“I hope that many of these recipes will become family favourites, the kind that create a sense of belonging, that are shared at your family tables for generations to come.” Sarah Graham’s Good + Simple is, quite simply, a magnificent celebration of vegetables and natural, whole foods. Dishes that are simple to make, wholesome to eat, and massively enjoyable – even for those who normally scoff.
Kicking off with a baker’s dozen tips on how to make the most of the book, and of meal times, she adds hints about including additional protein, and keys for helping you keep track of dishes that are vegan-friendly, gluten- and diary-free, for one pot dishes or those that take half an hour or less to make or use just five ingredients. So it’s user friendly from the first flavour bomb recipe (spiced granola sprinkles) to the last (sundried tomato and olive focaccia). In between, there’s everything from pesto and halloumi breakfast bagels to Friday night braaibroodjies, from weeknight burritos to lazy spinach and ricotta lasagne. There are sweet treats (speckled egg rocky road, anybody?) to a pretty little tiramisu that would hold its own at any dinner party, to life-changing three-ingredient scones (flour, cream, lemonade – you’ll never make them any other way again). For those who have Sarah’s previous cookbooks, this one will make a happy addition to your kitchen bookshelf; for those who have yet to discover her … a delicious (and healthy) treat ahead! Penguin Random House, R400 from Exclusive Books
Grow • Cook • Heal
This informative book by Caz Hildebrand isn’t a cook book. Nor a gardening book. But Herbarium is crammed with bites of jolly useful information about around 200 herbs … sweet herbs (like basil) and tart herbs (think sorrell and bergamot). Minty, oniony, bitter, herbs to eat, herbs to heal, and some which could kill (nobody touch the Monkshood). There are suggestions on what herbs should be eaten with, and how they can be used in oils and teas, as well as loads of history, and interesting facts about every herb from Angelica to Watercress. Fabulous. Thames and Hudson, R445