Gwyneth Paltrow, better known for her acting skills than her culinary skills, is celebrating the release of her third cookbook. In honor of her third cookbook release, “It’s All Easy,” let’s take a look at all her recipes, that, well, are anything but easy.
1. Balsamic-macerated berries with cashew cream
Photo courtesy of Ditte Isager
Looking for something you can whip up quickly? Look no farther than Gwyneth’s It’s All Easy balsamic-macerated berries with a cashew cream that takes only two hours at a minimum to prepare. Aside from the fact that the cashews must be soaked for at least two hours (although, in Gwyneth’s defense, she does offer us a quicker substitute of whipped cream for the cashew cream), the recipe calls for obscure ingredients such as coconut sugar. It’s no surprise that one of the top search results on Google under coconut sugar is “coconut sugar substitute.”
2. Spanish chopped salad with tuna and piquillos
Photo courtesy of Ditte Isager
At just over $91 according to Yahoo’s calculations, this It’s All Good lunch is anything but easy on the wallet. The recipe calls for expensive ingredients such as sweet pimenton ($10), piquillo peppers ($13.50), and good-quality, raw honey which can be up to $25. While Gwyneth may be able to afford dropping almost $100 on lunch each day, an investment in her cookbooks seems more like an investment in lifelong debt for the average college student.
3. The SNAP Challenge
Photo courtesy of Gwyneth Paltrow on Twitter
While not a recipe specifically, Gwyneth participated in a challenge designed to raise awareness about what families on food stamps (SNAP) must live on for a week. She purchased the above ingredients with a budget of $29 for the week. While she did surprisingly make her ingredients last four days, it is hard to tell what she made from this random assortment of eggs, brown rice, and seven limes. What recipe involves seven limes? It’s still unclear a year later.
4. Hard-boiled egg sandwich
Photo courtesy of createdby-diane.com
So this recipe seems deceptively easy, and at first glance it is! All you need for this It’s All Easy egg sandwich is a few ingredients including eggs and bread. However, Gwyneth insists on complicating this recipe by saying that it’s designed to be eaten “in the car.” This simple sandwich now includes an “On the Go” challenge by Gwyneth to not spill egg all over the inside of your car while you drive to class.
5. Literally anything that requires a Bamboo Matcha Whisk
Photo courtesy of pouringtea.com
Gwyneth includes a long list in It’s All Easy of suggested tools, spices, condiments, etc. to have on hand in your kitchen. The list includes random things such as a Bamboo Matcha Whisk. It’s ambiguous what a Bamboo Matcha Whisk (~$15) does that a regular whisk (~$2) can’t do. However, it does seem important to the art of making Japanese matcha tea so maybe the $15 investment is worth it if you wish to embrace the art of ceremonial Japanese tea making.