Half Way through Half Baked Harvest
If you look through my Instagram, it is no secret that one of my favorite recipe developers is Tieghan Gerard from Half Baked Harvest. As a stylish blogger who started out cooking for her large family, her natural ingredient based recipes adorned with the picturesque background of her kitchen-converted barn in snowy Colorado brings comfort to my soul. I often find myself googling her recipes whenever I need inspiration for dinners. Although, lately I have been doing something a little bit different that requires more planning than a weeknight meal.
About halfway into 2022 I decided to go through my book collection. As an avid reader, it pains me to get rid of any books because I have dreams one day that I will own a library like Belle in Beauty and the Beast. Until then I have a small bookshelf that requires an annual clean out. While deciding between the keep, go, and maybe piles while we were packing boxes to move to Florida, I realized I had been gifted quite a few cookbooks. I don’t know if it is just me, but when family members get wind of a hobby I have picked up, that becomes the theme of the following Christmas. Word had obviously gotten out I enjoyed cooking. I didn’t want to part with these cookbooks quite yet, and that’s when the inspiration struck. I decided that I was going to be like Julie and Julia and cook through an entire cookbook.
The next decision was picking out which cookbook. There were many great options: Pioneer Woman, Ina Garten, and even one hand written by my grandmother. The decision ultimately came down to our lifestyle and wanting to have a cookbook that was a good balance of nutritious meals and delicious splurges. Half Baked Harvest was the cookbook that best fit the mold, and it helped I had just gotten her new cookbook Half Baked Harvest: Every Day. This is her third New York Times Best Selling cookbook, so I was excited to dive in. This journey started in June 2022 and I am proud to say I have made it through half of the over 120 recipes and would love to share with you my thoughts so far.
What Makes Half Baked Harvest
Tieghan will be the first person to tell you that she is not a chef, but a cook. While she doesn’t have professional experience in the restaurant industry, what Tieghan brings to the table is experience with fun family dynamics and getting food on the table for the people you love. While some of the recipes are quick in the cookbook, there are others that require more time and effort. I call these the weekend meals when you have more time to relax and try flashy new dishes.
Another thing that is fantastic about Half Baked Harvest is that it is about balance. As someone who has been concerned about my weight, I have found the healthiest mindset is not to count calories or carbs, but to focus on what types of ingredients I am choosing to put into my body. Having a plate full of color and listening to your body when it is full or hungry will be longer lasting than “cutting out all carbs”. Tieghan has this mindset as well and it is reflected in the cookbook. While she has labels on each recipe for dairy free, refined sugar free, and so on, as you flip through the pages you can easily see some recipes that are vegetable forward and others that are comfort food all the way.
Pumpkin streusel coffee cake with cinnamon butter
Ingredient Trends
Tieghan goes through her preferred ingredients and brands at the beginning of the book, but there are also some trends I have noticed while making the recipes. This can be handy when it comes to planning the weekly meals because I can use the same ingredient in several dishes. While I don’t have my own chickens or goats to get the freshest milk and eggs, there are a few ingredients I have been more conscious about.
Browned butter: Brown butter adds a nutty flavor to baked goods and just adds that extra pizzazz to vegetable dishes. Half Baked Harvest definitely uses good quality salted butter and has you brown it in several dishes, and I can notice the difference.
Coconut oil: Coconut oil has antioxidant and antimicrobial qualities as well as a great substitute for butter if anyone has issues digesting dairy. This is another ingredient used consistently within the cookbook that I have started to stock my pantry with.
Maple Syrup/Honey: While you may hear “sugar is sugar”, maple syrup and honey have lower glycemic levels than refined sugar. This means that there will be a smaller rise and fall of your glucose levels so you will be less likely to experience that “sugar crash”.
Parmesan chicken saltimbocca with fried lemon caper sauce
Fresh herbs: Some common herbs used throughout the cookbook so far include basil, cilantro, thyme, and dill. I have also made sure to stay stocked up on fresh chives, rosemary, and parsley as well. In order to have my herbs stay fresh longer, I have been putting them in a mason jar with water in the fridge and covering them with a plastic bag for up to two weeks.
Pink himalayan salt: While I’m not going to lie in saying I have used pink himalayan salt in every dish thus far, I will say I understand why it is used. The pink tint comes from other minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium that are not as prominent in other salts. Most homes already use iodized salt, why not include other minerals?
Crushed red pepper flakes: Simply put, dried red pepper flakes are a mixture of dried bell, cayenne, jalapeno, fresno, and/or anaheim peppers. Crushed red pepper tends to be more for the purpose of adding heat to a dish, whereas if you go with another spice like chili flakes it will enhance the flavor of the actual pepper.
Wheat/Rye flour: Wheat flour is similar to other flour varieties except it has more fiber, while rye flour has less gluten than other flours. Unfortunately I have not been able to find rye flour at my stores, so whenever her recipes call for it I have been using wheat flour.
Method to the Madness
Like Tieghan, there are a few trends I have decided to follow in order to cook my way through Half Baked Harvest Every Day. First off, I am not going straight through the book, or by section. Instead, I plan my weekly shopping based on shared ingredients. For example, if I plan to make the maple sesame smashed sweet potatoes then I will go ahead and plan to make the sweet potato nachos as well that week. I have consistently planned meals with like perishable foods before going through the cookbook because it leads to less food waste and disappointment when throwing out the expensive avocados.
In addition, whenever I finish a recipe, I highlight the title green, yellow, or red. Green indicates that this truly is a meal I could make every day and enjoyed it immensely. Yellow indicates that I liked the recipe, but could not see myself making it often. Sometimes the yellow recipes also did not work as well and I have had to alter them. I have found this the case especially with baking considering the Florida humidity is vastly different than the Colorado mountains. Red indicates that I will not be remaking the recipe for various reasons. Don’t worry, there are significantly more green recipes than yellow or red.
Favorite Recipes
Saucy Peanut Garlic Noodles with Sesame Sweet Potatoes: When I think of every day I think of this recipe in the cookbook. This is a come home, get in your comfy clothes, and make a quick and delicious dinner in less than 30 minutes recipe.
Honey Roasted Carrots with Herb Oil: I would have never thought to put goat cheese, pomegranate seeds, herb oil, and carrots together but it works so well!
Chipotle Cheddar Corn Chowder: I have found that if any recipe has chipotle peppers with adobo sauce it is a win in our household. This soup was easy, flavorful, and made fantastic leftovers at lunch the next day.
Honey roasted carrots with herb oil, maple sesame smashed sweet potatoes, and garlic butter brussel sprouts with lemon aioli
I am ready to dive into this new year and into the other half of this cookbook. New years can bring all new goals, but I personally believe that if you want to master a goal it is to build upon a foundation that has already been laid. I am excited to finish this cookbook in 2023 and highlight every single recipe- chicken scratch notes in the margin and all! I hope you find joy and have goals that bring you excitement in this new year as well.