This is a straight forward, no nonsense, does what it says on the cover sort of book. There no frills, no fancy pictures, no chapter after chapter of preaching and ranting, just the necessary facts. There are about 250 pages and about the same number of recipes so you really don't get short changed - that's approximately 4p a recipe.
I suppose I would class this book as a poor woman's Barefoot Contessa (comfort viewing at its most delightful - try the UK TV food channel at 6.30 on a weekday evening if you've not caught her before). Neither of them like wasting time on fancy ways of cooking or lengthy techniques if there's an easy way of achieving the same ends. If it tastes as good frozen or from a tin then use it! The difference is the Barefoot Contessa doesn't lose an opportunity to add a slug of cream or a chug or wine or a dozen eggs to anything in a pot in front of her, ... and she favours huge pieces of expensive meat. Gill Holcombe on the other hand writes a practical book of good tasting home cooked food, simple easy ingredients and all for an average cost of £30 per week for a family of four.
This book will really suit quite a lot of people:
- If you are fed up of tv dinners from a plastic tray and want to start cooking for yourself, and haven't cooked much since home economics at school - this is for you
- If you are a student heading for uni for the first time - this is for you
- If you are stuck in a bit of a rut and need to add some variety while keeping things uncomplicated - this is for you
- If you are bored of trying to cook designer dishes that take so long you are not hungry by the time they are cooked - this is for you
You know what? I like this book. It came as a breath of fresh air after struggling through "The Spend Less Handbook". It is balanced, sensible, easy to read and easy to follow, and if your food bill is getting out of hand and you need to bring yourself in line this book has five week's worth of cost effective meal plans, and stacks of alternatives. There's everything from main meals, snacks, puddings and cakes. You could do a whole lot worse than pop out and buy "How to feed your family ... " by Gill Holcombe.
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