cookbook addict

The title sounds a bit grand, but I have been cut off my cookbooks for a little while, having no energy to plan, shop and cook special recipes. The other day, wanting to shape minced beef into hamburgers, I remembered the success I had had with Jamie's Botham burgers from the Return of the Naked Chef. So I pulled it off the shelf. While I was at it, I browsed it a bit, and found inspiration for my asparagus too. My burgers turned out to have a mushy texture, but that's because instead of using eggs, I used a slice of bread soaked in milk. I was making much less quantity than the recipe called for and had no desire to use half an egg. Still, they tasted good. My tip is to use grainy mustard, if you have it... The salad , which is a posh tabbouleh, was really tasty. Taboulé, the French version, is usually simply precooked couscous, lots of lemon and olive oil, and red pepper, tomatoes, cucumber, a bit of parsley only, all chopped very small. This salad, on the other hand, used ...

I have a friend who swears by Bill Granger's recipes when trying to lose weight. Not all of them are waistline-friendly, particularly not his cakes, but only my naivety would have me believe that anyway. I recently caught Bill on my food channel, and I had a good browse in the three books by him that I own, and boy, do I wish I could live like he does : in the sun, near the beach, in his not-too-beige, not-too-bright décor without the crazy lady upstairs (and by that I really mean my neighbour). The kids never seem to make a fuss and there's time for friends... what friends anyway? Ahhh, but then I'd have to live in Sydney... I'd so miss the rain and the never-ending autumn that begins in August and ends in June......................................................................not! Ha ha! But back to the topic, yes he has a light hand when it comes to butter and oil, and he is into fresh flavours - lime, coriander, mint, chilli... his portions seem human-sized (as o...