Alex Snodgrass - The Comfortable Kitchen: 105 Laid-Back, Healthy, and Wholesome Recipe

To Sutton and Winnie:

May we continue to make

memories in

the kitchen together

for you to carry in your

hearts forever.

The Defined Dish: Healthy and Wholesome Weeknight Recipes

When I was trying to decide what types of recipes to include in this book, I thought long and hard about my experience writing my first cookbook and putting it out into the world. Sharing that with the Defined Dish community for the first time was incredibly daunting yet exciting, and one of the most profoundly rewarding experiences of my life thus far. All I wanted was for people to actually cook and enjoy the recipes with the ones they love mostnot just a little memento that collects dust on a shelf.

While I love to treat my body well and eat foods that nourish, food is also so much more than just what fuels our bodies. Meals are where our families come together at the end of the day. Theyre where we celebrate lifes great events. Theyre where we gather and count our blessings. And theyre where we can show others that we love and care about them.

Food has always been my love language. More specifically, preparing and serving food. In fact, when I really dig deep, food is the love language that has shaped so many of my relationships and continues to.

The bulk of my childhood memories are set in the kitchen: my dad, mom, brother, and sister around the table eating my moms delicious meals. I know now that I, too, can set the foundation for beautiful memories made at home for our little family of four.

I express my own motherly love through my cooking for my two beautiful children. Sure, right now they may be more interested in the fast food we eat on occasion, and sometimes have the gumption to request something else for dinner; however, one day I know theyll look back and remember that I like to make on special occasions and be filled with warm memories of our family together in the kitchen.

Whipping up my husbands favorite makes my heart so happy. I love nothing more than a date night in, a lovely bottle of wine, and catching up on our week together over a delicious home-cooked meal. The meals I make are a labor of love, and a way that I show him I care.

And, true friendship to me is writing notes on top of a foil-wrapped casserole dish filled with my and leaving it at the front porch of a dear friend or family member in need of a home-cooked meal. Whenever Im on the receiving end of a delicious delivered dinner from a friend, Im always grateful for the time and love put forth into making sure Im fed and comforted.

Long story longpreparing, sharing, and serving food for others brings me joy, which is exactly what brings me to writing my second book. I feel like its my purpose in life to share this passion with you, and I cant wait for you to quite literally dig into the recipes here.

My intention with this bookand all of the recipes I createis to bring you into my kitchen with me, in the hope that I can bring a little more comfort into yours. Even if you love cooking as much as I do, it can feel like you are in this constant cycle of cooking, scrubbing pots and pans, and filling the dishwasher, only to get up and do it all over againI get it. But even when we are stuck in this constant cycle, how can we remind ourselves about the joy cooking can bring us, and how it makes such a positive impact on the way we feel? How can we get creative in our kitchens without worrying about overcooking our chicken? How can we put food on the table thats somewhat healthy and still makes our taste buds sing and fill our loved ones with comfort?

Thats where I want to helpto inspire you with delicious food that doesnt skimp on flavor. Let me remind you, Im just a home cook who loves sharing recipes, so youll find my recipes are easy enough that any and all levels of cook will love and enjoy. Im also not a dietician. Im just a human being doing my best to live a healthy and abundant life. While most of these recipes are created with clean, healthful ingredients, there are a handful of splurge-worthy dishes in herelike my because, in my opinion, life is too short, and we should enjoy a little bit of everything if we are able.

Youll find that in this book Ive stuck to what I do bestgreat dinners for all occasions and for all levels of difficulty: busy weeknight dinners, weekend dinners with friends, and family-style dinners for special moments. Ive also included some accompaniments to add to your dinner experience. The chapter, with desserts Im extremely proud of and excited for you to try.

At the end of the day, food is a powerful way of expressing love and forming deeper connections, and my hope is that as you cook your way through this book, youll take the time to appreciate the way that food brings us all together.

This has been a tried-and-true staple in my pantry for many years. While its great for grain-free baking, its also terrific for savory cooking when I want to try to mimic bread crumbs or panko. I dont recommend using almond flour as a thickener in sauces and gravies I have other options for thatas it can create a gritty texture and it doesnt thicken like all-purpose flour; however, its great at binding to foods to create a crispy breading!

For grain-free and gluten-free cooking, cassava gets close to being the ultimate replacement for all-purpose flour. It is very mild and neutral in flavor, light and fine, and not grainy or gritty in texture. The other thing about cassava is that it is nut-free, making it a good substitute for those with nut allergies who cannot use almond flour. In savory cooking, you can usually swap cassava flour for all-purpose flour using a 1:1 ratio; in baking, it can get a little more cumbersome as it absorbs liquid more easily than all-purpose flour.

Some call it arrowroot starch and some call it arrowroot flourits all the same thing! This powdery white starch is naturally gluten-free, grain-free, paleo, and Whole30-friendly. However, beware that some lower-quality arrowroot flour blends may also contain potato starch, which is why I like to buy Bobs Red Mill brand. Arrowroot is more similar to cornstarch in cooking than it is to all-purpose flour. Like cornstarch, arrowroot is excellent for thickening soups, sauces, and gravies. It does have a very strong thickening power, so a little goes a long wayor else your food can get too thick or slimy.

Tapioca is a starch extracted from the yuca root and, like arrowroot flour, it is a powdery white starch that is naturally gluten-free, grain-free, paleo, and Whole30-friendly and it can serve as a substitute in cooking and baking. Because tapioca flour is super similar to arrowroot flour, it can usually be used interchangeably in my recipes, as it is excellent for thickening soups, sauces, and gravies. The only difference I do notice with tapioca is that when it is combined with almond flour, it tends to lend a crispier breading than arrowroot.