I’m joining in on a linky set up by Penny from Aresidence in which you are invited to share a photo of your cookbook shelf..or shelves in my case and chat about your favourite books.

I’m a bit of a cookbook addict. I’ve chatted about them quite a lot over the last two years on the blog so that won’t be news to you.
I’m not sure I can actually pick which books are my favourites as it can change so much over time but I will tell you about a few that get used over and over again and the ones which I just love to pore over but not necessarily cook from.

I’ve always enjoyed cooking. I loved food technology lessons in school and spending Saturday afternoons baking with my mum or Dad. My Dad taught me to make the best sponges and my mum taught me everything else. I kind of stopped for a while when I was 18 until I was about 24. Then I came out of an unhappy relationship and rediscovered my love of it.

Since having my girls I find that I cook more and more, despite having less time and again it’s about them. I love to make interesting and nutritious meals for them or bake nice treats. My favourite feeling is when Izzy eats a mouthful of her food and can’t contain a long mmmmmmmmm sound because she’s enjoying it so much. Chloe has also started to show an increasing enthusiasm for solid food so it looks like I will be baking and cooking for many years to come.. And happily so.

Onto my books.

Jamie Oliver Ministry Of Food:

I have a lot of JO books and I’ve cooked at least two dishes from each of them but this is by far my favourite one. It taught me how to make lots of basic dishes. I’ve cooked so many things from it and everything has been a resounding success. Dishes I make over and over again include the chicken and leek stroganoff, the lasagne and the vanilla cheesecake.

The Bero Book:

This book encompasses everything I remember about baking and childhood. Myself and my mum baked from this at least once a week and I still use it at least once a month for sauces/biscuits etc.

Mastering The Art Of French Cooking – Julia Child:

I first discovered this book when watching the film Julie and Julia. Now if you like to make food..like the blogging world or simply just like to eat then you need to watch this film. I warn you it will make you hungry but it’s worth it and is now one of my very favourite films. I even picked up a load of cooking tips from it.. Including “Don’t crowd the mushrooms” – apparently if you crowd them they won’t brown. Who knew hey? I’m so glad I sat down one lazy afternoon and watched it. It helped me to discover blogging and also the wonderful chef Julia Child who surely paved the way for many of the female celebrity chefs we now know and love. This book is fascinating. It’s a very thorough book and teaches you many different cooking techniques.

Everyday cooking – River Cottage:

This book is one of the ones I use most weeks for something or other. It may not as inventive or exciting as some books but they are all dependable and tasty.

Homemade – Yvette Van Boven:

I was given this book as a birthday present from some good friends a few years ago and I’ve devoured it from cover to cover many times now. I’ve used it to teach myself how to make gnocchi and various other things. It’s a really handy book to have in your kitchen and a really good read. From making your own chocolate to all you need to know about pasta making and all sorts inbetween.

A Girl Called Jack – Jack Monroe:

I’ve been absolutely inspired by Jack Monroe and the way she created healthy and frugal meals for herself and her young child. This book is so easy to use, more than often using store cupboard staples and no expensive ingredients. Ideal for people who want to cook on a budget whilst still eating good food.

I’m also a big fan of older books such as the Hamlyn books which were where Mary Berry was first published. I scour charity shops for old books or any cookery book really. It’s a habit I’m not willing to break 🙂

I’ve also bought some of the books I remember from childhood such as this ladybird one for Isabelle so that she can have these fun baking memories too:

And did you think that bookshelf housed all my cookbooks? You would be wrong. There is a cupboard underneath:

And possibly a drawer full of old BBC good food show mags..another full of Jamie Oliver magazines and a few more books strewn around the house. Oops.

Aside from what I’ve talked about you can see I’m also a fan of Nigella and Rachel Allen as well as Rick Stein and some other authors you won’t have heard of but should certainly read. Look through my pics and if you have any questions about any of the books please ask.

I love all of these books and would be pretty sad to be parted from them. Every time I get one as a gift I’m thrilled.

What’s on your cookbook shelf? Why not join in and tell us.