Off The Shelf - 'Sweet Enough' by Alison Roman

Bought at: My copy was gifted to me by HardieGrant*. 

Recipes Made: Old-Fashioned Strawberry Cake p.91, Plummy Pudding p.146, Salted Pistachio Shortbread p.173 and Cheesy Salty Savoury Scones p.258.

Old Fashioned Strawberry Cake

I made the Old-Fashioned Strawberry Cake and substituted the buttermilk for plain yoghurt mixed with some milk (I did not have any buttermilk, but needed to use the yoghurt up). I don’t know if it was my substitution, but the cake was dense. I usually find swapping yoghurt and buttermilk easy in baking, and won’t notice any difference. I know lots of people have made this cake, but it definitely wasn’t a favourite for me. I later made this cake with strawberries, and enjoyed it infinitely more.

Plummy Pudding

I don’t make puddings often, but since plum season was coming to an end, I decided to try the Plummy Pudding. In the recipe notes Alison says it’s “near impossible to mess up this pudding”, but maybe I did? I found it rubbery and very eggy, maybe I cooked it too long? A lot of the oven temperatures in this book tend towards the high side, and since our oven runs hot I usually feel the stipulated temperatures will be too much. In this case, maybe turning the oven temperature down meant cooking it longer which possibly wasn’t right. Either way, this one wasn’t for me. Whether the recipe just wasn’t my thing, or just puddings generally aren’t my thing, maybe we’ll never know. 

Salted Pistachio Shortbread

The first recipe I made out of ‘Sweet Enough’ was the Salted Pistachio Shortbread. Mostly because I am a pistachio obsessive, and I also had all the ingredients needed when the book arrived. Out of all the recipes I’ve tried in this book, I did like this one. I could have done without the sprinkling of salt over the top of the shortbread as it just took it too a slightly too salty place for me, but otherwise it was nice. The shortbread dough itself was quite different to others I am used to, it was very wet and definitely could only be pressed into a tin as this recipe does. It could not be rolled out and cut into shapes like the shortbread I normally make. This made it a crumbly shortbread to eat, but very satisfying all the same. 

Cheesy Salty Savoury Scones (before baking)

After trying some of the above sweet recipes and not being blown away, I decided the magic of this book for me may lie in the handful of savoury recipes dotted throughout ‘Sweet Enough’. After watching Alison’s Home Movies episode on scones, I decided to make the Cheesy Salty Savoury Scones. I must caveat this with I think American scones and British scones are almost two different things. In the episode everything Alison said she disliked about scones, were basically all the things that make a traditional British scone, a scone. These scones are very heavy on fat (double cream, sour cream, butter and a lot of cheese). I’m not at all saying this is a bad thing in and of itself as fat is essential to baking and cooking generally. In this case however, it did make the scones very rich. To the point they really didn’t need any butter or other spread on them. It just would have been too much. 

The fat heavy mix also meant these scones don’t rise as much as you would expect a traditional scone to, and they were definitely less flakey as well. I liked the very cheesy flavour of these, but that’s all I could taste. I used spring onions in the mix and they were lost, along with the dill, to the cheese. Considering the richness of the whole thing, I also thought the scones could have been a but smaller in size (maybe also as I’m accustomed to British style scones). These were nice, but I felt I could use some of the aspects of this recipe to make my own more traditional version that suited my tastes more (which I have done in a way here). 

Cheesy Salty Savoury Scones

Favourite Things About the Book: Ok, by this point it may not have escaped your notice that I don’t love this book. I know, I’m a bit sad about it too, but also not 100% surprised. I’ve always loved Alison’s recipes, but more specifically her savoury recipes. There are many from ‘Nothing Fancy’ in particular that we make regularly in our family, and I frequent those shared in her newsletter (a newsletter) and her YouTube channel Home Movies often. So this isn’t a ‘Alison Roman’s recipes just isn’t for me’ thing - most certainly not! This is more of a ‘I don’t love Alison’s baking recipes as much as her other recipes’ thing. It’s not that they aren’t good. They just aren’t for me. I am a self confessed sweet tooth, so something that is ‘sweet enough’ may not actually be sweet enough for me. I also don’t love adding salt to my baked goods (shock horror!) so some of these recipes were too salty for me. 

However, as always, I love Alison’s writing. I really enjoy her trademark humorous tone, and very realistic approach to things. I really enjoyed reading what Alison had to say about baking in this book, even if the recipes themselves don’t take my fancy as much. The introduction was great and definitely worth a read (anyone else often skip those first few pages?!).The pages on what Alison loves and hates about baking (pp.52-3) was my favourite part of the whole book, as it’s so relatable. Alison isn’t trying to make out like baking is always easy and that it’s for everyone (though I think Sweet Enough will appeal to those less inclined to check out more traditional baking/dessert books), and is honest about the process. I think many will relate to that.

Bookmarked Recipes (to make later!): Raspberry Ricotta Cake p.118, Tomato Tart pp.76-7 and Caramelised Onion and Anchovy Tart p.71. 

* This gift came with no obligation to talk about the book, and my opinions are my own. And honestly, I love Alison Roman so I would have bought this book myself anyway!

Cookbooks Worth Waiting For in 2023 - Part Two!

We are almost halfway through the year, which means there are more new cookbook releases on the way for us! 

There are so many cookbooks I am interested to see in the second half of this year. However the below titles are the ones I will buy or preorder without having a look through first as I am that sure I will like them. 

As always this list a bit of a mixed bag, some come from cookbook writers whose previous works I have loved and others are first time cookbook authors whose transition from the internet world of cooking I am keen to see translated into our ever favourite recipe format, the cookbook. 

Links are there for your reference (not sponsored or anything), and I suggest searching around for the best price as at the time of writing some of these titles are quite pricey (we can only hope it goes down closer to their release date?!). 

To read my first Cookbooks Worth Waiting for List for this year click here, and to read the recap of that list click here.

Let me know in the comments below if you are looking forward to any of these books as well, or if there are others you have on your list. 

1. The Plain Cake Appreciation Society by Tilly Pamment (July 2023) - The first book to be released from this list in early July is Tilly’s (of @tillystable) first foray into cookbook writing. I am really excited to see this one, as I’m sure many of you are as well. Tilly’s well known aesthetic is equal parts beautiful and delicious and to see it, along with her recipes, in a cookbook is something I am very excited about. Tilly has not just written this book, but styled and shot the whole thing as well - no mean feat! I was lucky to get some ‘insider’ knowledge about this book recently, and I have been told there aren’t too many recipes using chocolate (which I can’t eat), which brings me a great sense of relief (thank you Angela!). Sometimes I open a new baking book to find it so chocolate heavy I know I will barely make anything out of the book. But to know I am in safe hands with Tilly makes me all the more excited to see her book in a few short weeks. 

2. Portico: Cooking and Feasting in Rome’s Jewish Kitchen by Leah Koenig (August 2023) - I have been looking forward to this book for what feels like a long time. Back in 2021 when the current pandemic kept us all at home, I was lucky to do some recipe testing for this book (along with lots of other people!). I made three dishes and loved all of them. I tried a fennel gratin, that had no cream in it, which I traditionally dislike in such dishes as I find them too rich. This gratin was so delicious I made it a couple more times. I also tested a chicken and celery dish that looked like it would be quite plain, but somehow definitely was not. The final recipe was a Roman Jewish version of arancini balls, which were delicious, if not slightly fiddly on top of making the risotto, but it was lockdown so I had time!

   I cannot wait to finally see the other recipes in this book and read what Leah has researched and discovered about Rome’s Jewish kitchen. The food of Jewish Rome (and Italy generally) is quite different to traditional Roman or Italian cuisine, due to the religious rules known as kashrut (to prepare and eat kosher food) - no pork and no dairy with meat is the very basic ‘gentile’ way of describing it (there’s really more to it, you can read more here for a better description). Pork is so widely used in all Italian cuisine, that it’s removal changes the cuisine entirely in my opinion - so this book is sure to have very different recipes than other Roman/Italian cookbooks, and I am very much looking forward to it after enjoying many of Leah’s previous books.

3. Garlic, Olive Oil and Everything Else by Daen Lia (August 2023) - Another first time cookbook author, Daen has flown to the top of the TikTok food scene and is now sharing her recipes in a cookbook. I am personally not a massive fan of recipe based Reels or TikTok (I don’t even use TikTok honestly), however discovering more about Daen, her recipes and food in an ‘old school’ format (i.e. a cookbook!) is something I can get behind. I really like Daen’s use of flavours, notably those that come from her Spanish and Italian heritage - like garlic and olive oil! - and while some on social media may criticise their use, I think these ingredients and Daen’s recipes will feel right at home in our cookbook loving part of the world. 

4. Gohan: Everyday Japanese Cooking by Emiko Davies (September 2023) - I think we all love Emiko, and her many books on Italian cuisine, however we are now finally seeing more of the food that Emiko grew up with and that is part of her food history rather than that of her current home in Italy. Emiko has spoken of how this book was a harder sell to publishers as they perceived a book on Japanese cuisine less ‘sellable’ than one on Italian, but I know I and many others are so glad this book is almost with us. I do not personally eat lot of Japanese food or ingredients generally, but I am keen to support this new book of Emiko’s as I know how much I love her previous ones. I know this book will be heartfelt, well researched and beautifully photographed as all her previous works are. And hopefully I will find some recipes that become unexpected favourites too. 

5. Now and Then by Tessa Kiros (October 2023) - A few years ago I made it my mission to expand my collection of Tessa’s books. I found some older titles on eBay, and even one I’d never heard of in Books for Cooks in Melbourne. So when I saw we would finally be getting a new book from Tessa (her last was published in 2016 I think), I knew it would make my cookbooks worth waiting for list. What I really like about Tessa’s cookbooks is they all have their own very unique story and often bring the reader along in some kind of discovery of a place, cuisine or Tessa’s family/family history. No two books of Tessa’s are the same, however all are beautiful and always have really thoughtful design elements that bring such a personal touch to each publication. The description of this book says it will be part memoir, travel guide and food odyssey and it feels like it will be a reflective piece filled with new recipes and memories. 

Links to books on Booktopia removed 15/07/2024.

Cookbooks Worth Waiting for in 2023 Part 1 - A Recap

It’s time for a recap! Maybe the best part of my Cookbooks Worth Waiting For series, is when the wait is over. In this case the wait is mostly over as one title I still don’t have, but I will add my thoughts on it when I do.

Otherwise below are my thoughts on the cookbooks on my Cookbooks Worth Waiting for List for the first half of 2023. As always there are some great books being released this year, so another list will be on its way soon.

Did you add any of these cookbooks to your shelves so far this year? What did you think of them? Or were there other books you have added to your collection you liked more? Let me know in the comments below.

And just a quick note, all books bar one have been purchased by me and the links are just for your reference - I suggest searching around to find the best price or try to support a local/independent bookshop! Links to books on Booktopia removed 15/07/2024.

1. Dark Rye and Honey Cake by Regula Ysewijn - If you love Regula’s other books, there is no way you could be disappointed with this one. The research and food history is very interestingly explained, in a way I feel only Regula could! Regula seems to have a knack for all elements in terms of bringing together a cookbook - her writing is excellent, her photography is amazing, and along with her husband’s illustrations she’s got a real winning trifecta right there. Of course the recipes are great, though I don’t see myself making many of these (mostly due to the fact I do not own any kind of waffle iron). However I do not think that detracts from this book in anyway. Many cookbooks bring more than the recipes, and it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be on my shelf. I have learnt a lot from this book already, and if you love food history also, I think you will love it too.

2. A Table Full of Love by Skye McAlpine - This book presents really well - the design, the photography, the colour scheme. It’s a smaller sized book than Skye’s previous two, and a small part of me wishes it was the same size as the others as there’s something about seeing an authors works all together on the shelf and looking all neat, and having some kind of continuous link via their size (but maybe this is just me?). I have been enjoying the writing in this book, and to me, it stands out more in this book than in Skye’s previous works. I can’t say I am thrilled with the recipe selection however. There isn’t much in this book that immediately draws me in recipe wise, and makes me think I need to cook that ASAP. In terms of recipes this book doesn’t feel intrinsically different than Skye’s previous book, ‘A Table for Friends’, and although the idea of the book is eloquently written about, I struggle to see what this book brings to the table that hasn’t already been done by Skye previously. I suggest having a flick through this one before purchasing, to make sure the recipes and the whole thing take your fancy - though like I said, it looks beautiful and the photography is stunning. What takes your fancy recipe wise will be purely personal preference and is certainly no slight on Skye’s brilliant ability to produce stunning cookbooks. 

3. Sweet Enough by Alison Roman* - I mentioned in my previous version of this list how I was a little disappointed that Alison’s next book was all about baking. I love baking (obviously!), but really associate Alison with her general cooking and savoury dishes. I like this book, it’s very Alison (especially the writing, gosh I LOVE her writing), but I don’t think I’m quite the target audience for it. Alison shares recipes in ‘Sweet Enough’ that suit people not as keen on baking, sweet things (hence the title) and maybe wouldn’t consider themselves dessert people. I am very much keen on baking, like sweet things and am a dessert person, so the offerings in this book don’t draw me in like I usually am with Alison’s recipes. I tried the Salted Pistachio Shortbread (p.173) which I liked but I found mildly too salty (on p.14 Alison says if you think any of the recipes are too salty then she takes that as a compliment, so compliments to the chef I guess!), the Plummy Pudding (p.146) and the Old-Fashioned Strawberry Cake (p.91). I am (maybe oddly considering the the title/point of this book) looking forward to trying the recipes in the savoury subsection in the Pies, Tarts, Galettes chapter as I have a feeling this is where the Alison Roman magic may lie for me in this book. This is definitely the book for you if you aren’t super keen on baking, and find many baked goods and desserts too sweet or too much effort. Alison is catering to a crowd who are probably not usually spoken to in cookbooks focused on baking, and that is a good thing - as everyone deserves to be a ‘dessert person’ in their own way.

4. Love is A Pink Cake by Claire Ptak - To say I am enjoying this book is an understatement. It is everything I expect and want from Claire Ptak, great recipes, interesting flavour combinations and new ways to cook things or new ways to use flavours I hadn’t considered. If ‘Sweet Enough’ by Alison Roman is for those not traditionally keen on baking or desserts, ‘Love is A Pink Cake’ is for those who are, and who want to explore the baking world that Claire has created with her bakery Violet and her previous books even more. Everything I have made from this I have thoroughly enjoyed - except when I swapped crema di pistacchio for peanut butter in the recipe for Blondie Peanut Butter Cookies on page 29, it did not work and that was because I made my own changes! I have made the Sticky Toffee Date Pudding (p.77) twice (it’s even fantastic on its own, no sauce, no ice cream, nothing!) and the Eve’s Pear Pudding on page 81 got a traditionally not pudding loving family very keen to eat the leftovers and make it again as soon as possible! 

5. The Flavour Thesaurus More Flavours by Niki Segnit - While this book has technically been released, getting a copy seems to mean waiting a while and paying anywhere from $40-60AUD. I saw a copy on Amazon (AU) for $29.99 with a release date of early August and locked in my preorder, so I will add my thoughts here after that! Unfortunately that price has gone up now on Amazon, however it is currently at $39.99 which is still less than other retailers currently.

   14/08/2023 - I finally have my copy of ‘The Flavour Thesaurus More Flavours’, and it was certainly worth the wait! It is so well researched as is everything Niki does, and I am really enjoying the various flavours/ingredients which have been included this time around. There are things like quince, passionfruit, pistachio, date, lychee and so many more that really complements Niki first book ‘The Flavour Thesaurus’. I really appreciate how Niki explains the plant led focus of the book, without the book being exclusively vegan or vegetarian (many of the flavours omitted from her first book happened to be plant based so the flavours chosen for this book naturally had that in common). As Niki says “The book would neither be quite vegan nor even vegetarian but loosely, forgivingly, non-dogmatically plant-led or flexitarian..” without getting into the well known arguments about eating less meat and more plants. I think the focus on plant based ingredients for this second volume makes sense as a compliment to the first (many meat/animal products were already covered there like egg, cheeses and various types of meats), but also as so many ingredients/flavours we use in cooking and baking come from a plant based source (think lentil, raisin, garlic, mint etc). If you have ‘The Flavour Thesaurus’, you also need ‘The Flavour Thesaurus More Flavours’.

6. Heartbake by Charlotte Ree - This book surprised me in the best way. I am not, unlike Charlotte, a lover of love, so I wasn’t sure if the memoir part would be for me. I ended up listening to the audiobook of the memoir section and I was hooked early on. To hear Charlotte speak so thoughtfully and eloquently about her life and how food has nourished her in more ways than one, felt like a privilege. It’s amazing to follow someone on Instagram for a while and think ‘wow their life looks great’, and then to hear that SO much was going on behind those little squares on that app. It really shows we don’t know what’s is going on behind closed doors and that Instagram is really a highlight reel most of the time. I think Charlotte’s story also highlights the healing power of food, and the deep connection food has with our memories and emotions. And maybe also the fact that being true to oneself and not hiding the hard bits of our lives all the time can be massively freeing and, maybe in a small way, be helpful to others. The recipes in this book are also really good. David Lovett’s Focaccia (pp.245-8) is AMAZING, and I am constantly thinking about when I can make it again! I think the only downside to this book is despite the amazing cover, the fact that it is covered in fabric makes me worried to use it in the kitchen as it might get dirty/ruined! I am one of those few people who like my cookbooks to remain in as pristine condition as possible despite being used, so fabric covered cookbooks always bring me a level of stress I know is probably ridiculous (I have already considered using a sticky lint roller over this beautiful cover as it is getting little bits of fluff and dust on it, please tell me I’m not the only one!). Let’s just say if a paperback edition was ever released I’d probably buy it solely for kitchen use to allow the original to remain her in glorious yellow pristine condition (hopefully minus the dust etc, where is that lint roller….).

* this book was gifted to me by Hardie Grant. There was no obligation to talk about the book, and my opinions are my own. And honestly, I love Alison Roman so I would have bought this book myself anyway!

New Cookbooks on My Shelf - March 2023

It’s about time for some more cookbook chat, so I thought I would share a few new (to me) books that I have recently added to my cookbook shelves. 

These are the books that have been keeping me company lately, and as you can see by the length of this I was unable to be brief about my thoughts on them!

1.Extra Good Things by Ottolenghi Test Kitchen - I waited a little while to buy this one, as Ottolenghi’s book ‘Simple’ remains my absolute favourite of his works (and those under the Ottolenghi banner), and none of the releases since that book have interested me nearly as much. After having a look at the book in a shop, I decided to buy it as a few recipes stood out to me. The flavours used in this book as a whole appeal to me more (than say ‘Shelf Love’ or ‘Flavour’), and I am looking forward to trying The Double Lemon Chicken (p.24) and One Pot Chickpeas with Carrots and Dates (p.38) as soon as the weather here has really cooled down.

2. Salamati by Hamed Allahyari with Dani Valent - This book is full of delicious Persian and Persian inspired food by Hamed, where he shares about is life in Iran via food, and describes the dangerous situation that forced him to leave. I have so far tried one of the salmon recipes which I really enjoyed and I can’t wait to try more. Persian food uses many ingredients like an abundance of herbs, pomegranates and pomegranate molasses that I really enjoy. Saffron also features a lot, so get a little supply of saffron ready to cook from this book! 

Reading this book and starting to cook from it makes me want to eat at Hamed’s restaurant in Melbourne ‘SalamaTea’. This book and Hamed’s story also makes me seriously question why someone like Hamed who came to Australia as an asylum seeker 10 years ago, contributes to society and employs other asylum seekers and refugees, still does not have a permanent visa to remain here and have that certainty. 

3. Med by Claudia Roden - I only had one book of Claudia’s prior to buying ‘Med’, ‘The Jewish Cookbook’, which is an extremely throughly researched cookbook which has come to be synonymous with Claudia’s work and food writing. I decided to purchase Med after hearing Claudia interviewed by Alice Zaslavsky during the Sydney Jewish Writers Festival. Claudia was so generous with her time and her explanation about her life and how her books came about. 

As Alice says in the interview ‘Med’ is Claudia’s first book with food photography, so it is a little different from her earlier work. The flavours used in this book are exactly what I want to eat (anchovies, green olives, capers, tomatoes, garlic etc) so I knew I needed to move this book from my wish list to my actual book shelf. So far we’ve tried the Chicken with Apricots and Pistachios (p.225), next on my list is the Green Olive, Walnut and Pomegranate Salad (p.51).

4. Pride and Pudding by Regula Ysewijn - I am having a real moment with Regula’s work of late. It started with her second book ‘Oats in the North Wheat in the South’, and after I enjoyed that book so much I went back to her first book ‘Pride and Pudding’. Regula is from Belgium however has has a very keen interested in all things British for a long time. This book covers the history of British puddings (sweet and savoury), and while some puddings I know I will never make (Haggis and Black Pudding being top of that list!), others would make a lovely addition to any table. 

What I really love about this book is the in depth research and history about puddings and the specific recipes - if you love history and food Regula’s work is definitely for you. Regula is also an amazing stylist and food photographer so the images are absolutely stunning, and coupled with her husband Bruno’s illustrations this book is a real feast for the eyes.

Links to books on Booktopia removed 15/07/2024.

Cookbooks Worth Waiting for in 2023 - Part One

It’s a new year, so that means more cookbooks worth waiting for! 

These are the upcoming releases in the first half of 2023 that I am most looking forward to. They are all by authors I have already got books from on my shelves and that previous experience has made me all the more excited that these cookbook authors are bringing out new titles. 

When I originally started writing this list in early January, I could only come up with four titles that I was most looking forward to. Then thankfully prior to when I was planning on posting this, I was reminded of a couple of others and now the list is a rather hefty six! Hopefully amongst the list you will find at least one book to add to your wish list too. 

I’ll be back with a recap of this list once all the books have been released and I’ve had time to have a good look through. Plus another cookbooks worth waiting for list will be on it’s way for the second half of 2023. And just a disclaimer, opinions expressed in my cookbooks worth waiting for series are my own and all books have been purchased by me (links below are just for your reference/further research - links to books on Booktopia removed 15/07/2024). 

Let me know in the comments if any of these cookbooks are on your wish list for 2023, and if not which ones are?

1. Dark Rye and Honey Cake: Festival Baking from the Heart of the Low Countries by Regula Ysewijn (February 2023) - I bought one of Regula’s previous books, ‘Oats in the North Wheat in The South’, about a year ago and I found it so interesting in terms of food history, that I have since also bought ‘Pride and Pudding’ and have preordered ‘Dark Rye and Honey Cake’. Books like these that focus so heavily on the history of food in a particular area, sit at a neat intersection between two of my favourite topics, food and history. They are probably not completely unique in terms of bringing a historical focus to a cookbook, but the fact that it is done so well, with amazing photography (also by the author) and well written too makes Regula’s first two cookbooks really stand out, and gives me no hesitation in feeling like her next will be just as good. Whereas Ruglua’s first two cookbooks are about British food and food history, ‘Dark Rye and Honey Cake’ is about the food of the Low Countries - which consists of Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg . I am particularly interested in this as I can’t think of any cookbook that focuses on the food of this area, and it’s definitely not an area I know very much about (I had to Google what countries the ‘Low Countries’ consists of so that probably says it all regarding my lack of knowledge about this region!). 

2. A Table Full of Love by Skye McAlpine (February 2023) - Similar to Regula’s previous books, I really like Skye’s first two cookbooks. We use ‘A Table for Friends’ regularly (see here for a Off The Shelf post about it), so I am imagining this next book will bring more family favourite recipes to our table. The combination of Skye’s recipes and food styling and photography is always such a joy, I am really looking forward to this new book. 

3. Sweet Enough by Alison Roman (April 2023) - Ok, I have to be honest here. While I am in some way looking forward to this book, I am not looking forward to it as much as I would like. When Alison first announced she had a new book in the works, my mind went straight to all the amazing dinners we’ve had from her recipes (see here for my Off the Shelf post on Nothing Fancy) and the cool savoury recipes she has shared in her newsletter that I have made again and again (A little eggplant Parm I’m looking at you!). I don’t associate Alison’s cooking with much baking or sweet stuff, so I was a little disappointed her next book would solely focus on that. I’m sure based on the quality of her recipes generally, and knack for great flavour combinations, that this book will be good. I just think I need more time (I guess I have until April…) to get over the fact this isn’t the book I thought it would be, and open my mind to the (most likely great) possibility that I will enjoy this book just as much as the two previous ones from Alison.

4. Love is A Pink Cake by Claire Ptak (April 2023) - Claire’s book ‘The Violet Bakery Cookbook’ has been a firm favourite of mine for years, and is one I always recommend when anyone is looking for a book about baking that’s a bit more interesting (check out my Off The Shelf post about it here). I recall seeing on Instagram what feels like ages ago (maybe during 2020?), that Claire was working on a new book, and apparently this one has taken a while to work on, 5 years according to Claire, so it’s really exciting to see a release date for it. I love the title, which is taken from an illustration by Andy Warhol of the same name, and cover image, which is a close up of a pink flower with a yellow centre. It’s a little different from many cookbook covers, which makes me even more intrigued to discover what is inside the book. I am obviously keen to see what recipes this book contains, not only due to the cover, but as I have really enjoyed cooking from Claire’s recipes over the years, and everything she posts on her Instagram for her London bakery Violet looks dreamy. Finally visiting Violet Bakery is quite high on my ‘one day if I ever go to London again’ to do list, so a new book from Claire should do the trick for now.

5. The Flavour Thesaurus More Flavours by Niki Segnit (May 2023) - I discovered Niki’s first book ‘The Flavour Thesaurus’ at a workshop years ago, and I bought it straight away. The premise is that you can look up a flavour and see what other flavours complement it, using Niki’s categorisation of flavours via her flavour wheel. It has remained a great cookbook shelf investment since, especially for someone like me who works as a recipe developer too. A new version of the flavour thesaurus concept isn’t something I thought I needed, but based on how useful Niki’s books are (her book ‘Lateral Cooking’ is also great if you love developing or fiddling around with recipes), I don’t doubt it will be beyond useful in my kitchen. 

6. Heartbake by Charlotte Ree (May 2023) - also a special mention to this part memoir part cookbook by Charlotte Ree, which feels like it will be a deeply personal voyage of life’s tough bits through food. I’ve followed along with Charlotte’s journey of creating this book via Instagram, and I have so appreciated her honesty in sharing how these things come about and how emotional the whole process can be (especially so with a memoir). I am imagining this book to be somewhat in a similar vein to those cookbook/memoirs by Ella Risbridger, but also something quite different from those as well. Sharing a look at a final copy of the book on Instagram, Charlotte showed how the first section of the book is the memoir and the second is the recipes, and with the bright yellow cover I think seeing a copy will make anyone want to pick it up and see what it’s about. Reviews of the early copies of the memoir section distributed by Charlotte have been immensely positive and make me even more keen to see more. 

The Best Cookbooks of 2022

Fortunately for people like me (and maybe you too if you are reading this?!), 2022 was another great year for cookbooks. I have created a slightly more succinct list this time to round out what I thought were the best cookbooks of 2022. This list is by no means exhaustive, and is very much based on my personal opinion right now. 

I toyed with adding more books to the list, but if I didn’t give myself a limit I’d never finish writing it. 

So below are my top four. A diverse selection, but all ones I think would make great additions to your cookbook shelf (or shelves… let’s be honest here!). 

As always the links to the books are not sponsored, just for your reference. Links to books on Booktopia removed 15/07/2024.

Let me know in the comments what you think of my selections, and what books would be on your personal list for the best books of 2022?

1. The Joy of Better Cooking by Alice Zaslavsky - How could I not include this book on this list? It delights and surprises in the best possible way, and maybe one of the few books I genuinely think would delight the majority of people regardless of their cooking abilities. It’s bright, colourful and joyful - just like Alice seems herself! So it really feels like you are getting Alice in your kitchen explaining things and encouraging you to be an enthusiastic cook and eater.

2. Mabu Mabu by Nornie Bero - When I first mentioned this book on my blog, I said after reading this book Nornie’s restaurant was on my list of placed to go whenever I next went to Melbourne. I ended up going to Melbourne in December of 2022 and unfortunately a migraine attack thwarted my attempt to eat there (as so often happens). So now it’s still on my list for next time which is disapointing, but ‘Mabu Mabu’ the book can certainly keep me company until then. It looks like lots from the restaurant is in the book, and coupled with the really informative ‘The Native Pantry’ section which helpfully explains many Indigenous ingredients and the list of where such ingredients may be found, ‘Mabu Mabu’ really gives a great experience of what (I imagine) eating at Nornie’s restaurant would be like. I also really enjoy the colourful design of the book and the images are glorious as well.  This is definitely a cookbook for every Australian kitchen. 

3. A Good Day to Bake by Benjamina Ebeuhi - I know I’ve sung Benjamina’s praises for this book already, but I really do love it. I am still so enjoying the use of flavour in this book and I really just love that it stands out from many other baking books because of that. Sometimes when I get a new book that is just about baking, I feel it gives me a sense of de ja vu to many other baking books I already own or have seen. ‘A Good Day to Bake’ doesn’t do that at all (even when I already own Benjamina’s first book) and it’s just so refreshing to see something a bit different, a bit interesting, yet not overly complex or intimidating. This book has a really calm vibe and it, along with the lovely photography, makes me lose time wandering through the book and contemplating what I could bake next. 

4. Nistisima by Georgina Hayden - I think only Georgina could make me like a book essentially about vegan food, and it be so good, I would have to include it on this list. Georgina’s enthusiasm for food is infectious and the research behind this book really makes it shine. This book isn’t just about vegan cooking for the sake of it, but documents the recipes and traditions from many countries when those following the Orthodox Church observe much time during the year where they fast and abstain from foods using animal products (thus they are eating vegan). I found this perspective a really interesting way to view a particular diet, as to me, it looks like those engaged in this form of eating enjoy everything, just not all at once, so their diet would probably end up quite balanced overall rather than constantly restrictive. And based on the recipes in this book the potentially restrictive nature of eating nistisima food (fasting foods) is not obvious at all. If you saw the recipes without knowing the context of the book, I doubt it would be obvious at first glance that it was a vegan book. As Georgina says in her introduction, this book isn’t a religious or diet book, and she’s not interested in telling anyone how to live or eat - “this book is for everyone…Why and how you use this book is up to you.”