Ladled: Nourishing Soups for All Seasons

I'm always on the lookout for recipes, particularly ones that are either GAPS friendly or easily changed to accommodate our dietary restrictions. This is one of the reasons why Ladled is such a great resource.The way the book is laid out is excellent in my opinion. I love how each soup has a small picture associated with it - and, of course, a larger picture once you get to the recipe itself. The categories make sense, the instructions are easy to follow.Ms. Harris starts off with the basics. If you are new to making your own stocks and stews, Ladled is an excellent resource. She gives you a list of things you should have in your kitchen as well as step by step instructions on how to make various types of broth - chicken, fish, beef, etc. This is a great help to someone who has never done such a thing before.Simple broth isn't the only thing that Ms. Harris includes. There are quite a variety of soups and stews, everything from traditional to those inspired by various restaurants. Each dish is accompanied by a picture and a listing of several types of diets or meal plans the dish is appropriate for. Many of them are GAPS friendly and those that aren't I've been able to modify with good success.While I can not say I have tried all of the recipes, I am working my way through the book. The Spanish Garlic Soup is quite good. My husband stated it wasn't bad for broth. For a man who actually hates drinking broth, that's quite high praise. I, myself, particularly like it and find it great for eating alone or using (without the egg) as a base for other chicken soups. It is the broth I chose to start my almost six month old on as we are now introducing food outside of breastmilk to him.There is little I could say that could improve this book. There are a few minor editing issues that can be easily overlooked. There are a few ingredients that those who aren't used to experimenting may not be able to find easily. I might have included suggestions as to where to find such ingredients. Stinging nettle is one of them (I found it at a place called Roots Farmer's Market), but other than that, this is an extremely well put together, thought out, and attractive book. I am very glad I own it and have already bought one and given it as a gift to a friend who is a more traditional cook. If you are looking for a book that focuses on more traditional methods of cooking, particularly with soups and stews, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. It is currently one of only two that I keep in my kitchen and refer to often since I procured it.Want to know more about Kimberly Harris, author of Ladled? Check out "The Nourishing Gourmet"

Making your own soups seems to be a dying art. I know very few people who do it & those who do often use canned broths. But this cookbook will help you revive the art of soup-making and also walk you through things and give confidence! The cookbook starts with how to make your own flavorful stocks and goes from there. Making stock is really the foundation of cooking and is an invaluable skill.There is quite a breadth of soup recipes -- many favorites and many new ones - particularly the congee section. The chilled soup recipes give you soups to make in the summer! One of the neat features of the book is the thumbnail picture table of contents. I've never seen anything like it, but it's really helpful to have a picture next to the name of everything in the table of contents.If you don't feel like much of a cook, don't worry, there are many descriptions of techniques and photos to help you on your way. There is also a section in the back that provides "how-to" on non-soup items that are called for in the recipes also. Plus helpful nutrition info and recipes are labeled to help you find ones to fit special diets easily (such as dairy-free, GAPS-friendly). I do not agree with the reviewer that ingredients are hard to find. But I would suggest shopping in an Asian grocery for some of them - Western grocery stores aren't going to carry lemongrass or kaffir lime leaves too often, but an Asian market will have them regularly. I can see myself using this cookbook for years & years and never getting tired of trying new recipes - there are well over 100.The reasons why I did not give the book 5 stars is that though I am grateful for a picture for every recipe - occasionally I do not find them appetizing. Also, I find myself sometimes confused by the choice of font - particularly the number 7 - I'm always wondering what it is and then I remember, "oh, that's what the 7 looks like." But these things should not deter anyone from adding this to their cookbook collection and using it regularly!

I was pretty excited to receive my copy of Kimberly Harris' new soup book ... and not just because the Miso Soba and Salmon Soup (on page 134) is delicious and easy to make. (I made it for a potluck dinner party in early June and it went over like gangbusters).Although I have to admit that I had to order ingredients from amazon for the anchovy stock because there's no specialty store in Bozeman that sells dried sardines or anchovies. The second time I made the soup, I substituted bonito flakes and while it wasn't as rich a broth, it still worked, and was a little more friendly to our budget.I've also made the Chilled Honeydew and Cucumber Soup with Coconut Milk ... and it's a perfect chilled summer soup. In fact, seeing it again in the book (on page 264) returns me to the long days of summer and makes me want to find a reason to go somewhere warm just to have another bowl.But what's most exciting about Kimi's book (and the 120 nourishing soups she's included ... with great photos and simple instructions) is that there are so many simple soups ...even if you're new to this whole "nourishing foods" idea, you're sure to find something you like! And if you're on a special diet? There are GAPS friendly, vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, gluten free ...it's a specialty food extravaganza.Check out my full review: [...]

great condition

Not much in the way of new and exciting. But a nice addition to any cookbook collection for the new culinary artist.