Piecemeal by Kathryn Pauline is a valuable addition to any kitchen.
Meal planning with 30 ingredients and 90 variations. Each recipe base provides 3 recipe varieties for super quick (5min), quick (15min), and not as quick (30+min). I LOVE all the options!!
The pictures are stunning and so inviting. Broken into chapters of vegetables, meats, dressings and sauces, then fruits, compotes, and curds. Then recipes are then divided by breakfast, small plates and sides, dips and spreads, soups and salads, mains, and sweets.
The 30 components are described as bold, storable, versatile, and/or efficient. Creativity and self-expression is encouraged! There are a lot of tips and tricks and suggestions provided throughout.
I love the premise of variety and options. Combinations I never would have thought of trying. The recipes are communicated well and seem easy enough to make.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are solely my own, freely given.

Such a fabulous concept -- This book includes 30 base recipes for things like grilled corn, coconut shrimp, actually good vinaigrette, and cinnamin apples (there are sections of base receipes for veggies, meats (only 3), dressings and sauces, and fruits/compotes/curds).

Each base recipe then has 3 recipes it could be used for - a 5+ minute, a 15+ minute, and a 30+ minute recipe. For example, marinated beets is one of the base recipes and the three offshoot recipes include labneh with marinated beets (5+), beet reubens (15+) and well-red chopped salad (30+). Each base recipe also includes a list of other possible uses and substitutions throughout the book like --= replace oranges in a salad with beets, or add atop a garlicky hummus (other recipes in the book), It also includes some tips outside the book's range (honestly one of my favorites is just use some fresh veggies or meats and throw on a frozen cheese pizza to flavor it up).

The book also has a wealth of storage tips (e.g. how long you can keep your marinated beets refrigerated and frozen, and what they'd be good for after freezing); and store-bought alternatives (like buy vacuum-sealed beets from the grocery store to save on prep time)..

The pictures are great - straightforward and appetizing and appear for every food!

Recipe complexity really ranges, typically more difficult / complex recipes for the 30+ minute recipes. Most of the recipes still seem achievable for an amateur, though maybe not something I'd choose to pick up.

The ethnic influences of the foods are really wide-ranging which I thought was exciting, though there may be things you've not heard of before (which I think is exciting).

Love this approach to cooking and prepping. Well done!

Piecemeal by Kathryn Pauline

What a unique structure for a cookbook! With a total of 120 recipes, there are 30 recipes to prepare basic base ingredients. Each of those base ingredients is then used in 3 different recipes - one that requires 5 additional minutes of preparation, one that requires 15, and one that requires 30. The 3 recipes are quite varied in many cases. This way of cooking will be extremely helpful for a busy schedule.

The cookbook includes a clear table of contents as well as an index, and the photography is beautiful.

Thank you to #Netgalley and Chronicle Books for a free copy of #Piecemeal by Kathryn Pauline. All opinions are my own.

What a fantastic and unique idea for a cookbook. Here’s how it works: Kathryn Pauline has chosen 30 different base recipes focused on one component. For example: whole roasted garlic. First she explains how to prepare it (enough for 3 recipes). Not only do you get a very well-written recipe, you also get tips and notes on amounts, storage, and many ways to use it. (All recipes are in imperial and metric, perfect for cooks in all countries). Then, on the following pages are three different dishes where roasted garlic is used: Garlic bread, Hummus and Spaghetti aglio e olio. The first takes 5 minutes to prepare, the second 15, and the third 30 minutes.

So 30 base recipes plus 3 dishes from each = 120 recipes total. Plus mouth-watering photos. The dishes are quite varied with the amount of ingredients as well as the difficulty.

Kathryn Pauline includes lots of personal notes as well. She does this with each recipe: it is like attending a cooking class! This is my favorite kind of cookbook, one where you actually learn about food and are inspired to try to improvise.

Thank you NetGalley and Chronicle Books for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review, which I will publish on social media closer to the pub date.

This is the cookbook for vegetable lovers that want quick, but flavor packed easy meal ideas. I am someone who needs to have vegetables for every meal to be satisfied. This is a fun way to include different veggies into every meal, and ways to enhance their flavors.
I love that the book emphasizes on how quick it is to make things, as well as offering ways to make certain things ahead of time, substituting and other notes for your meals.
The recipes in here arent revolutionary, or really different at all, but I think its a great cookbook for people who are just starting to get into cooking and trying new flavors. The book is easy to follow and a lot of these are staple foods that can be incorporated into your regular diet.
I personally will be trying their cilantro lime dressing asap.

This is a nice cookbook for those who want to elevate their dishes. Pauline gives recipes for 30 tasty components like sautéed mushrooms, Caesar dressing and spinach turkey meatballs, and then three recipes to use each of them. There are photos for every recipe and it’s pretty easy to adapt for vegetarians. People with allergies like gluten will have to work a little. For the most part the cookbook is not a good fit for people who need to eat keto or low carb.

Minus one star for no nutritional information.

All in all, the recipes seem tasty and relatively easy. Some will be fairly time consuming. There is a definite international, gourmet flair. I read this in late spring when it’s already hot and I’ve been quite busy with gardening and foraging. This time of year I barely want to turn on the oven because I’m doing so much elsewhere, but these recipes do seem like good ones.

I read a temporary digital review copy of this book via NetGalley.

“Piecemeal” is a fantastic concept - making a base recipe, and then using it as an anchor for three other recipes that can be put together in either at least five, fifteen, or thirty minutes. On top of that, each recipe also includes other suggested uses as well, so the three following recipes that are initially provided in detail for each base are merely the starting point more than anything else. Honestly, what I love most of all is it shows just how versatile a single component can be, and I think this cookbook is a great way to exercise and stretch one’s culinary imagination.

This was a very useful and easy to follow cookbook. The results were loved by my husband and young daughters.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The concept of this book is great! The book has base recipes for simple meals and builds everything around that. I wish there were more photos though since I enjoy seeing pictures in recipe books. This is a helpful guide when you're not sure what to make with just a few ingredients or want to stretch out a meal for leftovers.

This is a beautiful book and it's filled with recipes that are somehow both impressive and simple. They can nourish your body in the quiet moments of life and make even the most discerning dinner guests admire your kitchen acumen. Love the variety and global flavors.

This is a great cookbook idea! The main sections of the book are divided by vegetables, meat, and fruit. Then each section has a base recipe (such as roasted eggplant, beets, compote, etc) that can be eaten as is or incorporated into recipes that follow.

I made a strawberry rhubarb compote that then went into a sponge cake with whipped cream that was delightful. There are also recipes to mix thee compote with whipped cream or into a pastry.

I also made za'atar spiced cauliflower that I put into a lentil salad. I wasn't sure about this recipe as I was making it, but the flavors came together nicely.

Overall, I found this cookbook valuable not only for learning some new, unique recipes but also for getting me to think about how I can take this approach more with my own recipes too!

One of the biggest surprises and struggles of adulthood is the never-ending question of what to have for dinner. This is a book for the home chef who is just tired of deciding, or needs some ideas to spice up their routine! I love what Pauline does here: by making this one fairly straightforward staple item, there are 3 (or more) possible recipes to make with it. Eggplants were on sale this week? Start with Smokey Eggplant and morph it into a quick Baba Ganoush, or if you have more time, try for a Chicago-style Deep Dish pizza with the eggplant playing a starring role. I like the idea that there are many possibilities, but Pauline takes some of the decision-making effort by offering three clear choices. On a personal level: as someone who doesn’t love eating meat and can’t have gluten, I was pleasantly surprised at how many of these recipes naturally fit into my food needs, and those that didn’t could generally be easily modified to fit. The recipes are all written in paragraph form, rather than numerical steps. They are fairly simple to understand but it can be easy to get lost between stages.

I love to cook and meal prep, I was already familiar with a lot of concepts found in this book, but there was plenty to learn even for someone familiar with it!

4-4.5 Stars
A one-of-a-kind cookbook that includes some gorgeous photos of each recipes (more than 100). The concept is a great idea, the book is organized extremely well, and the author provides lots of notes, suggestions, and substitutions/alternatives. The ingredients and recipes range from common to extraordinarily exotic. I love that the recipes c9me from all around the world too. For food aficionados.

Net Galley Feedback

Based on the cover, and to some extent the description, I was expecting a cookbook where I'm told to make, say, a large batch of roasted/seasoned cauliflower florets, and I use half "tonight" to make, say, tacos, and then I use up the rest tomorrow (or another day) to make a casserole, or a soup, etc from them... In other words, I was expecting this idea that I'm getting multiple meals out of my efforts...

To some extent the book does this, but IMHO it reads more like so many other cookbooks where to execute a single dish I have to make multiple recipes; it is just presented here as a different concept (but really isn't all that different).

Here's an example...

You make 4.5 cups marinated beets (30+ minutes). Once prepared you can serve them as an appetizer with yogurt (5 minutes; uses 1.75 cups), serve beet reubens (15-minutes, requires making a dressing and sandwich things; uses 1.5 cups), or a chopped salad (30 minutes; uses 1.5 cups).

With the Za'atar Cauliflower (15+ minutes; 6 cups), the 5-minute recipe uses all the cauliflower and adds some garnishes. The 15-minute recipe (a salad) also uses all the prepared cauliflower. The 30+ minute recipe is a burrito, which again uses the entire batch and also requires me to make a salsa.

Another example, you prepare miso sweet potatoes (15+ minutes); the 5-minute recipe adds some garnish to it like lime juice and sesame and uses all the potatoes, the 15-min is a "bowl" with grains, broccoli, and a dressing you need to make; also uses all the potatoes. 30-min recipe is brownies which also uses all of the potatoes.

To include a meat recipe, you make coconut shrimp (I don't eat shrimp so I can't guess the cooktime) the 5-min recipe uses the batch plus adds a sauce, the 15-min uses the batch to make tacos, and the 30min uses the batch to make a curry with rice.

I think what irked me the most is that the majority of "5- minute recipes" aren't really meals IMHO. I can't serve marinated beets, corn on the cobb, garlic bread, or cauliflower florets (or coconut shrimp if we weren't vegan) to my family as a meal. I also found it strange that things like salads and burritos--meals I often make because they are fast/easy were the 30-minute options... Anytime I saw a 30-minute sandwich or salad I thought to myself "lady, you're doing it wrong."

It is worth nothing that the "5-minute recipes" also can't be made until your "base thing" is made which takes much longer than 5 minutes. For example, to make the 5-minute beet recipe (literally just beets, yogurt and oil) I have to do a 30+ minute marinade of beets before I can do it. Similarly, all the corn, garlic, and eggplant recipes require grilling/baking etc for much longer than 5 minutes before I can execute the 5-minute recipe.

OVERALL, #toomuchwork None of these recipes were realistic for me, a "busy home cook" who needs to "prepare delicious meals simply in 5+ 15+ 30+ minutes."

I also didn't like that most recipes served a huge crowd and not 2-6 servings. I happen to like leftovers but 8 burritos is just too much.

Other 'complaints': Not a lot of new ideas here: tabbouleh (do we really need more recipes for this), corn soup, baba ganoush, garlic bread, garlic hummus, omelets, french soup,

There were, however, some recipes that I think would be new to most people such as

To end on a positive, things I liked:

- The author was thoughtful towards vegans and vegetarians; suggesting how to adapt some dishes. To thgat extend, I'd say most of the dishes could be made vegan with vegan substitutes such as Just Egg, vegan cheese, vegan meat).

- excellent tips for storage with every recipe

- beautiful photos for every dish and "base recipe"

- suggests other recipes in the book to use/incorporate/substitute/pair


My ARC copy had the smallest font on the planet; I hope the final version is better.

Thanks netgalley!

I think Piecemeal is going to be a useful cookbook that will encourage adaptation and experimentation. Kathryn Pauline gives a recipe for a component and then provides three recipes in increasing degrees of complexity that utilize that component. The components range from “leafy herbs” to “turkey spinach meatballs,” to “Mulled wine pears.” The sections are Vegetables, Meats, Dressings and Sauces, and Fruits, compotes, and curds.

After the table of contents, Pauline has helpfully broken the recipes down by type so that if you are looking for soup, you don’t have to search through the components. The section on how to use this book is very good. I particularly appreciate her tutorial on using the freezer, because I am a chaos gremlin when it comes freezing foods.

I like the middle ground that Pauline has staked out between meal prep cooking and chaos cooking. I tend towards chaos, but that often means throwing out things that have gone bad because you only needed half the amount sold in the grocery store for the one recipe you planned. Component cooking means I can make all of the thing I bought, but eat it in different ways through out the week.

The tag lines are, “a meal planning repertoire with 120 recipes to make in 5+, 15+, or 30+ minutes” and “30 bold ingredients + 90 variations.” I am not a huge fan of assigning time values to recipes, and in this case I think it’s a bit more misleading than usual, because the time to cook the component isn’t factored in. But that’s a pretty small complaint for a book I think is quite useful and usable.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Chronicle Books and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, honestly and freely given.

Piecemeal by Kathryn Pauline Review TLDR: "When you amass a trove of flavorful bits and pieces, dinner cooks itself." This is the philosophy of the book---prep some exciting components that can be used in a variety of ways to make your meals more flavorful.

Now for the details:
I loved this cookbook! The organization of the recipes not just by component (base recipe that is used in the 3 additional recipes), but by category was very helpful. This is in addition to a large index in the back, so you have three ways to find recipes you want.

I also really appreciated that the author took the time to list the weights of "Commonly Used Produce Sizes" in a chart at the front, that way the reader knows when she says one medium tomato, she means 150g or 5.25oz.

The set up is not so much for meal prepping a bunch of meals for the week so much as meal prepping components that you can use to make more interesting dishes from what you already have. Think of it like meal prepping more pantry staples, only most items can go in the freezer to be used as needed. Will I make a meal solely out of marinated beets or caramelized tomatoes or goin (garlicky emulsion that was new to me)? No. Will I now be keeping them on hand to upgrade my basics? Heck yes. This cookbook is a similar vein as "This Will Make It Taste Good" by Vivian Howard in that way.

The author gives a lot of spins on things and even 5 min back up meals, which are nice for a busy mom of two young kids.

She also does a great job of listing the storage time and how to store, with most items keeping well in the freezer for 3 months.

Cons:
The tagline is slightly misleading with its use of meal-planning , as 1) not all the recipes are meals---many are more like heavy appetizers or even sides and 2) you're not planning meals, you're prepping components (flavor enhancers, things to base a meal around).

I received an advance digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I will definitely be purchasing my own copy once it's out!

Piecemeal is the perfect meal planning cookbook for home cooks like me who sometimes have trouble sticking to a meal plan. It's laid out with using one ingredient to create a 5, 15, or 30 minute recipes that allows you to pivot your meal plan without food waste, which is something that I love.

Cool concept! Multiple recipes using a similar base. Great way to make your leftovers stretch, especially if you get bored of the same thing easily. Interesting way to look at meal prep

While the concept of this cookbook is interesting and would be extremely useful if executed well, the accompanying recipes don’t really do that. The base recipes aren’t as versatile as one would hope and the recipes aren’t as family friendly as needed.

This has to be my favorite cookbook lately and seriously it packs a punch. A cookbook designed to pretty much help you get rid of leftovers. With the cost of food lately this should definitely be on your shelf!

What did I like? Grilled corn is absolutely a staple of mine and to see its diversity in a book is awe inspiring to me. The book neatly compounds certain items that can last or change into several different meals. It’s enticing and with food waste as high as it is, we need to embrace it!

Would I recommend or buy! I definitely want a copy! It’s going on my wish list since we know cookbooks are costly. I really enjoyed looking at this idea and what compounds for different meals. I’m sincerely a fan! Grab a copy if this idea makes you curious! Five huge stars!

I received a complimentary copy to read and offer an opinion. I loved it!

I liked the proposed concept of this book. The execution was not quite there. I suppose I was thinking more batch cooking versus cook this and then cook a bunch of other things. The base does provide versatility. It seems to provide more foodie recipes rather than family friendly style. I found that the things my family would eat I already have very similar recipes. This book is best for families with adventurous eaters.

I really enjoyed, PIECEMEAL. So many wonderful recipes to try! The hardest part was trying to figure wish one to try first.

Usually when I am reading a recipe book I will screen shot or photocopy recipes I like the look of. While reading Piecemeal, I never stopped, the recipes are amazing!
Fresh ingredients producing fresh and accessible meals, so many my family will enjoy.
I can’t wait to cook from this book and have it in my kitchen.
Recipes I am keen to make are ‘Mujudara’ because lentils and caramelized onions, ‘Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes and gravy’ and ‘Falafel Crumble Pita Pocket’.
This will be a great addition to the library and I know our patrons are going to enjoy it.

I’ll start this review by saying that I have preordered this cookbook for myself on hardcover. I have health issues so it makes it very difficult for me to make an entire meal all at once and I love the concept of making pieces that you can then make into a meal depending on how much time you have or energy you have or what other ingredients you have. It’s such an ingenious way to write a cookbook. There’s also a lot in the book just in general. There’s a little something for everyone whatever type of cuisine or meal they want. Want a Mediterranean dessert? You can find it. Easy American snack? Plenty of options. Middle Eastern main course? Oh yeah, there’s that too. It’s easy to see why I’m a fan with the variety and tastiness of the recipes. Don’t believe me? Check it out for yourself! This cookbook is well worth its price.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

*This cookbook shows how a set of ingredients can be used in different ways. While the ingredients are mostly focused on vegetables, there are meat dishes included. Also, the author includes different methods of preparation. This book would be particularly useful for beginners because it presents a different way to think about recipes and for some seasoned cooks, there may be new ways to use traditional ingredients. The one drawback may be if you don’t like most of the ingredients chosen.

*If you can learn the different types of sauces, these can be used in other ways, as well. Further, the author provides fairly basic fruit recipes; however, there are ways to switch in other fruits and even switch fruits across recipes. I chose a selection of recipes to try. The Chicago deep-dish pizza was delicious and easy and you can clearly switch out ingredients as you would any pizza. The method of using hot water in making mousse for the Black Forest mousse works and would be good for those who are lactose intolerance but isn’t quite as good as using hot cream. For the strawberry rhubarb recipe, you can use all strawberries if rhubarb is not in season.

*The author provides a second table of contents that sorts the recipes in another way if you are particularly thinking about a category rather than an ingredient. The front part of the book includes additional ways to improvise from the recipes provided.

This is a delightful "concept" cookbook which delivers a variety of recipes. The idea to begin with a basic recipe and then suggest more complex ways that it can be incorporated into meals is quite clever. I particularly liked the more vegetable-forward suggestions from various uses for roasted beets to zaatar cauliflower. to miso sweet potatoes. The photographs are lovely, and I would likely recommend this book as a great gift idea for people who are in the earlier stages of becoming good cooks as it will guide them to a kind of thinking that is essential for experienced home cooks.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an ARC.

Didn’t find as many recipes as I hoped but was so excited my beloved passion fruit was one of main components at end so will try some of them and one of pork recipes as well.

Piecemeal by Kathryn Pauline is a valuable addition to any kitchen. It contains so many wonderful recipes, along with recipe varieties for super quick (5min), quick (15min), and not as quick (30+min). The options are wonderful and helpful for different lifestyles. The photos are vibrant, stunning, and inviting.

Overall, I found this cookbook valuable not only for learning some new, unique recipes but also for getting me to think about how I can take this approach more with my own recipes too!

Piecemeal: A Meal-Planning Repertoire with 120 Recipes to Make in 5+, 15+, or 30+ Minutes―30 Bold Ingredients and 90 Variations is an interesting cookbook that features 30 basic components with 3 recipes using those components. Each component recipe makes enough to prepare all 3 recipes. Most of the recipes are quite easy, and can be made in less than 30 minutes.

For years, many cooks have made larger batches of foods, stored them in meal-size packets in the freezer, and saved time preparing meals with those components. This cookbook incorporates that same concept, but the base recipes are quite innovative and varied. The flavors are gathered from around the world, with Asian, Latin, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, American, and others featured. The recipes are written in the traditional manner with ingredients listed first followed by step-by-step instructions. The author has also included helpful notes at the beginning each recipe.

Beautiful, professional photographs of almost every dish are included, which makes this a nice cookbook not only to cook from, but also to curl up and read.

While the concept of batch cooking isn’t new, this book has lots of new ideas and new recipes using trendy sauces and flavors that will surely make meal preparation quick and delicious.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

This was an interesting cookbook concept. It essentially gives the reader/user base recipes and then shows them how to use them in multiple ways. I really like the idea of the base items being very versatile. If you were to go through and make batches of these base items you could then hypothetically freeze/store them for when you want to try some of the recipes using them. I will say that parts did seem maybe slightly ambitious for the average home cook.

I definitely will be trying the cherry babka at home as that recipe in particular looked delicious .

One of the first times I've seen meal planning shot so gorgeously. Love the way the recipes are broken down and the flavor profiles chosen. Love that it's vegetable forward and usable for most any level of cook. Definitely should be the start of a series, I've used several recipes already and have plans to try a few more.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. What a neat concept! The author takes a bunch of useful ingredients and then designs recipes taking about 5 minutes, 15 minutes, and 30 minutes with each one. Especially if you liked many of these ingredients, you could really get some good mileage from this one. Recommended.

PIECEMEAL by Kathryn Pauline describes "A Flexible Repertoire of Effortless Meals in 124 Recipes" and it truly is flexible. Pauline offers a unique method for trying new recipes. She suggests 30 basic components (e.g., caramelized tomatoes; garlicky mushrooms, or roasted grapes) and then, for each, offers an idea for 3 recipes. Of those, one takes 5 minutes to prepare, one about 15 minutes and the last, maybe 30 minutes or a little more. One example is smoky eggplant which could be used in Baba Ganoush, a Ricotta Frittata, and Chicago-style deep dish pizza. Pauline continues to emphasize experimentation by offering easy backup plans, including additional recipes for what she calls essential foundations (e.g., buttermilk biscuits, kale, and almond brittle). Plus, she offers two tables of contents; one divides components by type (e.g., vegetables, meats, sauces, fruits) and lists their potential uses while the second version offers a more traditional division (breakfast, soups, mains, and so on). I am looking forward to trying her ideas for coconut shrimp, turkey spinach meatballs, and cinnamon apples. The accompanying photos are excellent – colorful and appealing throughout. Nutrition information is not provided, but Pauline stresses fresh ingredients and spans a variety of cuisines (e.g., German, Italian, Japanese, Middle Eastern, Polish, Thai and more). PIECEMEAL received a starred review from Booklist. We will likely be purchasing this new title for use by our cooking class students, but this inventive cookbook merits a place on your shelf at home, too.

This was a beautiful cookbook with yummy colorful pictures. I gave it 3 stars because there were not many recipes that appealed to me. If you like substituting vegetables for perfectly good meat, this cookbook was probably geared towards you. I prefer real steak, not sweet potatoes steak. I will never make miso sweet potato caramel brownies. Nope! However, I’m very interested in trying coconut shrimp and turkey spinach meatballs.
Cilantro lime dressing looks right up my alley! I have been interested in learning how to make Toum since I grow garlic in my garden and I really enjoy this potent garlicky sauce. Overall, I think it’s worth the read 😃

The book has a really interesting concept - make a "component" as meal prep, and then turn it into a 5+, 15+, or 30+ minute dish. The components are in sections on Vegetables, Meats, Dressings and Sauces, and Fruits/Compotes/Curds. There is a secondary table of contents the splits the recipes into types of meals.
I loved that everything had full-color photos and that the dishes could be made with just a bit of extra time once the components were done. It does seem like a somewhat limited book - if the reader is not a fan of the particular ingredients the author chose to turn into components, the accompanying recipes would not hold appeal.

This is such a beautiful cookbook. Not only that but it was easy to follow and produced mouthwatering dishes. I am obsessed! Perfect minimalistic vibe and attention to detail.

"Piecemeal" by Kathryn Pauline is a culinary gem that fully deserves its solid five-star rating. The cookbook is a game-changer for busy home cooks like me, offering a brilliant strategy-based approach to preparing delicious meals quickly and efficiently.

What sets "Piecemeal" apart is its innovative concept of using transformational components as the foundation for a wide array of meals. With 30 versatile components to choose from, such as grilled corn, turkey meatballs, tzatziki, and roasted grapes, the possibilities are endless. Pauline's selection of these components for maximum performance ensures that each and every one is not only flavorful but also storable and adaptable for various culinary creations.

The beauty of "Piecemeal" lies in its flexibility and time-saving potential. I was able to prepare these components when I had a bit of extra time, then utilize them to enhance or anchor meals throughout the week, even during my busiest evenings. The cookbook offers three different recipes for each component, with fully prepared meals ranging from a quick 5 minutes to no more than 1 hour for those willing to put in a bit more effort.

In summary, "Piecemeal" is a must-have addition to any home cook's collection. It's a five-star cookbook that offers innovative strategies for meal preparation, saving time and stress in the kitchen while delivering delicious and adaptable recipes. Kathryn Pauline's culinary wisdom and creativity shine brightly in this remarkable culinary guide.

I love the overall goal of this cookbook of making flexible, effortless meals. This cookbook is definitely an essential tool for meal planning and it is definitely geared for someone like me and my skillset in cooking. I already have a lot of the ingredients she uses in my pantry. I love that there are suggestions for mixing and matching different elements of recipes. I appreciate how the book is organized into different sections: vegetables, sauces and protein, fruit and how the author also provides a recipe list where you can get ideas how to use them in meal planning. The 1 batch recipe = 3 meals totally makes sense. It's a meal plan with flexibility which is also delicious.

I’ve become something of a collector of the healthy “quick but global gourmet” cookbook genre. Particular favorites are anything from Melissa Clark, Yasmin Fahr, or Milk Street. I’ve read A LOT of cookbooks that fit into this niche, and when I read a description of Pauline’s new cookbook, I was intrigued—finally, something new!

I’m pleased to report that this cookbook is a winner. First off, it has a great concept that actually makes sense: cook a key “staple” recipe (think: Z’atar cauliflower, whole roasted garlic, jammy onions, sesame ginger sauce, cherry compote, etc.) and then use it in three recipes—one that takes around 5 minutes, another that takes around 15 minutes, and a third that takes around 30 minutes. Even better, every single recipe has a photograph that gets you pumped to cook and lets you know what the finished recipe will look like (with some great plating suggestions!). Also, the cuisines covered is expansive, Italian, Greek, Thai, Korean, Middle Eastern, etc. This is a cookbook that contributes something new to this space, and I appreciated the clear and succinct instructions and the clean and modern aesthetic of the book design and photography.

I received this cookbook as an ARC as I was impressed. This book includes 124 recipes that can all be created easily and quickly. This book is perfect for the busy mom and family. The recipes can be made and stored to create other ways as well. The wonderful photography created even more of a fun interactive cookbook that has you wanting to try more and more recipes. I loved how all of the recipes are developed and created with so many options in mind. Making them made me feel like a true chef in my own home. You will love this book.

This cookbook is based on the interesting premise of making components that you can build on to create a more complex dish. It's a new and creative premise. I especially liked the idea of creating fruit compotes that can then be integrated into a cake, pie or even to complement a meat dish. This is a lovely book that serves as a guide to build creative and distinct dishes.