The Minimalist Kitchen

Browsing through this cookbook I found quite a few recipes I might like to sample. A few hours later, I found myself givng the Butternut Pasta recipe a try. It was tasty enough to make plans to serve it again sometime this fall.
Wonderfully appealing photos of every recipe really inspire me to consider attempting to recreate more of the dishes.
While I will not be making plans to downsize to a "minimalist kitchen" anytime soon, I found plenty of helpful prep tips I can use in this book. I just enjoy all my appliance and gadgets to much to part with many of them, tho'I suppose I could consider future purchases a bit more carefully.
I was inspired enough to check out Melissa's thefauxmartha.com and look forward to following her new postings..

The Minimalist Kitchen is a cheerful, straightforward honest cookbook aimed to help home cooks pare down to the real essentials, and still have the ability to make a wide variety of meals.

I like minimalist design, and I like simple, clean dishes. This was a great book, although I did find a lot of recipes that I have seen before.

I was not familiar with Melissa Coleman or her blog but was intrigued by the title of the book. I am not one to click on the ‘Buy Me Button’ every time a new must-have kitchen gadget is unveiled, but I have to admit, even though my kitchen is organized, every cabinet and drawer are full. I hoped that a minimalist’s kitchen might help me decide what I really need and what I could do without. The author introduced me to her kitchen which holds only essentials that she will use regularly. She also made a great suggestion to weed out rarely used items, pack them away for a few months and if you didn’t need them, let them go gracefully to another home. With summer memories fading and fall moving towards winter, I will be doing a deep clean and reorganization in my kitchen before the holidays and plan to follow her tip.
The author then focused on pantry staples and then recipes. For me, a winning cookbook has recipes built around nutritious ingredients as well as gorgeous, mouthwatering photos and instructions I can follow without having to first graduate from culinary school. This book ticked those boxes and I liked the breakdown between Make Ahead, Weekday (simpler recipes), and Weekend (more preparation required) recipes. A good selection of recipes and certainly a philosophy that appeals to me.
Thank you, Melissa Coleman, Time Inc. Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love this cookbook. Simple yet flavorful recipes. I love the design of the cookbook and the lovely balance of pictures. A great addition to any collection.

Over the years I have "collected" various pieces of kitchen equipment that at the time seemed like a good idea. In this book, Melissa Coleman shows just what kitchen equipment is really necessary as well as shares some wonderful recipes that do not need specialty equipment or fancy ingredients. I will be weeding out my kitchen drawers and cupboards taking the advice from the Minimalist Kitchen.
Great advise, delicious recipes and beautiful illustrations. I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've got to tell you, I was skeptical about this title and what it could do in my kitchen. I wasn't ready to buy into her philosophy! I have been very pleasantly surprised by this book, and actually see myself adapting to her way of thinking! That in itself, speaks volumes!! Well written, with practical ideas and recipes that even I can buy into!! Bravo to the author! My kitchen thanks you and so do I!!

I really enjoyed this cookbook. The photography is beautiful and clean, and the recipes I tried (spinach quiche, biscuits, caramelized carrots) were well-written, as well as delicious. I was not familiar with the author prior to reading this book, and I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style. I also appreciate the recipes being broken down into weekend, weeknight, etc., as well as proving a small graphic as to what cooking implement(s) you'll need.

I received a free ebook copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Very practical for people who want to get delicious food on the table:
Whether you are just moving into your first home or you have already had your kitchen for a couple of years, Melissa Coleman's approach to a mimimalist kitchen saves time and opens up a lot of valuable kitchen space for some serious cooking. Right now my kitchen cabinets are relatively full with stuff that has accumulated over the years. This is why I like Melissa's list of essential cookware and kitchen utensils. It provides me with a reality check of what I really need in a functional kitchen. Anything other than those items take away from the openness of the space and can actually be in the way of cooking. Melissa's kitchen reminds me of some minimalist equipped kitchens I had when staying in vacation homes. I always had fun cooking there and cleaning up was a breeze. Melissa's delicious recipes are all quite easy to cook. This makes cooking enjoyable. The recipes are also good for casual entertaining. And I can actually prepare those recipes for my family when I am under a time constraint. My goal for now is to pack all items that are not essential for cooking into boxes and take them out of the kitchen to see if this really makes a difference. I am pretty sure it will.

If you are looking to pare down your cooking style reading and adopting some of the ideas presented by Melissa Coleman should help you achieve your goal. Coleman writes about how paring down the kitchen is a lot like paring down to a capsule wardrobe. A capsule wardrobe is made up of core outfits that can be used to create a wider variety of outfits. The same goes for the minimalist kitchen.

Some of the recipes you'll find in her cookbook include:

Breakfast Tostadas
Blender Dutch Baby
Fresh Spinach Quiche
Red Pepper Wraps
Pan-Fried White Fish
Almond Joy Macaroons

I loved her Sample Dinner Plans chart, her recipe tags, and her ideas on building a minimalist kitchen.

Recommend.

Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley.

I love, love love this book. the author is one of my favorite bloggers and her book exceeds my expectations. It is well laid out and has lots of good ideas and things to do to try and minimalize your kitchen.

Note: I received a digital advance reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read a lot of food blogs, but I had never had the pleasure of reading the Faux Martha, which is Melissa Coleman's beautiful ode to minimalist cooking and lifestyle. I was lucky enough to be given access to her beautiful cookbook, which carries forward her efficient yet family-oriented approach to living, and I was impressed, with her philosophy, aesthetic, and wonderful-looking food.

Minimalism, from what I gathered, means setting up and planning one's surroundings and life to be brilliantly simple and streamlined, but not sacrificing quality. There's no frills for the sake of frills, just practical solutions to make life easier. Her recipes are a reflection of that. They aren't fancy, gourmet meals. They're go-to dishes that the reader can credibly believe Coleman and her busy family enjoy on a regular basis.

For experienced cooks, many of these recipes won't seem novel, but Coleman finds a way to streamline the execution and suggest a few twists to make them uniquely her own. Case in point, her recipe for Berry Bakery Muffins. She starts off the recipe with the cook taking the butter out of the fridge to soften so it is the perfect temperature come time to make the streusel on top. She also suggests adding some thyme, which I have never seen before in a muffin recipe but am eager to try. With her recipes as deceptively simple as they are, the reader never questions whether thyme really needs to be there. If she includes it, it must be for good reason. She does a similar thing with soy sauce hidden in a traditional recipe that you'll have to buy the book to discover.

Many of her recipes involve using the same pot or pan to perform several steps, or preparing a big hunk of meat ahead of time and using it strategically throughout the week to make meal prep a cinch. Recipes are written with the modern on-the-go family in mind, while still emphasizing the magic of a sit-down meal with everyone at the table. Her recipes may sound simple, but that's part of their appeal. Some have only four or five ingredients and basic techniques, which make them suitable for all skill levels. I personally have her entire Breakfast section bookmarked (it is our favorite meal of the day in my house), since everything sounds so delicious and so doable.

For vegetarians, this cookbook is a must-buy. While Coleman isn't a vegetarian, she does abide by a rule of eating meat sparingly and only buying high-quality meat when her family can afford it. She also notes that leaving meat out or substituting it with pantry staples like canned chickpeas makes most recipes faster. As a result, the majority of her recipes are vegetarian, though she does add tips for how to add back the meat. I especially enjoyed her salad recipes, which all sound easy, healthy, and just special enough to serve to guests.

Organization and layout is predictably savvy and intuitive, making finding recipes in the book easy. The photography is gorgeous as well, with a perfectly styled photo of every recipe (thank you!!) as well as bright, light-filled pictures of Coleman's stunning white farmhouse in Minnesota, which is a picture-perfect advertisement for her credo.

This book makes you enthusiastic about getting into the kitchen and putting her kitchen know-how to work. I'd recommend it for minimalists and non-minimalists alike, new moms, vegetarians, and people who are just trying to get food on the table faster or healthier. They're guaranteed to find something to learn from this great cookbook.

Oh so beautiful. The style of this book got me, so simple and modern, the images are stunning. I want to up and move into this book. The author writes in a nice style, a lovely ease that feels warm and welcoming. A great section on Minimalism and how to achieve it at the start of the book, including equipment and ingredients. the recipes are broken down into weekend, weekday and make ahead to make planning easier. There is also a large section on how to plan out your meals so not to waste food. A great book!

This book was kindly provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I received a copy of The Minimalist Kitchen by Melissa Coleman from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Although I am new to the the minimalist approach in the kitchen - and would have a LOT of purging to do to pare things down to just the essentials equipment-wise - I think it is a desirable end goal.

I enjoyed reading he Minimalist Kitchen by Melissa Coleman because everything was simple, straightforward and genuine-seeming (not at all preachy or judgmental). Then for the recipes...oh my gosh - so many things that I'd actually enjoy making and eating. I've only tried a few recipes thus far, but am looking forward to attempting more soon!!

I loved this cookbook for how accessible all the recipes and great the recipes were. What started as a casual flip through over my morning coffee slowly evolved into me checking I had all the necessary ingredients to make a recipe for dinner and prep breakfast for the next morning. It's a cookbook I'll definitely be referring back to in the future.

I prefer simplicity, and this book provides simple, tasty recipes that are even healthy. Coleman gives shopping and storing tips that are practical and realistic, making this cookbook very applicable to real life cooking. I can't want to buy a copy for the library!

I received this from Netgalley, but my opinions are my own.

I'm picky with cookbooks. If I'm flipping through them and only find a handful of recipes I'd actually use, they stay on the shelf.

This book, though, is more than just a cookbook, though the recipes are a significant part of it. It's got great info on streamlining your kitchen and pantry, making cooking simple and easy -- and, I suppose, minimalist in that way -- and taking the stress out of putting dinner on the table every. single. day.

I loved the recipes and have a good dozen or two that I want to try, too, which is another sign of a good cookbook for me. And there's even a comprehensive list of what produce is in season when, so you can make things even simpler by eating in season.

It's definitely going on my shelf of must-use cookbooks.

This is a gorgeous cookbook. The recipes are simple but elegant, and the photos are beautiful. I can't wait to make some of the salads and desserts especially!