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Mariel's Kitchen: Simple Ingredients for a Delicious and Satisfying Life
How do you cook nutritious and delicious meals when life is busy and time is short? How can you make fresh, organic food a part of your and your family's way of lifeâ simply and affordably? These are the questions that Mariel Hemingway answers by sharing tried-and-tested recipes, straight from her kitchen to yours.
Filled with exciting, beautiful photographs and easy-to-follow instructions, Mariel's Kitchen includes seventy-five sensational recipes that can be mastered by anyone, regardless of cooking experience. Arranged according to the seasons, these recipes show how simple it can be to put locally grown, seasonal produce on your table in place of packaged and processed foods. From sublime summer breakfasts to delectable desserts and heartwarming winter dinners, these tasty dishes, snacks, salad dressings, marinades, and drink recipes put homemade eating back into easy reach.
Mariel also shares her secrets that make it possible to eat well all week long, even with a full schedule. She reveals what staples are necessary for any pantry and how to prepare core recipes that become the foundation for multiple dishes. She offers shopping tips for navigating the world of organic and sustainable foods. And as she reveals what makes her kitchen “the heart of her home,” she peppers recipes with stories about her own lifelong love affair with food.
Combining Mariel's no-nonsense attitude with wholesome recipes for every occasion, Mariel's Kitchen is a new kind of American cookbook designed to help youâ and all those you cook forâ eat better, fresher, and more delicious foods, day in and day out.
Filled with exciting, beautiful photographs and easy-to-follow instructions, Mariel's Kitchen includes seventy-five sensational recipes that can be mastered by anyone, regardless of cooking experience. Arranged according to the seasons, these recipes show how simple it can be to put locally grown, seasonal produce on your table in place of packaged and processed foods. From sublime summer breakfasts to delectable desserts and heartwarming winter dinners, these tasty dishes, snacks, salad dressings, marinades, and drink recipes put homemade eating back into easy reach.
Mariel also shares her secrets that make it possible to eat well all week long, even with a full schedule. She reveals what staples are necessary for any pantry and how to prepare core recipes that become the foundation for multiple dishes. She offers shopping tips for navigating the world of organic and sustainable foods. And as she reveals what makes her kitchen “the heart of her home,” she peppers recipes with stories about her own lifelong love affair with food.
Combining Mariel's no-nonsense attitude with wholesome recipes for every occasion, Mariel's Kitchen is a new kind of American cookbook designed to help youâ and all those you cook forâ eat better, fresher, and more delicious foods, day in and day out.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published April 25, 2009
About the author
Mariel Hemingway
35 books35 followersMariel Hemingway (born Mariel Hadley Hemingway November 22, 1961) is an American actress and author. She began acting at age 16 in a breakout role in Lipstick and is best known for her roles in Manhattan (for which she received an Oscar nomination), Star 80, and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.
She has starred in and co-produced videos about yoga and holistic living. She published a memoir in 2002.
Hemingway was born in Mill Valley, California, the third daughter of Byra Louise (née Whittlesey) Hemingway and Jack Hemingway, a writer. Her sisters are Joan Hemingway (born 1950) and Margaux Hemingway (born 1954). Margaux, who became an actress and model, died of a barbiturate overdose in 1996 at age 42.
Her paternal grandparents were Hadley Richardson and Nobel Prize-laureate novelist Ernest Hemingway (who committed suicide several months before she was born). She was named after the Cuban port of Mariel—her father and grandfather visited the village regularly to go fishing. Her middle name is from her paternal grandmother.
Hemingway's most famous acting role was in Woody Allen's Manhattan (1979), a romantic comedy in which she plays Tracy, a high school student and Allen's lover. Just 16 during filming (within the film she is said to be 17), she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
She has starred in and co-produced videos about yoga and holistic living. She published a memoir in 2002.
Hemingway was born in Mill Valley, California, the third daughter of Byra Louise (née Whittlesey) Hemingway and Jack Hemingway, a writer. Her sisters are Joan Hemingway (born 1950) and Margaux Hemingway (born 1954). Margaux, who became an actress and model, died of a barbiturate overdose in 1996 at age 42.
Her paternal grandparents were Hadley Richardson and Nobel Prize-laureate novelist Ernest Hemingway (who committed suicide several months before she was born). She was named after the Cuban port of Mariel—her father and grandfather visited the village regularly to go fishing. Her middle name is from her paternal grandmother.
Hemingway's most famous acting role was in Woody Allen's Manhattan (1979), a romantic comedy in which she plays Tracy, a high school student and Allen's lover. Just 16 during filming (within the film she is said to be 17), she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 21, 2009
Pretty good cookbook. After seeing a recent televised interview with her, I am delighted to see that this is a credible celebrity-authored cookbook. Mariel Hemingway begins with a simple statement (Page 1): "My kitchen is the heart of my home. It is where my day begins and where my day ends." Her focus is simplicity and healthy recipes.
As many cookbooks, this begins with background material, such as key ingredients in the pantry (e.g., coconut oil, vinegars, relevant herbs and spices), seasonings that go with different foods (think cilantro with chicken), her core recipes (e.g., breakfast smoothie, spinach pancakes).
There follows a season by season set of recipes, based on what is fresh each season.
Spring? Spring produce is listed on page 59 (such as arugula and kohlrabi). Recipes? Grilled shrimp salad over spinach, almond and garlic-crusted chicken breasts. Then, on to seasonal recipes for summer, fall, and winter.
All in all, an interesting cookbook. Worth taking a look at.
As many cookbooks, this begins with background material, such as key ingredients in the pantry (e.g., coconut oil, vinegars, relevant herbs and spices), seasonings that go with different foods (think cilantro with chicken), her core recipes (e.g., breakfast smoothie, spinach pancakes).
There follows a season by season set of recipes, based on what is fresh each season.
Spring? Spring produce is listed on page 59 (such as arugula and kohlrabi). Recipes? Grilled shrimp salad over spinach, almond and garlic-crusted chicken breasts. Then, on to seasonal recipes for summer, fall, and winter.
All in all, an interesting cookbook. Worth taking a look at.
February 26, 2026
Many of the ingredients called for are out of my price range.
August 31, 2013
My mom gave me this cookbook. I don't think I would have actually gone out and bought it. It's not bad, I just already have a case full of cookbooks, and it doesn't really add anything new to my collection.
The good stuff: Nice photos if you're not put off by multiple pics of the smiling and photogenic author. (Personally, I usually don't mind this in a cookbook. Sure, I'd rather see pictures of the food, but the book is the author's work and food is so much an extension of someone's lifestyle. So as long as the author photos aren't too excessive, I think it's OK).
The recipes look good and most don't look too difficult. Roasted Bok Choy and Cauliflower with Cumin and Mint, Vietnamese Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Poached Eggs on Wilted Greens, Warm Mediterranean Bean Salad, Fiesta Salad and the Buffalo Meatloaf seem most appealing. (I made the meatloaf, without the Xylosweet, and it was quite good.)
The bad stuff: 95% of this book is already very, very similar to stuff I already have in other books. I wouldn't recommend this as a first healthy foods cookbook, and if you already have others, you won't need it so really...I can't really recommend it unless you are a cookbook fanatic.
She recommends a product (some sort of faux) sweetener called Xylosweet in way too many recipes! Personally, if I am making dessert, I just use (gasp!) sugar. Sugar isn't poison, it's OK if you only eat sweets once in a great while. (Unless you're diabetic, of course.) The problem is that people eat way too much of it from sodas and having it put into all sorts of processed foods that aren't even desserts. Personally, I do not add sugar to marinades, plain yogurt and berries, veggie wraps, salad dressings, grilled scallops, gazpacho or meatloaf. All of these foods taste fine without sweetener, and if someone's used to the overly sweet taste of processed foods, I would recommend learning to like new tastes rather than using fake sweeteners in everything. So not a fan of the Xylosweet...though to be fair, I think all the recipes would work just fine leaving it out.
Finally, the "blisscuits." Several of the recipes used this weird mock biscuit thing as a base, and it's just not something I would ever want to make. This might be unfair though. For all I know the blisscuits are delicious.
Presentation and quality of recipes: B
Healthfulness of recipes: A (especially if leaving out the fake sweetener)
Usefulness as addition to a cookbook collection: D
The good stuff: Nice photos if you're not put off by multiple pics of the smiling and photogenic author. (Personally, I usually don't mind this in a cookbook. Sure, I'd rather see pictures of the food, but the book is the author's work and food is so much an extension of someone's lifestyle. So as long as the author photos aren't too excessive, I think it's OK).
The recipes look good and most don't look too difficult. Roasted Bok Choy and Cauliflower with Cumin and Mint, Vietnamese Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Poached Eggs on Wilted Greens, Warm Mediterranean Bean Salad, Fiesta Salad and the Buffalo Meatloaf seem most appealing. (I made the meatloaf, without the Xylosweet, and it was quite good.)
The bad stuff: 95% of this book is already very, very similar to stuff I already have in other books. I wouldn't recommend this as a first healthy foods cookbook, and if you already have others, you won't need it so really...I can't really recommend it unless you are a cookbook fanatic.
She recommends a product (some sort of faux) sweetener called Xylosweet in way too many recipes! Personally, if I am making dessert, I just use (gasp!) sugar. Sugar isn't poison, it's OK if you only eat sweets once in a great while. (Unless you're diabetic, of course.) The problem is that people eat way too much of it from sodas and having it put into all sorts of processed foods that aren't even desserts. Personally, I do not add sugar to marinades, plain yogurt and berries, veggie wraps, salad dressings, grilled scallops, gazpacho or meatloaf. All of these foods taste fine without sweetener, and if someone's used to the overly sweet taste of processed foods, I would recommend learning to like new tastes rather than using fake sweeteners in everything. So not a fan of the Xylosweet...though to be fair, I think all the recipes would work just fine leaving it out.
Finally, the "blisscuits." Several of the recipes used this weird mock biscuit thing as a base, and it's just not something I would ever want to make. This might be unfair though. For all I know the blisscuits are delicious.
Presentation and quality of recipes: B
Healthfulness of recipes: A (especially if leaving out the fake sweetener)
Usefulness as addition to a cookbook collection: D
Read
July 4, 2023If you look at my bookshelf you can tell that I like this book because it's got sticky notes protruding from the pages. I got this book on sale at the U Bookstore and I think it might be fair to say that it was a steal. It was certainly priced well below its value. This is one of the best cook books I've ever purchased. Finally I was reading the story of someone who, like me, couldn't eat dairy, wheat, and many other ingredients in the standard American diet. Not only did she have good recipes to deal with every day life, she had seasonal recipes and holiday recipes. She also looks fantastic, which isn't a bad endorsement.
This is a beautiful book with lovely photographs, wonderful personal essays, and great staple recipes. I'll definitely be keeping this one for a long time.
Favorite recipe: Blisscuits (pg. 36)
This is a beautiful book with lovely photographs, wonderful personal essays, and great staple recipes. I'll definitely be keeping this one for a long time.
Favorite recipe: Blisscuits (pg. 36)
June 16, 2009
I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but so far I like this cookbook. Saw it on the "new books" shelves at the library and picked it up on a whim -- didn't realize that all of the recipes were wheat-free, sugar-free, and many are dairy-free. Yay!
Odd, though, that the book is divided into sections based on seasonal cooking, but there's a recipe for berry crumble in the winter section based on fresh berries. Um, in the winter? I guess the author lives in L.A., but still...
Odd, though, that the book is divided into sections based on seasonal cooking, but there's a recipe for berry crumble in the winter section based on fresh berries. Um, in the winter? I guess the author lives in L.A., but still...
October 9, 2009
This is a very simple cookbook that has good ideas, is easy to follow, helps you out with shopping, and it a pleasure to read. It is made up of pretty basic recipes that you can easily make and enjoy over and over again. The reader will have no fear of substituting and changing recipes to her own tastes as well because the book is so easy-going and enthusiastic.
January 21, 2010
Mariel has some good whole food ideas in this cookbook, although she takes out egg yolks in many of the recipes (leaving the impression they are unhealthy). She also overemphasizes whey protein powder. She encourages organic, fresh, gluten-free foods, so ultimately I think it is useful cookbook and plan on testing out a few of the recipes (spinach pacakes are good).
August 4, 2013
Skimmed through it because I'm not in a position to buy the ingredients for now. A lot of things I'd like to try.
December 13, 2016
This was a good read, and there is some great advice. Wasn't what I thought it would be and some of the recipe seemed ok.
December 22, 2016
Notes:
gluten-free
'clean' diet
uses strange items like xylosweet, whey protein isolate...
gluten-free
'clean' diet
uses strange items like xylosweet, whey protein isolate...
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews