Thanks, Nigella!

I read a snippet in The Guardian’s foodie ‘Feast’ supplement the other day that the publishers of Nigella Lawson’s How to Eat cookbook were celebrating its 20th birthday.  I went to check my copy to see if it really had lived on my bookshelf for that long and yes, my copy is dated 1999. I remember buying it on the recommendation of a foodie friend who was not only using it regularly but had also taken to reading it in bed before he went to sleep. I didn’t fall in love with it quite like him but I have used it frequently over the years and thanks to The Guardian, have just been reading through it again. The pleasure comes not only from the amazing range of recipes but also from Nigella’s commentaries of when and what she likes to cook – you really can hear her voice as you read her little stories. Prompted by all of this, I delved more deeply into the drawer in my kitchen which is packed with recipes cut out and saved from magazines and newspapers over the years – I’ve even used some of them! Weighing down this messy collection is my first ‘grown up’ cookbook, the massive Readers Digest The Cookery Year. This is also a classic and was again recommended to me by a friend, when I was new to London and moving into my first home. It’s been my go-to kitchen bible for years. Lurking at the bottom of the pile in the drawer I found the little Baking with McDougalls book – the 29th edition, no less. I inherited this from my Mother who presumably had updated her editions over the years. This trawl through the recipes has inspired me – I need to find the time to do some baking – thanks, Nigella!