Author, Leanne Brown discusses her newest cookbook, GOOD ENOUGH, which is as much about the cook as it is about the recipes and food.
GOOD ENOUGH: A Cookbook is a groundbreaking cookbook that approaches food and cooking through the lens of self-care, mental health, and self-forgiveness. Virtually everyone has been there: eating handfuls of nuts over the sink and cold pizza for breakfast, lacking the motivation to pull together a meal even when there are groceries in the refrigerator. After publishing her first cookbook Good and Cheap, Brown found herself in that exact tailspin. The joy she had once found in cooking evaporated, the kitchen became a place of stress, and Leanne fell into a pattern of using guilt and fear to get herself to face the day. Something had to change. What changed, and how, is the journey of Good Enough.
Whereas Good and Cheap tackles budget as an obstacle to eating well, Good Enough tackles the emotional barriers. Brown aptly observes that one huge hurdle to feeding ourselves can be believing we are not worth the effort it takes to cook. But Brown maintains that we all deserve to eat well every day (even if that means having a cheese plate for dinner),and she shows us how. A deeply personal cookbook, Good Enough is filled with essays that delve into the feelings that surround food—anxiety, self-doubt, guilt—all with Brown’s overarching message that “if you cook with self-compassion, you can enjoy the experience, appreciate the great meals, laugh at the not-so-great ones, and generally live your cooking life with way less fear.”
