You might have noticed that I love to cook, you know with the baking every weekend and being so anti-processed foods! However the thing that differs me from a professional chef is that I can never work without a recipe. And I seem to lack the ability to create my own. Adaption, yes. Creating, no.
Say hi to cookbook collection everyone!
My go-to cookbook! Almost every home made dish you see on this blog probably came out of this book. The majority of the ingredients are foods that I imagine most people would have in their kitchens (unless you're all about the processed foods!) and even if something extra needs to be bought it's all stuff should be easily available in a local shop.
I bought this little gem back half way through my second year of university (so early 2010) to help fulfil my then new year resolution of "eat more real food". I bought this pre-vegetarian days so meat is still mentioned in a few recipes however the author realises that not everyone eats meat and there are a few dedicated recipes. Plus a lot of the meat dishes (such as the stir-frys) are easily adapted.
I bought this in the most recent Boxing Day sales. It was the vegetarian part that caught my eye not the newlyweds part and truthfully the name confuses me a bit. Do newlyweds eat differently from non-newlyweds? Awkward name choice aside the recipes in here are easy to follow and aren't that far out of the average price bracket. However I've not tried that many, as even though most ingredients are easily found in any shop, they aren't the sort of foods I have randomly in my cupboards (and I don't think many people would). It's a book for when you have someone round and want to impress!
My go-to baking cookbook! This cookbook is nicely set up into different sections, with muffins at the start moving through to bread and also into savoury grounds for anyone that just doesn't want yet another damn cupcake! Aside from the simple strawberry muffin recipe you've also got every type of bread you can ever imagine along with dinner ideas such as toad in the hole and vegetable strudel. Nothing in here is overly complex but I wouldn't recommend it as a "my first baking" book
Unfortunately I have never managed to use this cookbook despite my great desire to do so! Mainly because it's not just about omitting dairy ingredients (like some recipes I have found on the Internet) but instead about using replacement ingredients that I just can't find in my local shops. Unless you keep Egg Replacer in your house then you might want to move on. You need to be quite committed to the vegan cause!
This book contains some really sweet ideas for cake pops! And shows you where to press the cake pop to make the different shapes. But cake pops are much trickier than I had originally imagined! After my failed attempt at Pudsy Cake Pops the night before Children In Need I haven't touched this book again as I am convinced I'm just not made for the cake pop world!
Have I convinced you to buy any of these, or do you have your own favourites?
Morag x
