Great Book For Busy Parents
When a cookbook purports to be full of easy recipe or for meals in minutes, low budget or similar I must admit I look at it eagerly but am often wary and prepared to be disappointed.
So how refreshing to pick up this book title to discover it is exactly what it says on the cover! This really is a busy mum’s cookbook – (although I may prefer it to be a busy Parent’s cookbook as Dad’s cook too!).
In fact it is for all busy people – parents are not – or people who have other things to do than spend too long in the kitchen – but still love tasty meals made from fresh ingredients.
There are meals for two, meals for many as well as family recipes including the authors versions of standard recipes such as bolognese, chilli, lasagne and roast chicken as well as plenty of casseroles, pies and dishes for all that just happen to be vegetarian.
This is a cookery book that really delivers what it promises – a selection of easy recipes for busy people – unfussy and very cookable!
Great Store Cupboard Advice
The advice at the beginning of the book, includes what the author Mary Gwynn, likes to keep as her standard store cupboard ingredients, but is clear that these are her choice – and what has enabled her to turn out excellent meals from the kitchen over the years that her family and friends have loved. I like that she is not too prescriptive about this but just lets us know that it has worked for her.
If you follow her advice, it means that on those days when you come home without a thought in your head as to what to cook, a search through her book will soon have you reaching in the cupboard with the problem solved. How different from an experience as most of us will have experienced searching through half a dozen cookery books in an evening and still been at a loss as to what to cook! After all sometimes the most difficult part o fit all is actually deciding what to cook!
Easy Recipes
The recipes are genuinely easy with few ingredients and straightforward, tasty meals. Not only that, the pages are packed full of recipes for main meals. Not starters or side dishes – busy people don’t have time for those. There is just a small section at the back for puddings and sweets
And her kitchens essentials are genuinely easy to get, low cost and adaptable for lots of meals – like chick peas, lentils, rice, pasta, minced beef, eggs butter etc. There are also several vegetarian recipes with additions for carnivores.
Great Recipes From The Beginning
The opening dish is a veggies stir fry that can be adapted to the veggies that you have to hand – and looks tasty and easy to do – so she had me won over straight away. I will certainly be trying this one and serving perhaps with some rice or noodles.
Great Gift – For Others Or Yourself!
This is for the no nonsense, busy person. Not afraid to use the odd jar of curry paste or pesto, or even frozen pastry, the book doesn’t try and make you feel guilty if you don’t cook everything from scratch but it still values fresh, good quality ingredients. There are many recipes it is possible to adapt from too. It really is my kind of cookery book
It would make a good gift for a busy parent or grandparent. It is also a good cookbook for people who may be starting out cooking for themselves or friends. It may not be the fanciest cookbook on the market, but I think it is a book that will be used and reused for years and could be a standard on the cookery book shelf for years to come. It is a great cookery book to treat yourself to, as well. It’s a practical recipe book – and unlike many books – definitely for the kitchen rather than the coffee table!
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