Cookbook Review: Near & Far

Near & Far: Recipes Inspired by Home and Travel by Heidi Swanson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Publication date: September 2015
Source: Blogging for Books

Known for combining natural foods recipes with evocative, artful photography, New York Times bestselling author Heidi Swanson circled the globe to create this mouthwatering assortment of 120 vegetarian dishes. In this deeply personal collection drawn from her well-worn recipe journals, Heidi describes the fragrance of flatbreads hot off a Marrakech griddle, soba noodles and feather-light tempura in Tokyo, and the taste of wild-picked greens from the Puglian coast. Recipes such as Fennel Stew, Carrot & Sake Salad, Watermelon Radish Soup, Brown Butter Tortelli, and Saffron Tagine use healthy, whole foods ingredients and approachable techniques, and photographs taken in Morocco, Japan, Italy, France, and India, as well as back home in Heidi’s kitchen, reveal the places both 
near and far that inspire her warm, nourishing cooking.

This is definitely not one of my favorite cookbooks. The cover is quite lovely, so if the only purpose were to sit on my shelf with my other collection of cookbooks, this would be top notch. But once I open it up, I'm not very impressed.

The recipes are not ones I'm interested in trying, for the most part. But even worse than that, for me, is the photos. Half of the recipes don't have an accompanying picture. Instead, it is some travel photo, and even those are not to my taste. They just don't translate well for a cookbook. This is not one I'd recommend.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

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