Alf Cooks Vegetarian: The Country Cookbook: An Evaluation

The Country Cookbook, Belinda Jeffery, Lantern, 2010.

Having made quite a few of the recipes from The Country Cookbook I thought it was worth pausing, taking stock and evaluating the book.

When I think back over this purchase I wonder what made me eventually decide to spend the money.

The title certainly did not excite me. It made me think of CWA recipes, cakes and scones, and I already had a very old, tattered one of those. The cover, unfortunately, seemed to carry on this concept. The front had a photograph of cakes and cream while the back looked like scones and jam. The spine was a piece of knitting.

The book is bound well and is finished off with two marker ribbons. When open the book lies flat—an important factor. There’s nothing worse than trying to cook from a book which insists on springing shut as you are trying to use it.

When I flipped through the pages I could see that there were lots of diary entries that seemed to be based around things growing on the property, comments on the seasons and the produce. This didn’t interest me as I live in an old terrace house near the city and have a pocket-handkerchief garden with a resident possum who eats every herb that I try to grow.

But the recipes looked interesting. They do have a country feel, but it is modern country. It’s as though old favourites have been rejigged with modern ingredients. They looked really enticing and almost encouraged you to make them.

Then the big thing that swung me in the book’s favour was that it was arranged in months. This was extremely handy in that the book was Australian and the monthly arrangement meant that I would know just what produce was currently in season. This was the big decider.

The recipes are clear. Ingredients are well set out. The recipes themselves each have a pleasing introduction giving some personal comments. The whole tone of the instruction could best be described as friendly. Each step is numbered so you can easily know where you are, but it is the hints and little added pieces of information that you encounter along the way that make the instructions so easy and pleasant to follow. You feel as though Belinda Jeffery is standing beside you helping you along the way.

I have been extremely happy with whatever I have cooked so far and the book was well worth the money. This has turned out to be one of my favourite cookery books so far.

The following are the recipes I have made from The Country Cookbook and what I have rated them.

SOUPS

Watercress, Leek and Potato Soup