Books for Student Cooks
It’s that time of year soon when many youngsters are heading off to university, and their parents suffer great angst at the thought of them catering adequately for themselves. Well, help is at hand, with a nifty little book by West London resident Diana Weiss. When she waved her children off to uni, she discovered that they couldn’t be parted from her home-cooked food, so it inspired her to write ‘Simply No Weigh’, a simple collection of recipes that don’t require exact measurements or loads of time. From spiced pumpkin soup to Coq au Vin or chocolate biscuit cake, her recipes are easily adaptable for different ingredients and numbers. A copy of the book will make an excellent gift for any soon-to-be home leavers. What’s more, every book sold results in a donation to Dogs for Good, an organisation training ‘assistance dogs’.
‘Simply No Weigh’ from Austin Macauley Publishers, is hardback and available at £20.99.
Here’s a recipe for a delicious salad from the book.
Sesame Seed Salad (serves 4)
1⁄2 cucumber
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
6 spring onions – chopped roughly 12 cherry tomatoes – halved
1 lime – zest and juice
2 teaspoons of runny honey
1 tablespoon of grainy mustard Handful of chopped mint
1 dessertspoon of sesame seeds
What to do
Cut the cucumber into roughly 20cms slices and then cut them lengthways into fairly fine strips.
Deseed the peppers and cut them into thin slices, combine them with the cucumber, chopped spring onions, and the cherry tomatoes and put them in a salad bowl.
Mix together the lime juice and zest with the honey and grainy mustard and pour it over the salad.
Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and the chopped mint.
Or you could make your own!
If you have the time on your hands to do so, another idea would be to make your very own cookery book to present to your offspring! What a unique gift! Whether they are off to uni or setting up in a flatshare, this would be a fabulous memento for them. I’ve been talking to Motif Photo Books – a simple, easy to use app that allows you to create your own books, cards, and calendars.
The Seasoned Gastronome
Twickenham & Richmond Tribune