Cookbooks Galore

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We’re now two months into lockdown, the supermarket shelves are generally full once more, and we’ve all been doing a lot of home cooking. I thought this would be a good time to share some of my favourite cookbooks.

Nosh For Students by Joy May

I picked up this book over a decade ago before heading off to University and fending for myself for the first time. It’s a great book designed for cooks with limited equipment and money in mind. The spicy risotto and chocolate pudding were firm favourites but there’s so much more on offer. All recipes are rated on difficulty so you can choose your food according to how ambitious you’re feeling.

River Cottage Veg Everyday by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

I feel like almost everyone I know has a copy of this book on their shelves, and it’s a good’un. Full of great ideas for getting more veg into your diet. Personal favourites are the beetroot hummus and a newly discovered peanut noodle salad (even after years of use it’s got some great treasures to discover).

The Meat Free Monday Cookbook

A great book for anyone wanting to take a tentative step into the world of vegetarianism (or those already firmly committed). It offers suggestions for every meal of the day, seasonal ingredients, and even some yummy desserts to round off the day. My most made recipes are the giant wholeweat cousous and sweet potato, and the porcini risotto. The blueberry pancakes are also great as a treat to start the day.

The Vegetarian Athlete’s Cookbook by Anita Bean

A brilliant book for any health conscious cook, this book is packed full of healthy meal ideas (and healthier desserts), with details about what nutrients each recipe supplies and more general advice about making sure you get enough of what you need. The walnut burgers are great, as are many of the salads and the smoothies. This is probably the book I’ve made the most variety of recipes from, they generally don’t take more than about half an hour to make so it’s perfect for mid-week meals.

Love Real Food by Kathryne Taylor

A wonderful book full of wholesome, nutritious meal ideas. There’s rarely a week that passes where I don’t make one of her recipes. She has a great website so you can try out some of her recipes before buying the book. They’re often fairly lengthy recipes so make great weekend meals, and the leftovers are perfect for packed lunches during the week.

A Passion for Baking by Jo Wheatley

I’ve had this book on my shelves since it first came out and it’s probably my most used baking book. Lots of tasty, homely recipes, both savoury and sweet, it will inspire you to bake more often. A few of my favourites are the custard creams, chocolate chip cookies, and the blueberry muffin loaf.

Paris Boulangerie Patisserie: Recipes from Thirteen Outstanding French Bakeries by Linda Dannenberg

The first time I went to Paris I fell completely in love with the delicious treats on offer in its boulangeries. It completely ruined the British equivalents for me and I came back determined to learn how to make them myself. This book is a wonderful way to do so. It gives details about some of the author’s most loved Paris boulangeries and offers some recipes from each. The recipes are generally very labour intensive but absolutely worth the effort.

My Little Chocolate Book

This is a fairly new addition to my baking bookshelf but every recipe looks delicious. There’s a great range of bakes and so far they’ve turned out just as tasty as they promised. Currently munching my way through the white chocolate and coconut semifreddo.

Books of the Decade

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As 2019 draws to a close thoughts turn not just to reflecting on the year that’s passed but to the decade we’re leaving behind. ‘Books of the decade’ lists are of course hugely subjective but here are a few that stood out for me. Looking forward to delving in to everyone else’s lists and bringing my reading a bit more into the modern world.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

This book is definitely a love it or hate it read. Some dismiss it as being unrelentingly bleak, others feel deeply the suffering it depicts, not enjoying it but being moved by the emotion. I’m definitely in the latter camp. It broke my heart several times over but the characters linger years after reading. It follows the lives of four college friends as they try to find a place in the world for themselves, each dealing with their own challenges, none more so than Jude who takes centre stage, his traumatic story unfolding in front of us, flashbacks revealing the horrors of his youth.

Pick up a copy here.

The Humans by Matt Haig

The book that launched Haig into fame. A funny yet touching tale that raises some big questions and offers advice for those who feel lost in the dark. When an alien takes over the body of a pre-eminent mathematician who has just had a major breakthrough we get to see the human race from the point of view of a visitor to our planet. Although to start with he treats humanity with disdain he comes to see the bravery and beauty in our fleeting lives and the art we create to make it all worthwhile.

Pick up a copy here.

Harry Potter (Illustrated Editions) by J.K. Rowling, illustrated by Jim Kay

Fans of Rowling’s bestselling series have been delighted by the illustrated editions over the past few years. The tales of ‘the boy who lived’ are given a new lease of life with the gorgeous new illustrations by Jim Kay.

Pick up a copy here.

The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer

A breathtaking debut, with a protagonist who will stay with you long after turning the last page. Matthew Homes suffers from schizophrenia and he narrates his own story - the trauma of his childhood in losing his brother, his relationship with his parents, and his opinions on those looking after him. It is unsettling, moving, and humorous in parts.

Pick up a copy here.

Hired: Undercover in Low Wage Britain by James Bloodworth

Non-fiction at its absolute best. Incredibly readable although the subject can be difficult to sit with. Bloodworth worked in low-wage jobs around Britain for six months – in an Amazon warehouse, as a carer, in a call centre, and as an uber driver. He admits that his experience is different because he’s there out of choice and knows at the end of it he can go back to a more comfortable way of life but this is nonetheless an incredibly important read and one I would encourage everyone to pick up.

Pick up a copy here.