Michele Cranston

We are assured that this is “a book about simple-to cook, great-tasting food that will bring wholesome, real ingredients to life… “

But ‘Simple’ does not equal cheap, or quick, or easily available: these recipes feature rhubarb, crab meat, smoked river trout, blue-eyed cod, shittake mushrooms, oysters, pomegranates and Jerusalem artichokes – all fresh and, preferably, all organic.

So forget the simple comfort foods of the nursery: you won’t find Macaroni Cheese, Cottage Pie or Bread and Butter Pudding anywhere in this book: the closest you’ll come is an exotic alternative to sardines on toast.

As a starter, most of us could whip up a Bread Salad with Fried Sardines as a starter – it requires a bit of imagination and a willingness to substitute, but is certainly do-able.

Follow this with either a Poached Chicken or a Chicken and Vegetable Pot Roast – depending on the season – and finish off with Orange Soda Bread served with Citrus Curd and you have a first class three course meal.

Beautifully illustrated with poetically pretentious purple prose, Comfort contains some decent basic recipes and many good food ideas despite itself: the lyrical psychobabble and arty photographs of rural scenes, designer shack kitchens, chipped crockery and wormwood – together with artworks in the form of food – make this book every armchair cook’s dream.… (plus d'informations)

Do not make the mistake of thinking this is a cookery book. It is a beautiful lifestyle guide which contains recipes.

The photographs are exquisite, the food is deliciously styled, and the prose reads like the sort of pretentious and expensive advertorial found only in the most upmarket coffee-table magazines.

The selected dishes — recipes is too mundane a term — are divided into seasonal sections.

“Just think of the green and leafy celebration of spring, the exuberant abundance of summer, the earthy aromas of autumn and the warming richness of winter. Not only are they illustrated by the varied shapes and hues of the fruit piled into the bowl on the kitchen bench, they are also evident in the staples that appear in the cupboards and refrigerator ...”

Using seasonal, fresh produce sounds good in theory, but if this book is to be your Bible, you will need money and access to the sort of specialist food shop I have yet to find in SA. Fortunately, there are enticing suggestions using ingredients available from selected shops — if you live in a big centre.

Even so, the book is a treat for chefs and armchair recipe addicts who want something to salivate over while their microwave dinner warms up… (plus d'informations)