Good Enough: A Cookbook: Embracing the Joys of Imperfection and Practicing Self-Care in the Kitchen

by Leanne Brown

Overview

You’ve got this!
Good enough is a cookbook, but it’s as much about the healing process of cooking as it is about delicious recipes. It’s about acknowledging the fears and anxieties many of us have when we get in the kitchen, then learning to let them go in the sensory experience of working with food. It’s about slowing down, honoring the beautiful act of feeding yourself and your loved ones, and releasing the worries about whether what you’ve made is good enough. It is.

 A generous mix of essays, stories, and nearly 100 dazzling recipes, Good Enough is a deeply personal cookbook. It's subject is more than Smoky Honey Shrimp Tacos with Spicy Fennel Slaw or Sticky Toffee Cookies; ultimately it's about learning to love and accept yourself, in and out of the kitchen. 
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781523509676
Publisher:	Workman Publishing Company
Publication date:	01/11/2022
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	416,731
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 6.80(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Leanne Brown is the author of Good Enough, a cookbook about developing self compassion and authentic connection through the act of cooking, as well as Good and Cheap, a cookbook built around a SNAP/foodstamps budget. She has been recognized through the Forbes 30 under 30 list for Food and Drink, and Food & Wine and Fortune named her one of the Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink. She lives in Brooklyn with her daughter Io where she teaches embodied cooking classes and hosts mini yoga and cooking retreats from her home. Her passion is helping you release stress and old patterns that hold you back so you can be free to live your one beautiful life. 

This author is represented by the Hachette Speakers Bureau.

Table of Contents

Contents
 
Introduction
Breakdown/Breakthrough
Pink Carrots
From Good and Cheap to Good Enough
A Note on the Essential Place of Flexibility in Cooking
Six Steps to Calm Cooking
How to Use This Book
 
Chapter 1: Good Enough Preparation
Hold Up, Why Is This So Much Work?
Comparison Shopping
Groceries in the Rain
Meeting Antonio
Dream Pantry
Assembly Only
Grocery Shopping as Ritual
 
Chapter 2: Good Enough Mornings
On Waking Up Sad
Gratitude Is an Experience, Not a Performance
Gratitude and Perfectionism
A Gratitude Practice
Designing Your Everyday Smoothie
Recipes: 
Creamy Hands-Off Scrambled Eggs
Delicate Dill and Cheddar Omelet
Salty Coconut Melon Refresher
Morning Stretch Yogurt Bowls
Breakfast Apple and Orange Crisp
Zucchini, Pistachio and Lemon Muffins
You're Set For the Week Granola, Three Ways: Lemon Tart Granola, Chocolate Macaroon Granola, Baklava Granola
 
 
Chapter 3: Good Enough Midday
Sometimes Self-Care Just Means Chores
Food Is Not a Reward
How to Love Salad
How to Make Lunch More Intentional
Choose Your Own Lunch-venture
Recipes:
October Farro 
Days and Days Salad 
Brooklyn Breakfast Salad 
Miso Salmon Taco Salad 
Leftover Potato and Pesto Salad
How to Get a Girlfriend Salad 
Best Friend Salad 
Hearty Summer Vegetable Salad with Sausage Croutons 
Two Dressings That Are Good on Everything: Creamy Dill and Date Dressing, Triple Citrus Dressing
Simple Cheese Sandwiches 
Cauliflower Cheese Pita Sandwich 
Spicy Miso Broccoli Melt 

 
 
Chapter 4: Good Enough Weeknights
Overwhelmed
Perfection Is a Liar
To Cook or Not to Cook, That Is the Question
Recipes:
Favorite Summer Burgers (page 000)
Fast White Bean, Chorizo, and Hearty Greens Stew (page 000)
Pato’s Weeknight Farro (page 000)
Relaxed and Romantic Risotto, Two Ways: Leek and Squash Risotto with Goat Cheese and Honey, Bacon and Kale Risotto with Fried Eggs (page 000)
Sambal Shrimp Lettuce Wraps (page 000)
Shrimp Scramble with Rice (page 000)
Grilled Tilapia Tacos with Mango Salsa (page 000)
Flexible Smoky Veggie Enchiladas (page 000)
Saucy Spiced Chicken with Tomato, Goat Cheese, and Mint (page 000)
Sweet and Spicy Chicken Dinner, Two Ways: Chile, Garlic, and Date Butterflied Roasted Chicken, Chile, Garlic, and Date Chicken Tacos (page 000)

 
Chapter 5: Good Enough When You’re Struggling
Cooking for Self-Worth
Making Something Is One Way to Say I’m Here
Being Your Own Best Parent
Healing Activities
Recipes:
Safe Foods (page 000)
Self-Love Potion (page 000)
Lime Tart Spritzer (page 000)
I Spell Love Q-U-E-S-O (page 000)
Maple Chipotle “Campfire” Cornbread (page 000)
Here and Now Jalapeño and Honey Biscuits (page 000)
Enlivening Green Soup (page 000)
Extra Elotes Bowl (page 000)
Surprisingly Awesome Quesadillas (page 000)
Citrus Refresher Pasta (page 000)
Salty, Spicy, and Bright Brussels Sprouts Pasta (page 000)
Salmon Dinner Pie (page 000)
Orange Cheesecake Brownies (page 000)
Every Day Is Summer Berry Cookie Bars (page 000)

 
 
Chapter 6: Good Enough Fun
Having a Baby Is Like the Movie Speed
I’d Rather Have the Joy, or the Oddly Terrifying Part of Happiness
Permission Slip for Excitement and Joy
Recipes:
Cinnamon and Spice Cream Cheese Rolls  (page 000)
Banana Bread, Two Ways: My Favorite Banana Loaf, Banana, Date, and Cashew Muffins (page 000)
Rainy Day Focaccia (page 000)
Welsh Rarebit with Roasted Broccoli  (page 000)
Samosa Puffs (page 000)
Cozy Cold-Weather Bolognese  (page 000)
Curried Chickpeas and Spinach (page 000)
Herby Fish Cakes with Chipotle Mayo  (page 000)
Lemon-Ginger Squares  (page 000)
Lemon Poppyseed Drizzle Cakes  (page 000)
Sticky Toffee Cookies  (page 000)
Oops! I Made Them Again Chocolate Chip Cookies (page 000)

 
 
Chapter 7: Good Enough for You
Harry’s Grilled Cheese
Rest and Pleasure
How to Take a Break Like You Mean It
Happy Hour
Recipes:
Vegetable Celebration (page 000)
Honeyed, Cheesy Asparagus (page 000)
Roasted Smoky and Salty Sweet Potatoes (page 000)
Mouthwatering Miso Roasted Broccoli and Shallots (page 000)
Maple Soy Cashew Brussels Sprouts (page 000)
Sour Cream and Onion Potatoes (page 000)
Macadamia-Crusted Delicata Squash with Maple Mustard Tahini Dressing (page 000)
Pesto Corn (page 000)
Pickle-y Sausage Cauliflower (page 000)
Design Your Own Cheese Plate
Bacon and Mint Snap Peas (page 000)
Emily’s Pizza Salad (page 000)
My Spicy Umami Noodles (page 000)
Extra Crunchy Jalapeño Cheddar Tostada (page 000)
Better-Than-a-Milkshake Mango Lassis (page 000)
Triple Citrus Custard Cream with (or without) Meringue (page 000)
Cheesecake Pots, Two Ways: Peach Mascarpone Cheesecake Pots, Orange and Chocolate Cheesecake Pots (page 000)
 
 
 
Chapter 8: Good Enough for Others
The Myth of Effortless Entertaining
Social Anxiety and Loneliness
A Menu for Doing Enough
Summer Produce Glory
Recipes
Brunch Gnocchi (page 000)
Sunday Morning Pancakes with Coffee Syrup (page 000)
Caramelized Onion Dip (page 000)
Peach and Burrata Beauty (page 000)
Garlic and Lemon Butter Smashed Potatoes (page 000)
Corn Chowder Quiche (page 000)
Smoky Honey Shrimp Tacos with Spicy Fennel Slaw (page 000)
Turkey Falafel Balls with Tangy Tomato Sauce (page 000)
Spicy Ginger-Honey Blondies (page 000)
Brian’s Peanut Butter and Honey Cupcakes (page 000)
Dan’s Birthday Carrot Cake (page 000)

 
 
End Notes: A Tale of Two Leftovers
 
Leftovers Redux: Mix + Match to Reduce Your Mental Load
 
Final Thought
 
Index

 

Editorial Reviews

11/01/2021

Brown (Good and Cheap) guides readers on a contemplative "journey to accept and fully honor the beautiful, complex, and meaningful act of cooking" in this deeply personal work. After revealing the depression she faced after the success of Good and Cheap, she explains how self-care-particularly in preparing a meal for herself-helped her overcome her bouts of fear and guilt. Splitting the book into two sections-"getting through your day" and "getting through your life"-she combines essays "about the feelings that come up around cooking" with gentle advice and simple yet innovative recipes. An essay about social anxiety and loneliness, for instance, is followed by "A Menu for Doing Enough"-which includes tips on how to "Ask for What You Need"-and dishes for groups, such as turkey falafel balls with tangy tomato sauce, and corn chowder quiche. Acknowledging there are days when she doesn't feel like cooking, Brown also shares plenty of ideas for quick dishes that are "thoughtful, but still low stress" such as segmented oranges drizzled with olive oil, salt, and pistachios, and cheddar cheese and pickle sandwiches with honey. Readers who see a strong emotional component in their cooking and eating habits will find much to savor in this multifaceted approach to emotional healing. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

In a world cluttered by confusing messages about food, bodies, and where you belong, Good Enough is a comforting hug, helping you reimagine your relationship to cooking for more joy, flexibility, and fun!”
—Rebecca Scritchfield, RDN, author of Body Kindness 

“Good Enough is a cookbook full of tried-and-true, approachable and craveable recipes that will encourage even the most harried home cooks to enter their kitchens. But it's more than that. It's also a personal, moving meditation on the importance of self-care and self-nourishment through life's difficult times. Most of all, it is a testament to the life-changing power of radical acceptance.”
—Gena Hamshaw, author of Power Plates and The Full Helping blog
 

From the Publisher