Smorgasbowl by Caryn Carruthers

 

Smorgasbowl by Caryn Carruthers.

Published 10th December 2021.

From the cover of the book:

Smorgasbowl isn't only a fun word to say, it's a fun way to cook and eat. Smorgasbowls are a simple and effective way to create meals that inspire. When stuck in an uninspired food rut or accommodating food allergies, creating smorgasbowls will free you. 

Using bowls, sauces, toppings, interesting cooking methods and even leftovers you will learn to create delicious and exciting meals using the four pillars of bowl building detailed in the book. 

You'll be a master of unique and crave-able recipes like: Apple-Chickpea Kale Salad with Orange-Mustard-Dill Dressing, Spiced Cauliflower with Beans, Slaw and Vegan Ranch Dressing and Roasted Veggie and Millet Bowl with Anchovy-Walnut Dressing. 

Your journey to the exciting and delicious world of eating smorgasbowls starts here. Let's begin!

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Something a little bit different on the blog today, because I am reviewing a cookery book - as I like to do now and again. I have a big collection of cookery books and am always interested in trying something that offers a new way to think about how you eat, so Smorgasbowl by Caryn Carruthers really caught my eye. The concept of 'bowl foods' has recently become quite popular here in the UK, but I have not yet tried any of them myself, so I was keen to see what this book had to offer. 

I have a copy of the paperback version, which is large format and comes with lots of lovely full-colour photographs to show you what you are aiming to achieve with the recipes (something I always appreciate), and has a very attractive cover to draw you in. It both feels and looks very nice, which is satisfying given the £20.00 asking price.

Caryn starts by introducing you to what she calls the Four Pillars of a balanced smorgasbowl - Flavour, Texture, Nutrition, and Temperature - going into easily understandable detail about their importance in creating something delicious to eat, and explaining the equipment you will require. She then moves onto how these elements should be combined to produce a tempting smorgasbowl. The concept itself is surprisingly simple.

The remainder of the book is packed with about 100 pages worth of examples and recipes to try out for yourself, with options for any time of the day. They indicate whether each recipe is suitable for of gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and paleo (I had to look this one up) diets - and the example recipes also give nutritional information spilt into the Four Pillar categories, which is quite interesting. The recipes are for an American audience, so you do need to do a bit of translation as you go along, but most things are obvious and Google can help out where the names might be unfamiliar - I must confess pepitas did confuse me somewhat until Google told me these were pumpkin seeds, and I am still bemused by the recipes where 'broth' is called for, but I simply substituted this for stock which I assume is our equivalent. I think it might be a good idea to include a translation for the UK audience here, if Caryn really wants this book to take off on this side of the Atlantic.

The recipes are easy to follow in all other respects, and do make up tasty combinations - some are unusual, but for the most part they work well. I am not entirely convinced by sweet potato as a breakfast ingredient, but that might just be me! The methods used are also pretty straightforward even for the novice cook, but I probably would not recommend jumping straight in with this book if you are an absolute beginner as you do need to have a good base level of cookery knowledge.

For me, the best thing about this book is that it does make you think about how you put meals together to create something that looks and tastes good. I really liked the idea of combining cooked and raw ingredients with accompanying sauces to liven things up, and it does make you more aware of the look and nutritional content of the food you prepare. The recipes are all very flexible, so you can swap ingredients in and out according to taste and what you have available too - which makes it very inspiring. I also liked that Caryn has chosen to repeat the sauce/dressing recipes throughout the book so they are next to the recipe you need them for, as well as including them in a chapter of their own. This is very convenient what you are cooking as you do not have to keep flipping back and forth. 

Overall, this is a great addition to my cookery book shelves, and I will definitely go back to it when I am thinking of trying out some new combinations of flavours and textures. It certainly inspired me to put together meals that follow the four principles more frequently - I might even invest in some large bowls for the future!

Smogasbowl is available to buy now in hardback, paperback and ebook formats.

Buy link: Amazon UK

Thank you to Literally PR for sending me a paperback copy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Caryn Jeanne Carruthers is a food lover and artist of many mediums. Her passion for healthy eating and her love of cooking started young and flourished when faced with food allergies and sensitivities. She believes food is love and shares her recipes and creations in that spirit. Caryn authors the blog tastynfree.com where she shares her photography, recipes and thoughts on gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar-free food.

Smorgasbowl is Caryn’s first book where she has enjoyed the challenge of creating the book in its entirety, including the photography, cooking, styling, recipe creation, book design and writing. She was born and raised in Colorado and currently lives in Austin, TX with her husband, two kids and two dogs.

You can fid out more about Caryn Carruthers on her Tastynfree.com which is full of more recipes to try too!