A cookbook to last a lifetime

When I was younger, my Mum had a ‘go to’ cookbook. It was bought for her as an engagement present and referred to for everything. If she was cooking, it would be out. It had soups, sauces, cakes, mains, starters, salads, preserves, pastries, everything. It was used until the pages fell out and the binding broke, yet we still have the pages of it. Where am I going with this? Well, I think I’ve found a cookbook to last my lifetime.

It isn’t quite the aprons and wooden spoons of the 1970s, a lot has changed since then. Forty years later, this cookbook incorporates the fusion of cultures that’s made its way in to ‘British cuisine’, it has moved with the times, it recognises the movement in recent years to go back to fresh, local, organic. It is of course Daylesford’s A Love for Food.

The legendary organic farm’s cookbook is beautifully designed and printed, this is pretty important for me. If it looks good it will draw me in for more, and it did.

As I first thumbed through the pages, I was impressed by the massive range of recipes. It’s the perfect marriage of traditional and modern food. Digging deeper its ‘notes’ give the feeling of expert guidance, telling me how to make the most of what’s seasonal and giving background to the recipes and farm.

I feel like this book really brings it back to what food is all about. Eating well is one of life’s finest pleasures and this book will arm you with all you need to make that possible.

So far I’ve tried a couple of knock out recipes but I hope over the next few months to test out some more and hopefully share a few favourites with you. I think  Slow-cooked Lamb Shoulder with White Beans and Salsa Verde Mayonnaise is next on my list. My mouth is watering…

This is a cookbook that will stay with me for a long long time. I can see its recipes becoming staples and hopefully like my Mum’s the book will still be used in thirty or forty years. If this blog is still running then, I’ll be sure to let you know how it’s getting on!

At the moment the book is on Amazon for £16.30 (RRP £30) with free delivery. I can’t even begin to tell you how much of a bargain that is. If there’s a foodie in your life I’d snap this up now and save it as a Christmas present. I know I’d have been over the moon to receive this as a gift.