What To Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking: Cook the Book - The Local Palate (2024)

What To Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking: Cook the Book - The Local Palate (1)

Caroline Chambers’ latest cookbook, What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking, releases this month to a hungry audience of loyal readers of her Substack newsletter of the same name. Originally from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, now residing in Carmel, California, Chambers began writing her Substack to fulfill that ever-present plague of dinner time: what to make when you’re exhausted, mentally overwhelmed, or just not feeling it. The mother of three young boys, Chambers plots out her recipes in time increments ranging from “15-ish minutes” to “a little bit longer” meal plans that can take upwards of an hour.

Committing to her concept and process, I decided to integrate her recipes into the brazen realities of my daily life. Amidst a toddler playing “hop little bunny” around my kitchen, quick sub-outs for missing ingredients, and the relentless laundry pile glaring from the corner, I put Chambers’ recipes to the test. And, yes, even those of us who love cooking experience a frequent lack of inspiration and motivation to put on our weeknight aprons.

My family of three enjoys a wide flavor palate and I like to keep my meal planning centered around seasonal ingredients for diverse dinners that keep things interesting … and leave enough for lunch leftovers. This said, I gravitated towards three very different recipes from What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking: Summer Soup, Crispy Miso Lime Tofu, and I Promise You Can Cook Mussels.

Recipes reprinted and adapted with permission fromWhat to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cookingby Caroline Chambers © 2024. Published by Union Square & Co. Photos © Eva Kolenko.

Selected Recipes from What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking

I Promise You Can Cook Mussels

The title of this recipe made me laugh. As someone who was once very intimidated by my own kitchen, this resonated deeply. While my cooking comfort levels have gone from timid to very familiar, I still find myself counting shellfish out of my weeknight meal plans because I assume they’re too intimidating, time-consuming, or unapproachable. But this week, I declared Wednesday would be mussel night. While my toddler napped, I stole away to our local seafood market and made a pit stop for a spelt rye loaf from our local bakery. I took the liberty of debearding the mussels myself since I’ve never handled this independently (an adventurous step you can have your fishmonger handle for you) and, even with this step, the entire meal took less than 40 minutes. The mussels absolutely sang in the white wine sauce, and my personal suggestion is to go heavy on the crème fraîche and the chives. I served this in a shareable dish for three, and watching my two year old slurp a mussel and sop up the sauce with her spelt rye might become a core memory for me.

Crispy Miso Lime Tofu

My husband is a bit of a tofu fanatic, but, if I’m perfectly honest with myself, I struggle to love tofu unless it’s coated in flavor. Chamber’s Miso Lime Tofu packs tangy, umami flavor into every bite, and her method for quick-drying tofu made this a 20-minute meal, tops. To complement the tofu, we served ours with a little yuzu juice, chili crisp, toasted black sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, and cilantro. We stuck to the recipe’s suggestion to serve these as lettuce wraps, but, if you’re looking to repurpose leftovers, spoon the tofu into tortillas with a quick Asian-inspired slaw for an effortless lunch.

Summer Soup

This soup is a bounty of summer produce. With yellow squash, zucchini, onion, tomatoes, corn, couscous, and herbs, Chambers’ summer soup reminds me of my more profitable years of backyard gardening in North Carolina. If you’ve ever ventured into homesteading in the hot, humid South, it’s always a bit of a gamble until, suddenly, you’re completely overrun with squash and tomatoes. This soup captures the heart of that summer abundance, and provides a bright and warming bowl that pairs perfectly with those evenings when thunderstorms roll in. Not a gardener? A great excuse to raid your local farmers market, or, Chambers offers ways to keep this recipe approachable with frozen and canned options.

Get these recipes and more in What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking

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What To Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking: Cook the Book - The Local Palate (8)

About The Author

Amber Chase

Amber Chase brings a breadth of food knowledge, a hearty work ethic, and a very high gluten tolerance to her role as Digital Editor for The Local Palate. Her other full-time gig is parenting her daughter, Nova, who will no doubt grow to be her superior.

What To Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking: Cook the Book - The Local Palate (2024)

FAQs

Is it a cookbook or cook book? ›

A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food.

What to put in a recipe book? ›

8 Tips For Writing a Cookbook
  1. Table of Contents: How Will You Break Up Your Recipe Groups? Meal types, such as breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack. ...
  2. Cook Your Recipes. ...
  3. Check You Haven't Missed an Ingredient. ...
  4. Put the Ingredients in Order. ...
  5. Choose a Language. ...
  6. Standardise Your Measurements. ...
  7. Pick Great Photos. ...
  8. Add Extras.
Jun 5, 2018

What makes a good recipe book? ›

A Good Cookbook Tells Stories

Cookbook authors may be accomplished chefs themselves able to weave together a compelling story about each recipe's origins, creating a narrative that loops in readers and cooks along the way.

What if I don't like cooking? ›

23:09: Some people don't like cooking because they think they aren't a good cook, they're bored, or feel like everything is mediocre. Maybe you need to infuse some creativity. Try new recipes, experiment with new flavors and styles, learn new things, and make your plate look nice.

Are cooking books legal? ›

The Dangers of Cooking the Books

Corporate fraud is a crime. Both the parent company and the person(s) directly responsible for altering the financial records will likely suffer substantial penalties if caught, including fines, prison time, and even the shuttering of the company itself.

Do people still use cook books? ›

Food memoirs and cookbooks are consistently among the strongest areas of the book industry. “Cookbook sales in the U.S. grew 8% year-on-year between 2010 and 2020, with sales numbers boosted even further by the pandemic,” wrote Kate Gibbs in a 2022 story in the Guardian.

What is the oldest cookbook still in print? ›

The first recorded cookbook that is still in print today is Of Culinary Matters (originally, De Re Coquinaria), written by Apicius, in fourth century AD Rome. It contains more than 500 recipes, including many with Indian spices.

How to start a cook book? ›

These are the key steps to take when writing a cookbook.
  1. Choose Your Concept. As mentioned above, owning your concept is a vital stage of the process. ...
  2. Plan Your Structure. ...
  3. Create A Proposal. ...
  4. Write Your Recipes. ...
  5. Test Your Recipes. ...
  6. Edit The Text. ...
  7. Finalise The Design. ...
  8. Proofread And Index.

How many recipes should be in a cookbook? ›

Keep in mind that the average size of a cookbook is about 75 to 200 pages. On average, a typical cookbook will have around 150 recipes, but that varies as well, from small cookbooks with just 15 recipes to more than 300.

What to put at the end of a cookbook? ›

There are several pieces of the book that go after the main body of the cookbook, these are called "back matter". They include content like an index, glossary, appendixes, bibliography, or resources. All of this content is optional, though an index and resources section are very common in cookbooks.

How do I choose a cookbook? ›

Here are five tips for choosing an excellent cookbook:
  1. Read the Acknowledgments. I've admitted before that the first thing I do when I pick up a cookbook is read the acknowledgments. ...
  2. Look for Voice. ...
  3. Check for Both Cooking Times and Doneness Cues. ...
  4. Scope out the Design Quality. ...
  5. Don't Be Too Swayed by Size.
Sep 18, 2019

Which recipe book is best? ›

From Jamie Oliver to Rukmini Iyer, these are our favourite books for everyday cooking.
  • 125 recipes to celebrate the joy of homecooking. ...
  • Quick and easy bakes. ...
  • Nourishing everyday meals. ...
  • The go-to guide for vegetarian Indian cooking. ...
  • Nadiya's foolproof recipes for family dinners. ...
  • Hearty comfort food to bring joy.
Jan 4, 2024

What are the 7 questions of a cookbook reviewer? ›

Here's my questions–who knows, maybe they'll help you the next time you're having brain freeze in the Cookbooks section.
  • Question 1: Is it useful? ...
  • Question 2: Is it thoughtful? ...
  • Question 3: Is it new? ...
  • Question 4: Does it tell a story? ...
  • Question 5: Is it well-designed? ...
  • Question 6: Is it focused?
Nov 14, 2011

Is it normal to not want to cook? ›

Some people love to cook. Others despise it. And many more fall somewhere in between. They might not mind cooking certain dishes, but it's also not something they get excited about.

Why do I have an aversion to cooking? ›

Mageirocophobia occurs when you're fearful of cooking or the idea of cooking. You may experience intense anxiety or go out of your way to avoid cooking. For many people, this phobia stems from not wanting to make mistakes.

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