Product Description

Features recipes and tips for busy people. This book contains menu plans, over 170 recipes, shortcuts and dozens of ideas for meals. Follow up to Gill Holcombe's HOW TO FEED YOUR WHOLE FAMILY...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19968 in Books
• Published on: 2009-07-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Review
"Whilst she is a total expert at creating delicious food from very meagre shopping lists, she equally refuses to compromise on the quality of the meals she rustles up... brilliant, simple recipes.' --Easy Living

About the Author
Gill Holcombe is passionate about feeding her kids good food. She grew up before the culture of convenience food took hold - and knows how to cook. Having brought up three children on her own for over ten years, she says the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and has three fit, healthy teenagers with loads of energy - and no fillings! Gill is author of the bestselling How to feed your whole family a healthy, balanced diet with very little money...and hardly any time, even if you have a tiny kitchen, only three saucepans (one with an ill-fitting lid) and no fancy gadgets - unless you count the garlic crusher... and lives in London with her family.

Customer Reviews

When you just want something easy
I have already made two (three if you count the salad dressing) meals from this book and was impressed with both of them ('Sweet and Sour Chicken' and 'Caribbean Style Chicken Curry'). I would consider myself to be a competent cook but I do like to be able to follow a recipe, and when I just want something basic then this is the book I will probably be reaching for.

I like the fact that some of the measurements are approximate and the instructions are 'casual' - there is no enforced structure to a meal but enough to get you going. Overall a success.

Good, old-fashioned cooking
I'll admit that I have a large collection of cookbooks but most just sit on my shelf rather than getting used. I'm always a bit dubious about new cook books but I genuinely think this will become a book that I use, or at least dip into, quite often.

The book itself is written in a friendly, down to earth style. There's absolutely no pretentiousness or food snootiness which immediately endeared me to the writer and the book.

The author seems a sensible sort with the items she suggests you keep in your store cupboard being basic, cheap and useful. She also says that you don't need expensive equipment and I really get the feeling that this book is all about good old fashioned, great tasting, family cooking rather than being fancy just for the sake of it!

Chapters within the book include: Good Beginnings; Mood Food (which includes everything from pot roasts to comfort food); Loose Ends; For Starters, Mains and Just Desserts; Something Sweet and A Lot On Your Plate (which is a 6 week menu plan).

I like the way she gives you the recipe and then says to modify it as you like. Even so, the recipes are easy to follow with clear instructions. She makes the unusual choice of not telling you how many people a recipe serves but since this is a family cookbook she notes that everything will feed a family of four.

I really enjoyed this cookbook. As with most cookbooks, I do prefer pictures to go along with the recipes while this one only has small black and white pencil drawings. It can't detract from the quality of the recipes and writing but it is a preference of mine.

If you are an established cook who likes fancy recipes and trying out complicated dishes then perhaps this isn't the book for you. However, if you're new to cooking or just want a recipe book with a chatty writing style that feels like it's something your mum or granny would have handed down to you then this could definitely be the cookery book for you.

Great book and good value. And I am not much of a cook
I am not much of a cook and with two young children + a business to run I have little time to cook. I still want to be able to cook from scratch but only little time to do it. This book is full with recipes that are easy to shop for. Not like some books where you have to goto different stores and some specialist store to obtain everything ingredience. Only a short list of simple instructions to follow. I have already tried a few and they have come out well.

I would only like for there to be some photos of what the meals would look like. I myself love to click through the pictures and choose based on what I like the look of. But apart from that I would say that the book is well worth having and you will own it for years dipping into it to create new meals.

It is full of lovely inspiring quotes like...
"tomatoes & oregano make it Italian, wine & tarragon make it french, sour cream make it Russian, lemon & cinnamon make it Greek, soy sauce makes it Chinese, garlic makes it good"