Cookery Books
I have one or two specific cookery boooks that I just use over and over again. They are the books that have my favourite recipes and have proved themselves over the years to be valuable. The books are well used, some pages marked with comments or bits of flour or whatever I was using in the kitchen while reading the book!
The Cookery Year published by the Reader's Digest Association Limited has been immensely valuable and used since the moment I got it when I first got married over thirty years ago. Invaluable! It has a section at the front for newbies, like I was, explaining all the different types of vegetable, fruits, cuts of meats PLUS pictures. Really useful when you don't know what is what. The book is divided into twelve months of recipes, explaining the food in season each month and giving suggested menus. This book has been used so many times I would be lost without it, even though I now know my cauliflower from my broccoli!
Cookery In Colour. A picture Encyclopdia for every occasion edited by Marguerite Patten. This is another of my very well used books. Again it has pictures to show what the finished recipe should look like. The recipes vary, some being simple quick dishes while others take longer to prepare. It takes you through Hors D'oeuvres, soups, fish, meats to cakes, puddings and desserts.
The Holford Low-GL Diet Cookbook by Patrick Holford and Fiona McDonald Joyce. I have had this book under one year. However, I don't think I have used a cookery book so much! Although the book sets out describing how you can lose weight by following this diet and by giving a selection of recipes to use, I found that I return time and time again to my favourite recipes in this book.. and there are many favourites! Tasty curries, con carni, rissotos, lentil dahl and so many more! Tasty meals! plus a lot of them take only minutes to prepare!
Bernardin Guide to Home Preserving. I have two of these books, both with the same ISBN number, but slightly different to each other! I bought them both last year. I think I must have two different editions of the same book. However, I bought them because I am new to canning (we call it bottling in the UK) and because we moved last year to a farm I knew I wanted to do my own bottling. We have apple, pear and plum trees so I knew canning was inevitable. The books have proved to be very useful and explains step by step what I have to do. My plums, peaches, and pears have been canned successfully and I have made plum jam, rhubarb and ginger jam ( delicious!!!) and salsa.
More cookery books
I got loaned these cookery books from a good friend:
Robert Rose's Favourite Light Desserts
ISBN 1-896503-72-1
Wonderful colour photos of many recipes so you know what the result should look like! Great foods! A super little book
Reader's Digest Great recipes For Good Health
ISBN 0-89577-306-6
Another good Reader's Digest Book. Great photos for some of the recipes. Gives calories, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, protein, carbohydrates, sodium, added sugars and fibers for each recipe so you know what you are getting!
Outsmart Diabetes Cookbook
A great little magazine type book with photos of each recipe. Makes it all look wonderfully appetising!
Weight Watchers Take-Out Tonight!
ISBN 0-7432-4594-6
Over 150 recipes that re-invent take oout meals, all with "point value" of less than 8. (I presume this is a good thing since I do not have any knowledge of "weight watchers". Each menu gives the point value of the meal and some have photos to show what you are cooking! Some very lovely recipes here.
Crazy Plates Low fat Foods So good, You'll Swear It's Bad for you
by Janet & Greta Podleski
ISBN 0-9680631-2-8
This book has several recipes to a page, is well ilustrated with cartoons but had no photos of the dishes. I didn't really get into this book or even try any recipes as I didn't enjoy the format.
Eat, Shrink and be Merry
by Janet & Greta Podleski
ISBN 0-9680631-3-6
This has a very similar format to the previous book I reviewed. Again I didn't really get into this book though no doubt there are some good recipes there. I didn't try cooking any.
The Essential Baking Cookbook
ISBN 1-55110-850-x
A lovely book! Photographs of all recipes; photos of equipment! Well presented. All in all a book for every kitchen! I will be very sorry to give this book back!!
More Cookery books
