It is the most blustery of winter evenings while I am writing this. The heating is on, and the curtains are closed. Everyone has found a comfy spot with a book, and the smell of dinner is just wafting through the house as I write about cookbooks…
It is the most blustery of winter evenings while I am writing this. The heating is on, and the curtains are closed. Everyone has found a comfy spot with a book, and the smell of dinner is just wafting through the house.
We are having our favourite weekend winter dinner. I have found that over the years of feeding a family (two of whom have ‘issues’), I have found that any love of food that I had has been bled out of me by the sheer monotony of cooking for a less than appreciative audience. But as they have finally got old enough to behave well at the table, to have better palates themselves, and even old enough to actually help or cook a meal themselves – that itch to cook more than ’15 ways with mince’ is creeping back.
That said, still our favourite lazy meal is a variation out of my all time favourite family cookbook; Jamie’s Ministry of Food by the charming Jamie Oliver. To get me though the years of child feeding, I have perfected the one pot meal to a remarkable degree. If I can get everything in one pot I am saving on cleaning up, and also because there is something strangely satisfying about eating your entire meal in a bowl, with a spoon. Child-like and simple. So we are eating a variation of the Jamie’s chilli con carne with an extra bowl of corn chips to make it vaguely Mexican.
The thing that I love about this book is that all the recipes are entirely accessible as the book is designed to help a complete non-cook how to make a meal. They are all nutritionally balanced and have easy, straightforward ingredients. The range of recipes are cheap to produce and perfect for family fare or even a flat. How to make a pie, a good curry, gorgeous salads, and a roast with all the trimmings. He based the book on the wartime cook Marguerite Pattern who worked for the Ministry of Food (yes really!) helping wartime wives stretch their budget and slim selection of ingredients as far as was possible. In the process she taught much about the basics of cooking and the nutrition needed for a well-rounded meal. He dedicated the book to her, which was very sweet. She is considered a national treasure in the UK and my Mother still has one of her original cookbooks at home in her kitchen. Jamie’s Ministry of Food is published by Penguin Books and is $75.
Speaking of cooking for families, the new Jenny Craig ‘Healthy Living For Families’ is a new addition to the stack of books in my kitchen. It is a well-styled book, which may change the way you look at Jenny Craig. The meals are simple but not boring – we like the section on hearty breakfasts – the Baked Spanish Eggs are lovely, and easy to make. Look out of the Passionfruit Soufflé and the Cheesy Chicken & Ham Roll-ups.
It is food to make when you wish to keep an eye on your own weight, but don’t want to be making a separate meal for yourself, one of the Husband and then another for the children. Everyone can eat out of it. More power to the Mother I say! Keeping everyone happy in the kitchen, more importantly keeping yourself happy in the kitchen just makes life easier in general. Jenny Craig’s Healthy Living for Families is published by Hardie Grant and is $29.95. It is available now.
If I have learnt any trick with feeding a family, (other than my one pot numbers) it is that the freezer is my friend. It pretty much takes me the same amount of time to make double the meal, than I can then slip in the freezer for those nights I am running more than a little behind. Not exactly glamorous work, this feeding people, and sometimes I just can’t be bothered. If I am lucky there is a frozen something lurking, ready to be flung in a pot and transformed into an edible meal. Fresh for the Freezer by Ghillie James is my new favourite friend in the kitchen.
There are recipes to make that can be frozen from Apple Sauce through to Beef Wellington and everything in between. She has great hints and tips with every recipe – for the cooking, freezing, de-frosting and the reheating. It has a particularly good baby and children’s section. And it even has a Mojito Sorbet, which may become a firm summer favourite (if summer ever returns that is). Fresh for the Freezer by Ghillie James is published by Kyle Cathie and distributed in NZ by New Holland. It is $49.99 and worth every penny – especially if you are watching them – and available now.
Another house favourite is soup. I think that is because it still falls into my ‘one pot wonder’ theory! Soups are often maligned, I think, because we remember bland watery numbers from our childhoods. Dried packet tomato soup mix nearly ruined me for life. Tinned soups were not much better. But then I am old enough to remember such things, where as now we have divine soups made from all sorts of companies all ready to go. The thing is, they really are reasonably expensive for what they are. If you can turn yourself into a competent soup maker (I make a mean Leek and Potato Soup, and my speciality is Green Lentil, Tomato and Bacon soup), you will find that it is relatively cheap and easy once you master the basics.
Soup, Glorious Soup by Annie Bell is an entire book dedicated to soups (obviously!) Some of the recipes aren’t suited to complete novices – this is probably for those you who know their way around a (soup) kitchen – but there is a great range to choose from. We’ve made the Chunky Pea Soup and we have our eye on the Spicy Coconut Chicken Soup recipe to try next. I like the way the book is divided into sections – The Greengrocer, The Butcher, The Fishmonger – it is a nice touch. The styling is lovely, but I do have to say that some of the ingredients are a little hard to find but worth the effort. Soup Glorious Soup is by Annie Bell is published by Kyle Cathie and distributed by New Holland. It is $45 and is available now.
We finish on a high note with the sublime My Greek Kitchen by Mary Vale. Mary Vale lives in Melbourne, and was raised by Greek parents and as such. many of the recipes are from her own childhood memories. There is a lovely explanation with each recipe of what the food is, when it is eaten, and why. The text is simple and not too wordy with nice concise instructions. We really liked the Easter section. There are lovely bits about her visits back to Greece, her family and how food is the uniting and defining force throughout. It has made me look at vegetables that I have learned to loathe with a new appreciation; it is hard to not read this book and NOT be excited by her love of food and family. Look out for the Galahtdoureko – custard pie with syrup…mmmm.
The other thing about this book is that is very practical for those of us who have food ‘issues’ in the house. Greek cooking often uses oil in their cakes and biscuits so for those of us dairy free, this is an added bonus. The wheat flour recipes can very easily be substituted with gluten free alternatives. A very lovely added bonus, to an already lovely book. My Greek Kitchen by Mary Vale is published and distributed by New Holland. It is $59.99 and is available now.
By Anya Brighouse, 19 June 2011.
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