The Cottage Smallholder

Nadine, shouldn't this be in Starters?

I love cookbooks, and got rid of a few when I moved (mostly to offspring), but I now have room for (a few) more on my shelves¦. My fall-back is the Woman's Day Encyclopedia of Cookery, which I was given when I was 21, all 12 volumes. It has a lot of recipes that show its age (like lots of salads in jelly) and doesn't list some modern ingredients or recipes, but I find it pretty reliable"it has lots of zucchini/courgette recipes, so it is essential at this time of year. It is American, but that is my default for recipes. My courgette pickle recipe comes from there. I also have some of my mother's cookbooks, which are interesting to look at and sometimes use. She usually noted the date when she first made a recipe. It is odd to see dates after I left home, somehow I assume that there were no inovations after I left!

I try to avoid looking at the cookbook section in bookstores, too painful not to buy, but the local secondhand book store has a large selection so I sometimes give in and get one. Or two.

Sue, having seen Delia on television I refuse to use her recipes, she is so patronising!

But recipes from this site are terrific!

I forgot to mention the Potluck Cookery book I have had since I was 21, which has a chapter called something like "Nothing in the House but..." which was very helpful living in London in the late 60's, since we were living on next to nothing. Bacon bits at 6d a pound figured large in our menus!

I got a copy of the Dairy Cookbook last year partly because of your recommendation Joanna, and partly because there was a copy available in the rental flat we used on the Scillies that I found useful for basic reference.

Unlike you good friends I have only been cooking regularly for myself (and others when they visit) for about 5 years since I have been living on my own so I don't have a long history in the art although I have always been interested in cooking however my lovely wife was so damn good at it and enjoyed it so much that I sort of watched and washed up, if you see what I mean.

Anyway I started with Delia, but concluded that whilst she was very good she made many dishes too complicated to no discernable advantage and then whilst looking for a recipe for some excess beetroot I had at the time I stumbled on Nigel Slater, down to earth, speaks a language that feels familiar with no airs and graces, to quote the man he is a cook not a chef and I now have 3 of his books and they gather no dust on the shelf.

For Jams and preserves I have the River Cottage book, small and concise it does for what I want and encourages me to experiment a little, love it.

This last year I have started making my own bread, this is a sensuous affair and I am surprised it is not an arrestable offence, my only sadness is that I don't need to kneed much as I am on my own, because I would love to have a real giant bake up. I started with some book just off the shelf that caught my eye but then, again, I bought the River Cottage  Bread book which is really good but the revelation is an old book published in 1977 by Elizabeth David called English Bread and Yeast Cooking. I was at a Lammas weekend a month back and saw a copy lying around and picked it up and had a quick scan - they had to take it off me in the end and I have since bought a hardcopy 2nd hand off Amazon in near perfect condition and it cost £1.68 + £2.00 postage. It is a story about bread it is a recipe book it is simply the best bread book for me and it is also a jolly good read. The excellent River Cottage book I have now given away to a friend as it is redundant. Elizabeth David comes highly recommended, my bread making has improved no end.