The Honeysuckle Cookbook: 100 Healthy, Feel-Good Recipes to Live Deliciously by Dzung Lewis

 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Honeysuckle Cookbook: 100 Healthy, Feel-Good Recipes to Live Deliciously
Author: Dzung Lewis
Release Date: 9.22.20
Publisher: Rodale

Goodreads Summary:
100 crave-worthy, wholesome recipes and time-saving tips for busy home cooks from the founder and host of the Honeysuckle channel on YouTube.

The Honeysuckle Cookbook is stuffed with exciting ideas for easy, approachable, Asian-influenced cooking at home. With 100 recipes, from the breakfast favorites that consistently rate the highest in views on the author's popular YouTube channel (like her Overnight Oats, 6 Ways) to original twists on one-pan and pressure-cooker meals, this book is for those of us who want feel-good meals made healthy, delicious, and quick.

Dzung's recipes take the familiar and turns it ever-so-slightly on its head: Marinara sauce gets extra umami with the addition of fish sauce, while mac and cheese becomes more than an out-of-the-box staple when made fresh with kimchi. Lattes get an extra kick from bold Vietnamese coffee and sweet, floral lavender, and quinoa pilaf is mixed with a creamy curry-miso dressing. Dzung also teaches readers how to stretch groceries so they spend a little less money, how to plan meals seasonally, and how to match main courses with sides so plates look impressive and taste great. With quick snack ideas, recipe hacks, foolproof instructions, and genius tips for pretty presentation, The Honeysuckle Cookbook will be the friendly hand busy young cooks need to hold in the kitchen.

My Review:

I had no idea about the author's YouTube channel prior to reading this cookbook. I simply saw the amazing bánh mì sandwiches on the cover and I was drawn to the idea of "healthy, feel-good recipes." This book is perfect for a cook wanting to test their hand at some recipes with Thai and Vietnamese flavors. I'm currently working my way through the soup section. I loved the *secret* ingredient in the Butternut Squash Soup and I liked that the Chicken, Lemon, and Herb Noodle Soup can be whipped up in just 45 minutes--a great option for when I don't feel like making my personal chicken soup recipe which takes 2 days! The next soups I will be making are Beef Pho and Hot & Sour Soup. In addition to the soup and salads section, this cookbook contains chapters on coffee/tea, breakfast, noodles and grains, weeknight mains, low and slow or pressure-cooking, side dishes, and desserts. In addition to the soups, I think the next recipe I will be trying for my family will be Sesame Soba Noodle Stir-Fry and I am excited to try the Vietnamese Carmelized Fish (Ca Kho To) the next time I am cooking for myself because I don't have any fellow fish-lovers in my family! Of course the desserts all sound amazing but I think I'll start with the Ginger-Cardamom Lemon Bars for me because I love lemon bars and I think these flavors would be a fun twist. The Matcha Chocolate Lava Cakes and the Vanilla-Bourbon Cream Puffs are definitely on the menu for the next time my daughter is home because she loves all of those ingredients. This cookbook hasn't been shelved since I got it because I can't stop looking through it!