Philia Kelnhofer - Fast and Easy Five-Ingredient Recipes: A Cookbook for Busy People

Copyright 2016 by Philia Kelnhofer

All rights reserved

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, The Countryman Press, 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact W. W. Norton Special Sales at or 800-233-4830

Book design by Chin-Yee Lai

Cover design: Chin-Yee Lai

Cover photographs: Philia Kelnhofer

The Countryman Press

www.countrymanpress.com

A division of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110

www.wwnorton.com

978-1-58157-399-2 (pbk.)

978-1-58157-536-1 (e-book)

In five-ingredient style I wish to dedicate this book to:

All the busy people out thereI am one of you; life can be crazy busy. This book is dedicated to helping with mealtime inspiration and making your life a little easier.

My husbandmy one true love. I love you more than I could ever possibly express. Thank you for your unwavering support and endless encouragement and for being the best taste tester and hand model this foodie girl could ever dream of.

My family and friendsthank you for everything. This book was originally going to be called Five Ingredients with Friends and Family because you are where it all started; you are the best. Thank you to my parents who taught me how to cook and that when you put your mind to something, you can achieve it. And to my father-in-lawa special thank-you to you for reading every single word in this book before I was ready to share it with the world.

The dedicated Five Ingredient Friday followersyour following of the series on my blog (www.sweetphi.com) is what allowed me to start this journey of creating a cookbook.

The entire team at the Countryman Pressthank you for turning my vision for this book into a reality and believing in my cookbook dreams.

Cooking well doesnt mean cooking fancy. Julia Child

They say it takes a village, and I can attest to that. This book would simply not have happened if it werent for the entire village that has helped me. A few special thank-yous, however, are deserved.

To my husband, a million, no, a bazillion, thank-yous would never come close to enough. While some may think being the husband of a food blogger is 24/7 deliciousness, I know there are parts of the role that the world never sees: the endless boxes of stuff having to be broken down for recycling (I know I leave trash in the boxes; Im the worst), the hundreds (more like thousands) of food photography props that need to be carried up and down from the basement because of space constraints, and the dishesthey are endless! Thank you for making my life so much better. You make me smile. You make my heart happy. I love you.

To Lynn, there is no one more fiercely loyal than you, Im so glad to have you in my corner. You are simply the best and I love you. Our constant calls and texts keep me going, even when the going gets tough. All I have to do is think of the fact that I hear its really nice in Montana this time of year and I smile. We should really go someday. And your famous line as a professional courtesy gets me every time.

To Jodie, you have always believed in me. From the first day we met, you have made me think if I wanted, I could. Thank you for your continuous support and encouragement; I love you.

To Meg, thank you for helping me think of creative ways to share my cookbook with the world! This world is such a small one, and Im so happy we were able to connect.

To my editor, Ann, thank you for pointing out my love of exclamations! And thank you for making this book a successturning Five Ingredient Fridays into a cookbook will forever make me grateful to you.

Most important, thanks to all of you for buying this cookbook! I love seeing all the #sweetphiblog sharing on social media; lets keep in touch and interact.

Sometimes after a busy day, the last thing you want to do is spend hours upon hours in the kitchen, cooking a recipe that involves a mile-long ingredients list. Im right there with you. My name is Philia, Phi for short, and Im here to help make dinnertime a little easier through fast and easy recipes.

Like you, I know a little something about being busy.

I work full-time, run a food blog (www.sweetphi.com), have a never-ending to-do list, and have a husband and family and friends I want to spend time with.

Dinnertime can be daunting. But it doesnt have to be. Whether for weeknight meals or last-minute dinner parties, Im going to show you how five-ingredient recipes will save you time and money and theyre delicious, too.

A few years ago on a Friday night, I was having a conversation with one of my younger sisters who was in college at the time. She mentioned that while she loved cooking, she was really drawn to the simpler recipes I was creating. Recipes with few ingredients that she could pick up at her local grocery store and that offered amazing results.

Since it was a Friday evening I joked, How about I start a Five-Ingredient Fridays series? She, along with everyone else I told, loved the idea and a new blog series was born.

Friday became the day I looked forward to, not only because of the upcoming weekend, but because I would share a recipe with five ingredients or less (water, salt and pepper, and cooking spray are not included in the count because chances are you have those in your kitchen somewhere). I received such a positive response from readers writing to tell me that they had made a delicious meal for their families, and how shocked they were that all they used were five ingredients. Or, when Id make a dish for friends, theyd say, This has only five ingredients? Are you sure? Yup, Im positive.

Five ingredients is all it takes to create fantastic dishes.

Whether its throwing together a quick dip or having some cookies ready to go from the freezer, I love simple recipes. Recipes that have amazing flavors, that dont take hours upon hours to make, and that have ingredients one can pronounce.

Simple, good food.

That is what cooking is all about for me: bringing friends and family together and showing home cooks that delicious food doesnt have to have a bazillion ingredients or take hours to make.

Creating this cookbook has been something Ive wanted to do for years and the topic of easy recipes is one Im super passionate about. I have a cookbook collection that is larger than I care to admit. I love discovering new ideas and gathering inspiration and looking at picturespictures are a must. If a cookbook doesnt have photographs, I find myself getting a little discouraged. I like having an idea of how the finished dish will look, so with each recipe Ive included a photo for you. As someone once told me, Cookbooks are my favorite books to read; you always know the ending.

Thats not to say your interpretation of the recipes should be the exact same. You like things with a little more salt? Add an extra pinch. You like things with a little more kick? By all means, add that ghost pepper (eep dont forget to tell your guests)!

Recipes are meant as a guidea road mapto your kitchen adventures, of which I hope you have many.

In this cookbook, you will find 105 five-ingredient recipes, all accompanied by big, beautiful pictures.

I hope you enjoy,