If there's one thing I can't stand, it's being told what to do while cooking or baking. You know what I mean - you lift a cookbook down from the shelf, open to the page you require and it hectors you, nay, insists that your hands be as cold as ice to make pastry which requires the finest of flours sifted by maidens and is only available from one obscure shop, and eggs laid by some strange practically-extinct species of hen. And how very dare you even think of leaving it in your oven for even one second over the allotted time.
But I am not here to rant, oh no. I am here to say that this little book now has pride of place with the cookery books I kept - there are scant few, and tend to be aimed at children, with concise instructions and no bossy tone - the rest ended up in the bin.
What's more, I can even see myself using this book on a regular basis, with its currently pristine pages getting spattered by sauce and ghosted by baking powder. What a fantastic idea, and why did nobody save me from school-marmish cookery writers before now? And, let me contain myself, it has superb vegetarian and vegan options - what a treat, as these can be sorely lacking in cooking compendiums. Even better, this book does not dare to presume that just because you are of the veggie/vegan persuasion that you adore all things that purport to be good for you. Halleluiah!
Beautifully laid out, easy to follow, and with recipes from celebs - admit it, who doesn't want to see what they eat? - this is a treasure of a book, and all for a good cause.
Marvellous!
Am off to make the Amanda-wich for lunch - Amanda Holden and I share the same tastes, don't you know.