Food Tube is Jamie Oliver’s YouTube community of food lovers – the series showcases the most popular talent on the channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/JamieOliver
One of the first three books in the affordable Food Tube series, The Family Cookbook features recipes by Kerryann Dunlop – a real mum living in the real world on a real budget!
I’m liking
Divided into distinct chapters, some of these groups of recipes are more useful than others. The useful ones include snacks and quick fixes – containing recipes you can whip up quickly when hungry family members need something to keep them going. These are things like banana bread or oat/raisin cookies. There is also a great chapter on batch cooking and making freezer-ready meals which look quite inviting – simple curries, pasta dishes and soups for instance. Making these types of meals and freezing them for when a meal is needed without time for preparation is a real money saver for families who would normally opt for takeaways or eating out when these situations arise.
Things that made me go hmmmm
I’m not sure many families really need another recipe for pizza or roast potatoes, but maybe some do! The dinner time chapter didn’t really inspire me to be honest – spaghetti and meatballs, roast chicken, chicken and vegetable soup… it’s all good food that most kids would eat. I just don’t pick up this book and find a lot of ideas to integrate into my meal planning – however, the recipes I tried were very tasty versions of these basics.
The conclusion
This book is full of real homestyle, simple cooking that many people will enjoy. It’s charmingly homely – if you’ve already got a reasonable selection of cookery books, this probably won’t add a lot to your bookshelf. If you’re starting out, wanting to cook more for your family instead of buying prepared meals or takeaways – then this is the type of book that will suit you. The pictures are bright and the recipes are easy to follow, nutritious and for the most part contain very standard ingredients.
The Family Cookbook is published by Penguin and has an RRP of $15.99.
