How are you?
In the last, remaining days of 2020 I’ve been thinking about what we’ve missed this year and what we still have to be grateful for.
One thing I miss is the roasted coffee bean aroma of cafés, the hiss of the espresso machines, the comings and goings, lone dogs, leads slipped under a table leg outside, waiting for their owners. The cosiness of a well-lit busy café in winter when the sky turns that heavy grey just before it starts to snow.
I feel like I’ve hardly been out this year (to a cafe or restaurant).
So if you are missing the freedom of travelling, or just “normal life”, I hope these books will lift your spirits…
MAZI MODERN GREEK FOOD
A modern twist on Greek food (just for a change although I adore all the classic recipes), the recipes here include Raw Beetroot, diced, with Lime, Greek Yoghurt and Crushed Walnuts…Grilled Aubergine with Soy and Thyme Honey…Warming Winter Orange and Spice Shots (with brandy).
There are too many meat and poultry recipes for me (I’m vegetarian) but I got the book on special offer for £3.99 (was £20) and I might try the Winter Orange and Spice liqueur tomorrow night.
Written by the founders of Notting Hill’s much loved Greek restaurant MAZI, there are also mouthwatering desserts and lots of cocktails – last chapter – to prompt memories of sun loungers, lemon trees, evening jasmine and waves lapping just inches from your taverna table in the sand.
Floret Farm’s A YEAR IN FLOWERS
This book is gorgeous!
Much more than simply seasonal floral arrangement inspiration, Mount Vernon-based farmer-florist Erin Benzakein shares all her tools and tips for becoming a florist. This award-winning book is a visual treat – the perfect antidote for the end of a bleak year.
LONELY PLANET’S BEST OF ITALY
Sunday afternoon in…?
1. Bake an Italian Chocolate Nut Christmas Cake
2. Whisk up a macchiato
3. Plan your next trip to Italy when things are better.
SCANDIKITCHEN FIKA & HYGGE
“Comforting cakes and bakes from Scandinavia with love”…
Tbh, I’ve never been into cakes much but staying home a lot is finally making me want to try my hand at baking. Some cookbooks are a feast to read, as well as cook from, and this is one of them.
THE WELL-GARDENED MIND
A “gardening” book…with a difference.
The wisest book I’ve read for many years … Much more than a gardening book, much more than a guide to mental health … Hugely recommended’
Stephen Fry
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
A Times and Sunday Times Best Book of 2020
From Amazon:
“In a powerful combination of contemporary neuroscience, psychoanalysis and brilliant storytelling, The Well Gardened Mind investigates the magic that many gardeners have known for years – working with nature can radically transform our health, wellbeing and confidence.
Prisoners given the chance to grow plants are less likely to reoffend.
At-risk young people who get their hands in the soil are more likely to stay in education.
Elderly people who garden live longer and have a better quality of life.
Sue Stuart-Smith tells brilliant, illuminating stories of people struggling with stress, depression, trauma and addiction, from asylum seekers to veterans, inner-city young people to the retired.
This is a glorious book of science, insight and anecdote that shows how our understanding of nature and its restorative powers is only just beginning to flower.”
Monty Don has heaped praise on this book, a timely reminder of the healing power of nature and nurturing, and life’s simple joys like watching something grow from almost nothing (like the 5 lemon seeds I planted this summer).
SCANDINAVIAN GREEN: simple ways to eat vegetarian, every day
Danish chef and food writer Trine Hahnemann’s modern Scandi twist on plant-based recipes brims with her love for organic and sustainably-farmed produce.
If you have room for one more vegetarian cookbook, maybe have a look at this one (it’s new – it came out in October). Recipes include Beetroot Filo Tart, Potato Crunch with Preserved Lemons and Gooseberry Ice Cream Cake, the perfect dessert for those long, light Danish summer days in 2021.
Beetroot Filo Tart
