How many recipe books do you own? 10, 20, 30, 40 or more? I have 75 recipe books languishing on my bookshelf and a few on active service in the kitchen. I only recently got the collection down to 75 following the ruthless cull of 2011 when a number of books were re-homed. I love recipe books and despite telling myself every year that I do not need more, by Christmas time I crumble and another recipe book hits the shelf. This year it was Jamie’s 15 minute meals.
Another question for you. How many recipe books do you regularly use? For sometime I have been using only two books with any regularity – ‘Everyday Veg’ from the wonderful Hugh Fearnley Whittingstal and Nigel Slater’s ‘The 30 Minute Cook’. These books are well-thumbed and splattered with a good variety of ingredients. However far too many recipe books on my shelf could be removed, wrapped and gifted with the recipient being none the wiser, so pristine and untouched are they. Jamie’s Dinners, Jamie’s Italy and Rick Stein’s French Odyssey are just a few examples of my collection of unsullied books.
It’s not only celebrity chefs who make it onto my bookshelves. There are books dedicated to Greek, Italian, French, Scottish, Moroccan and Indian food; speciality books for the healthy heart, the follower of the low GI diet (rather too many of them!) and the detox enthusiast; books with ideas for your organic veg box; baking books (despite the fact that I don’t really bake), chutney books and the list goes on, and on, and on….
THE 2013 RECIPE BOOK CHALLENGE
I have decided to make these recipe books work for their space on my shelf and have set myself a challenge. In 2013 I will choose a different recipe book every single week and cook a recipe from that book that I have never attempted before. In a day or two there will be a new page on this blog dedicated to the challenge so you can see what I am cooking up each week.
52 weeks, 52 cookbooks, 52 new recipes – I am up for the challenge. How about you?
After telling my good friend Nicola at www.eatwithoutwheat.blogspot.co.uk she has decided to join in as has the mum of another friend. Why don’t you try it too. I would genuinely be interested to hear about the new recipes that you try out.
I have just randomly picked out the book which will feature in week one of the challenge. It is called ‘The Best Traditional Recipes of Greek Cooking’. The recipe I will attempt is Pita me Kyma – translated as Minced Meat Pie. How hard can it be?
Have a fantastic New Year and if you do accept the challenge I wish you luck.