The Ambitious Kitchen Cookbook

Recipe queen, social media star, and the beloved blogger behind the popular recipe website Ambitious Kitchen presents over 125 nutrient-dense, flavor-packed recipes for every meal of the day. Millions of readers know Monique Volz''s website, Ambitious Kitchen, as a go-to resource for inventive, flavorful recipes that are full of nutrition, comfort, and personality. Now, in her debut cookbook, Monique wants others to find their own Ambitious Kitchen and discover their own version of health, bold flavors, and above all, the unique happiness that food can bring to your life. Whether you’re looking for a show-stopping dish to bring to a gathering, a new home-cooked tradition, or a nourishing meal everyone will love, Monique joyfully showcases a balanced approach to health, with comforting, vibrant dishes that are amped up with extra vegetables, protein, and fiber. Wake up and sip on a Glowing Skin Vitamin A Smoothie or bake The Best Cinnamon Rolls You’ll Ever Eat for someone you love. Enjoy nutritious lunches such as Buffalo Chicken Chop Chop Salad or Roasty Toasty Tomato Soup with Herbed Grilled Cheese Naan . Family dinner might look like It’s a Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Chicken , Sweet Potato & Bacon Situation or Pepperoni Pizza Baked Orzo with Basil and Quick Hot Honey on a busy night, or Everyone’s Favorite Baked Chicken Tacos or Marry Me Ropa Vieja for a crowd. And let’s not forget show-stopping desserts like Tahini Pumpkin Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting and outrageously good Double Strawberry Oatmeal Cream Pies (Little Debras) . Most recipes include “Make It Your Way” and “Make It Nutrient Dense” tips to customize food to your tastes. And as an added bonus, most can be made gluten-free, dairy-free, or vegan, allowing readers to tailor recipes to their own version of health. As you turn the pages, you’ll find yourself a guest at Monique’s table, enjoying playful, comforting recipes that will impress everyone (including yourself!)....

Autorentext
Monique Volz founded her food and wellness blog, Ambitious Kitchen, with the hopes of sharing her healthy comfort foods with the world while processing the unexpected passing of her father. Monique immediately connected with readers looking for a dose of inspiration, storytelling, and comfort through food. Now you'll not only find a website with hundreds of unique nourishing recipes, but also a dedicated, ambitious community who crave Monique's inspiration. Monique currently lives in Chicago with her husband and three little boys.

Klappentext

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The recipe queen, social media star, and beloved blogger behind the popular recipe website AmbitiousKitchen presents over 125 nutrient-dense, flavor-packed recipes for every meal of the day.

“Monique effortlessly combines creativity with approachability, ensuring each dish is a success. This book is an instant classic for me!”—Alex Snodgrass, New York Times bestselling author and creator of The Defined Dish

Millions of readers know Monique Volz’s website, Ambitious Kitchen, as a go-to resource for inventive, flavorful recipes that are full of nutrition, comfort, and personality. Now, in her debut cookbook, Monique wants others to find their own Ambitious Kitchen and discover their own version of health, bold flavors, and above all, the unique happiness that food can bring to your life. Whether you’re looking for a show-stopping dish to bring to a gathering, a new home-cooked tradition, or a nourishing meal everyone will love, The Ambitious Kitchen Cookbook has the answers.

Monique joyfully showcases a balanced approach to health, with comforting, vibrant dishes that are amped up with extra vegetables, protein, and fiber. Wake up and sip on a Glowing Skin Vitamin A Smoothie or bake The Best Cinnamon Rolls You’ll Ever Eat for someone you love. Enjoy nutritious lunches such as Buffalo Chicken Chop Chop Salad or Roasty Toasty Tomato Soup with Herbed Grilled Cheese Naan. Family dinner might look like It’s a Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Chicken, Sweet Potato & Bacon Situation or Pepperoni Pizza Baked Orzo with Basil and Quick Hot Honey on a busy night, or Everyone’s Favorite Baked Chicken Tacos or Marry Me Ropa Vieja for a crowd. And let’s not forget show-stopping desserts like Tahini Pumpkin Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting and outrageously good Double Strawberry Oatmeal Cream Pies (Little Debras).

Most recipes include “Make It Your Way” and “Make It Nutrient Dense” tips to customize food to your tastes. And as an added bonus, most can be made gluten-free, dairy-free, or vegan, allowing readers to tailor recipes to their own version of health.

As you turn the pages, you’ll find yourself a guest at Monique’s table, enjoying playful, comforting recipes that will impress everyone (including yourself!).

Leseprobe
Introduction

It took me years to realize how much food has the power to create a positive change in all of our lives, whether that means connecting with others over a homemade meal made from the heart, baking to soothe your soul when you’re in need of comfort, or taking time to nourish your body with better-for-you ingredients. I wrote this cookbook to help you do the same: to help you discover boldness, unique flavors, creativity, health, and, above all, the unique happiness that food can bring to your life. Maybe you’re seeking the perfect dish to bring to a gathering. Maybe you’re looking for a show-stopping recipe to become a tradition in your home. Maybe you need to put a nutrient-packed meal on the table for picky kids or toddlers, as I do regularly for my husband and three little boys. Maybe you, like me, are learning to nourish yourself after years of disordered eating. The best recipes rise to all of these occasions. I’ve created this cookbook to be your guide, your foundation, for meeting these challenges with joy and experimentation. My years of kitchen trial and error will help you customize most of these recipes to make them your own, whether you want to add a little extra nutrition or a little extra heat, or you’re looking to make them gluten-free or dairy-free. And my years of rediscovering food as a source of joy will help you, as well, to become your healthiest, most satisfied, most authentic self—no matter where you are in your journey to discover your own Ambitious Kitchen.

Your Meaning of Ambition

In one of my most vivid memories, my mother crouches over a tiny charcoal Weber grill parked outside the front door of our tiny duplex in Minneapolis, peering at our dinner. As a single mom, she worked around the clock at several different jobs to support my teenage brother and nine-year-old me, but when the sun went down on humid summer evenings, we knew we’d have her full attention—and the full extent of her ambition.

On her way home, she’d swing by a fish market and pick up whatever was fresh, often halibut, salmon, or mahi mahi. Tonight, swordfish. She opened up our Encyclopaedia Britannica and we all peered at the fish’s long, pointy bill. We brainstormed how she should season the fish, perhaps with a bit of sazón, the seasoning mix beloved in her Puerto Rican family. Then my mother cut a fresh lemon into thin wheels, tucked them into foil with the fish, and laid it over the coals next to baby red potatoes and long, thin spears of asparagus. When everything was done, we perched on the steps, plates on our laps, enjoying the moist, flaky fish, the potatoes that my mother had lavished with butter, and, most of all, the warmth of talking to each other for the first time all day.

It wasn’t until much later…