding pantry. I was intimidated at times by some unfamiliar ingredients, but other readers, especially grain connoisseurs, would probably not be. This cookbook made me dream of a day -- probably not far off in our consumerist future -- when curated grocery bundles get marketed alongside new publications. Specialty grains and exotic spices, boxed with your book, ready to cook.

Was this review helpful?

This book has something for everyone, gluten free , dairy free, paleo and vegan options.
The recipes are easy to read and the photography makes the food look delicious,

Was this review helpful?

This very pleasant recipe book is all about dumping everything in one bowl, depending on your personal taste. As a result this starts with much less about the author and her lifestyle than many other books, thankfully, and more about the science, of getting a perfectly-balanced dish of multiple colours – having an all-in-one that includes salt, sweet, acid and umami, most of the food groups at once, hot and cold (and the hot heating the cold while being served and vice versa), and so on. It does include standard recipes (salad nicoise in all but name) but the idea is to treat life like a buffet, and take whatever you want from one recipe and preparation, and use it elsewhere.

And it's fairly obvious the author is not afraid of a little experimental-seeming moving from one dish to another. Cabbage and spinach in the same breakfast dish? Well, they are pan-fried, but all the same. But the thing is, I may have been spoiled by a different book doing something fairly similar (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4765074723), yet I found this a little lacking. It included one page of hints, as regards using up left-overs from some of the courses here as part of others, and nothing fully grounded, positive and idiot-proof as regards what can and cannot switch. And as I say, I've only recently seen it done!

Sticking to this, many will find it more than useful – what can be prepped early, what can be done for multiple use throughout the fortnight, and so on; much of this is gluten-free (as is the author) and vegan. But you can also find it frustratingly short – there are the barest minimum of soups, and with every dish (and condiment) getting a full-page portrait photo (and then every condiment getting a two-page encore in their own section at the back!) the amount of recipes is on the low side. I think you have to be fairly au fait with cooking, and some ingredients us in the UK will seldom ever see (hello, jicama), and if that's the case you probably know the benefits of nuts and seeds, of charring your cabbage, and of going off-piste. I still think this a success, and wish it well, but I thought to find a book more in tune with my more mix-and-match, show-all-the-possibilities expectations. And a book with more in.

Was this review helpful?

This was a very nicely presented book, with lots of great pictures. The bowls themselves were quite basic though

Was this review helpful?

This book was full of interesting meal ideas guaranteed to simplify your planning. I really enjoyed reading this, but my only complaint is some of the combinations were a little out there. But other than that, not bad at all.

Was this review helpful?

Fantastic book on bowl meals. The recipes are easy inventive and utilize easy to find ingredients. I highly recommend this book. The pictures make everything look delish!

Was this review helpful?

This was a fun and inventive cookbook with beautiful pictures. Made with mostly easy to find ingredients, it still managed to create new ideas for recipes that I wanted to try making. I will probably end up buying this book because it was just so fun and unique.

Was this review helpful?

This is a gorgeous book - in photos and descriptions. Very easy to follow with lots of great recipes. Bowls are all the rage right now so it won't be the only one on the shelf but it just might be the prettiest and the most heavily used!

Was this review helpful?

I'm not sure what it was about this one, but it just didn't do it for me. I love all sorts of bowls and thought for sure this book would be a no-brainer for me, but most of the recipes in here just fell flat for me and I can't even put my finger on why.

Was this review helpful?

My family is a fan of bowl-based meals and Smorgasbowl provides some interesting ideas that we are incorporating. The guidance to balance flavors, texture, nutrition, temperature is easy to follow and the specific examples provided in the book are valuable.

I appreciated the numerous photos and give kudos to Caryn Carruthers for being both the author and photographer!

I particularly enjoyed the breakfast bowl recipes. Recipes high on the list to try include: SWEET POTATO CEREAL BOWL, APPLE-CHICKPEA KALE SALAD, and SUNFLOWER TAHINI ALFREDO.

This book would make a great gift and I am glad to have it in my collection.

Thank you to Caryn Carruthers, NetGalley and Radicle Publishing for the opportunity to review.

Was this review helpful?

Great book with a well rounded selection of recipes. The bowl ideas a well put together and full of flavour and great colours.

Was this review helpful?