Last year I issued the challenge to cook a new recipe from a different cookbook in each week of 2013.   It was a response to the realisation that I had more cookbooks than I could shake a stick at,  with many of them remaining pristine – never having fulfilled their destiny.

I was ever so chuffed when some fellow bloggers and friends agreed to join me in my quest,  and to be honest it seemed simple enough to achieve.  Sadly this was not the case and  today my head is hung in shame as I realise that I have cooked a total of 24 brand new recipes for my challenge,  and with the best will in the world I am not going to hastily cook up another 28  before the end of the year.  It is an epic fail for the Grumbling Tummy.

Why was it so bloody hard?  Well trite as it may sound,  life just got in the way.  There were family illnesses to contend with, sheer forgetfulness came into play and then there was the diet.  As part of the ongoing effort to achieve the body beautiful I tried a variety of weird and wonderful diets this year, all which got in the way of my creative cooking quest. Lets face it, sometimes there are just not enough hours in the day to make time for doing things that we really enjoy.

I shall refrain from issuing any public challenges this year but do intend to spend a lot more time on the blog in 2014 and what’s more a shiny new format could be on the cards.

I am also pleased to report that after a long hiatus I have stepped down from my high horse regarding ‘too many damned recipe books’ and started to lust after some new titles.  Gino De Campo’s  ‘Italian Escape’ and  whatever book comes out to accompany the fabulous new Yotam Ottolenghi series top my list.

What the hell,  can you ever really have too many recipe books?