Customer Reviews

Country Living The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen: Live Well, Laugh Often, Cook Much

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

...I was a bit disappointed!

I LOVE the Farm Chicks and check their website/blog often. They always have easy, tasty recipes and fun projects. I searched high and low for this - their first book - and couldn't find it in stores! I eventually ordered it from Amazon.

Firstly, the book is ADORABLE. The pictures are nice, the stories are cute and fun to read, and the design is extremely chic and bright. Perhaps I was just too excited to receive the book, but I was a tad underwhelmed with the final product. Why?

The projects weren't as interesting (or unique) as those on their website. The book features such activities as jar labels, food trays made from antique signs, and cookbook covers. While these are okay, I much preferred the projects from the website (magnets made from soda bottle tops! SO cool!).

The recipes, likewise, were just okay. I ADORE their pie crust recipe (so flaky!). But I was disappointed to only have breakfast, lunch, and dessert fare...especially since some of the lunch items are very simplistic. For example, the pesto sandwich recipe includes: sliced cheese, bread, store-bought pesto, and chicken breast. I didn't need a recipe to tell me that!

Bottom line: The Farm Chicks rock. Their website rocks. Their first cookbook? Good...but it could be so much better! I hope their next publication is more expansive (dinner fare? a wider range of projects?). I recommend checking out their website to see if you like their recipes/projects. Just know that if you love their website like me, you might be slighly underwhelmed with the book.

Just got this book in my mailbox today-and I've already read it from cover to cover. I LOVE it! It's so fresh and inviting, the pics great, the recipes and projects so tempting! Tonight for dinner I made the Enchilada Soup-absolutely delish, and the Blackberry Crisp, also yummy! I plan to try many many more recipes and some of the crafts. Serena and Terri feel like my best girlfriends already!

Just had to pre-order this book when I saw the ad for it in Country Living magazine. Wow, what a great read. Went to visit my sister, cooked up the Chocolate Butter Cake, Beet Salad and Lemon Cookies. She made me leave my copy with her! I quickly ordered a new copy and still enjoy it cover to cover. We are both official Farm Chicks now. Highly recommend this inspirational book/cookbook/craft book. Thanks Teri and Serena for opening yourselves up and sharing so much, and bringing out the best in all us Farm Chicks.

The Farm Chicks are best friends Teri Edwards and Serena Thompson, who besides being busy stay-at-home moms also stage an annual antique show. Their self-described style is "farm girl meets Fifth Avenue," a blend of retro country-inspired chic and simple yet delicious cooking. Their story has been featured in Country Living, and the book's foreword is by Nancy Soriano, the editor-in-chief of Country Living (the cookbook also comes with a free year's subscription to Country Living). The book's introduction includes Teri and Serena's stories and their inspirations in the kitchen and beyond.

Beginning with breakfast, the Farm Chicks offer up simple yet tasty renditions of favorites such as cinnamon rolls, Nancy's nutmeg coffee cake (it's best served warm, as the bottom crust becomes very crunchy when cool), the delightfully exotic cardamom griddle cakes with maple cardamom cream, maple oat scones, and the guilty pleasure of a golden potato bake jazzed up with sharp cheddar. Craft ideas in this section include a scone cozy made out of terrycloth and a paint-by-numbers tray.

Appetizers include some upscale ideas such as parmesan rice-stuffed mushrooms, sweet onion tartlets, and grilled cumin chicken with apricot dipping sauce. For lunch, the girls serve up roasted chicken and pesto hoagies, tortellini and Italian sausage soup, and more exotic offerings such as Asian quinoa salad and spinach, feta, and beet salad.

Vegetarians like myself will also find many options, such as veggie pitas, pesto pasta salad, 'mater sandwiches, tangy cucumber cups, and sour cream and onion zucchini cakes. Other non-veg recipes can easily be tweaked to become vegetarian (replace chicken broth with veggie broth in the parmesan rice-stuffed mushrooms, cheesy potato soup, savory sweet potato soup, and Asian quinoa salad).

Desserts round out the savory offerings with a sweet finale, and this is where the cookbook shines. Such gems as dark chocolate butter cake, emboldened with cinnamon, espresso, and Dutch cocoa powder, and a large section on pies (including primers on baked pie shells, dough, and how to create a perfect piecrust) make piemaking approachable for new home cooks and old hands alike. Nutritional info (including protein, fat, carbs, fiber, sodium, cholesterol, and calorie info) is included for each recipe, and the Farm Chicks encourage you to write your own notes in the book regarding substitutions.

The included recipes and crafts are simple and straightforward, making them approachable for working and stay-at-home moms (or dads!) alike. The craft ideas are cute and affordable, many using items that you may already have around the house: making aprons out of old sheets, cookbook jackets out of unused shower curtains or vinyl tablecloths, and a countertop utensil holder using a vintage glass jar wrapped in colorful oilcloth. The book also includes a reusable stencil of the Farm Chicks' signature polka-dotted apron and a one-year subscription to Country Living, making this a great gift idea.

(Review copy courtesy of Sterling Publishing)

I was so thrilled with this book. I loved the personal stories and the background on the ladies. I can't wait to try more of the recipes, the main reason I bought the book, as Grandma's Pie Dough got great reviews from my family. I'm excited to try some of the crafty ideas they have in the book as most of them sound pretty simple. I had wondered if I was an oddball when I would put on one of my grandma's aprons but I love wearing them and now I know I'm not alone! Thanks ladies.

I absolutely LOVE The Farm Chicks In The Kitchen! I love the simplicity of the recipes and craft ideas. It's been fun to read and learn more about Teri & Serena. I can't put it down. I especially love the presentation of all of the photos. Today I made the delicious Apple Puff Pancake and Golden Potato Bake for breakfast. My hard-to-please husband raved about how great breakfast was! Thank you Farm Chicks- I can't wait for your next book! (I would love to see additional ideas of how to incorporate more vintage/americana decorating.)

A few weeks ago I was the first time on Serenas Blog. The same evening I ordered this book and her Christmas Book as well.
Since then both books are still on a table of the living-room, they don't have to spend a minute in the cupboard, because I look through them several times in the week.
I like the photos, the stories an the recipes and enjoy very much, that I can buy all the ingredients here in Europe too.

The same in German...
Vor ein paar Wochen war ich das erste Mal auf Serenas Blog und noch am gleichen Abend habe ich mir dieses Buch und auch ihr Weihnachtsbuch bestellt.
Bis jetzt sind die Bücher noch keine Minute im Büchergestell gestanden. Sie liegen immer auf einem Tisch im Wohnzimmer, denn ich blättere mehrmals pro Woche darin.
Ich liebe die Aufmachung, Die Photos, die Geschichten und die Rezepte. Besonders toll ist, dass ich alle Zutaten hier in der Schweiz problemlos bekomme.
Ich kann die Bücher wirklich empfehlen, super schön und ein echt gutes Preis/Leistungsverhältnis.
Liebe Grüsse
Barbara von Alpenschick

This book quickly became one of my favorites. Not only is it packed with amazing recipes (every single one I have tried has turned out perfectly) but it is also filled with ideas for everything from pantry decoration to aprons to vintage sale. The pie crust recipe alone is enough to sell this book! I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

This book has great recipes, and fun ideas. I would defintely like to go to their antique show in June. Those aprons are so cute. I love wearing aprons. Can hardly wait to try all the recipes.

This book is full of country classics. The food is perfect and just makes you feel happy and comforted! It also has adorable kitchen ideas for storage and aprons. I just love the feel of this book.