Three new cookbooks for the home cook
Our food and gardening columnist Chris Gordon shares three new cookbooks that are perfect for home cooks.
The Zero F*cks Cookbook by Yumi Stynes
Usually I do not enjoy cookbooks written by media celebrities. I do not consider people in the media to be reliable sources for my meal inspiration. Well, let me sing a different tune about this truly wonderful, practical cookbook by Australian television and radio presenter Yumi Stynes. The Zero F*cks Cookbook is filled with laugh-out-loud moments and brilliant recipes suitable for a busy person’s lifestyle. There are salads and breakfast ideas, dishes suitable for dinner parties and gatherings, and it passes – with flying colours – my Tuesday Evening Rule: would I use this book on a Tuesday evening to create a meal for my hungry, impatient family? Yes, I have, and yes, I will. This book is perfect for anyone who feels time-pressured but wants to produce healthy, uncomplicated, and delicious meals. This is my pick of the month.
Feasting by Amanda Ruben
Amanda Ruben’s Ripponlea café, Miss Ruben’s Canteen, is famed for its pastrami sandwiches. People travel far for the delight of this particular dish and for the vibrant salads and cakes on offer. Ruben’s new book, Feasting, is a pure delight and will take you by the hand and walk you through the three-day process to the perfect Ruben sandwich, or the Friday evening feast for friends and family. Think Ottolenghi-style dishes with all the brilliance of fresh Melbourne produce and pluck. My favourite is the carrot salad with miso tahini … simple, innovative and a crowd pleaser. I’m all in.
Sticky Fingers, Green Thumb by Hayley McKee (available 1 March)
Hayley McKee is passionate about creating sweets that taste of nature, in which the ingredients are familiar, the colouring is genuine, and the flavours are unmasked. In Sticky Fingers, Green Thumb she celebrates the use of vegetables, edible flowers and herbs in her incredible baked desserts.Combinations that surely should not work do, and perform beautifully. I was wary, for example, of spiced parsnip and willow-blossom cake, but it turns out my concern was ill-informed. McKee is the darling of the Melbourne wedding-cake scene and for good reason. She produces ‘vegetable’ cakes, decorates with branches and flowers and somehow makes produce from the backyard garden into a sweet, delicious dish. I love how innovative this book is and how much it has made me reconsider the joys of grated carrot, parsnip, beetroot and so many more.
