I love getting stuff in the mail—especially awesome new cookbooks. Not too long ago, I was delighted to see that the mailman had delivered a review copy of Danielle Walker‘s new cookbook, Against All Grain. After flipping through page after page of Danielle’s gorgeous photographs and tempting, family-friendly recipes, I was inspired to devote an entire afternoon to cooking from her book—and photographing the results to share with you.
After all, photographs are the best way to show off the deliciousness of a cookbook’s recipes, don’t you think?
Yesterday, as soon as I stopped sweating from my morning CrossFit class and inhaled a plate of leftovers for lunch, I rolled up my sleeves, threw on an apron, and started cooking. I’d originally intended to make just two dishes from Danielle’s book, but in the end, I couldn’t pass up the chance to make one of her super-chocolatey grain-free treats, too.
During my Against All Grain cooking marathon, I made a pot of Granny Sarella’s Spaghetti Sauce, Fruit Juice Gelatin Shapes, and Dark Chocolate Cake Brownies. Wanna see?
First up? Danielle’s great-grandmother’s “spaghetti” sauce!
This fragrant sauce takes three hours to simmer, but it’s well worth the wait.
While the meaty sauce burbled on the stove, I made a tray of fruit juice gelatin for the kiddos. I’d recently picked up some grass fed gelatin, and Danielle’s Fruit Juice Gelatin Shapes was the perfect recipe to get this stuff into my eager kids’ mouths.
To quickly set the apple juice jigglers, I deviated from the cookbook’s instructions slightly and stuck the tray in the freezer for an hour. (Yeah, I’m crazy like that.)
Made from real ingredients, these Gelatin Shapes are terrifically easy to whip up.
And as expected, the kids were positively giddy about these gut-healthy treats when they came home from camp. Bill Cosby has nothing on Danielle Walker.
Meanwhile, the spaghetti sauce was perfuming our house with its intoxicatingly meaty (and cinnamon-y!) aroma. Naturally, as dinnertime approached, our stomachs began to rumble…
…so I cranked out some zoodles with my favorite spiral slicer…
…and ladled on the rich, chunky sauce.
If you say you don’t want to dive face-first into this plate, you’re a dirty liar.
Without exception, we all licked our plates clean.
Last but not least: dessert. Longtime readers know that we don’t often eat sweet treats, so on the rare occasions when we indulge, we’re pretty picky about our desserts. But I knew that Danielle’s fantastic Dark Chocolate Cake Brownies wouldn’t disappoint.
Look at the moist crumb on this nut-free snack cake!
And, yes, it was a HUGE hit with the kids (and adults). See?
Believe me: you won’t be disappointed with this cookbook. Danielle has put together a treasury of inventive and tempting treats—both savory and sweet—that will have the entire family clamoring for seconds and thirds.
Now, go forth and cook!
