Cook As You Are: Recipes for Real Life, Hungry Cooks, and Messy Kitchens

Lots of interesting recipes, from basics (using a microwave to make a single serving of mashed potato) to special or complex (harissa, spinach, and ricotta cannelloni with toasted hazelnuts).

Tandoh's introduction describes "cook as you are" as being about finding what kind of cooking works for you, without pressure to get it perfect. There are no photographs because she didn't want to suggest what cooking, or her recipes, should look like. Instead, lively, colorful illustrations show all sorts of people in the act of cooking or eating. When step-by-step images are helpful to show something complicated to describe, the illustrations do the job very well.

Every recipe opens with why Tandoh likes it, perhaps where it comes from, or how it show more fits a certain need. They almost all have a variations and substitutions section, too. I really appreciated these for offering alternatives for cost, vegetarian/vegan, seasonal produce, or even what frozen/canned items work well if you can't prepare from fresh (for whatever reason!).

I like how the intro has a section specifically for cooking with limited energy or mobility, with a few ideas for adaptations. Likewise if you have sensory differences, Tandoh offers multiple cues for recipes such as color or smell, as well as standard timing and temperature.

The recipes are grouped by cooking mood with colored boxes on the right edge to help open the book to each section. "Feed Me Now" is recipes that are fairly quick and not too complex to throw together for dinner after a long day at work. But if you need even simpler, "More Food, Less Work" is for low on time or energy. But there's also "Wild Appetites" with a subsection "Food for the thirty-second of neverember": encouraging you to think about and enjoy recipes for maybe someday, a (maybe?) fun part of cookbooks.

There is a reference section at the end that indicates which recipes are low-prep, super speedy, hands-off, or cheaper, with the page number indicated in a colored circle to match the chapter block.

I found that a lot of the recipes use ingredients that aren't quite easy for me to acquire, relying as i do on Wal-Mart grocery delivery (due to disability). Nothing is exactly foreign or strange, maybe I just need to visit the Afro-Caribbean or Indian groceries. I figure this is partly from Tandoh's London bias. But she does offer advice for acquiring or substituting the more uncommon items.

I am a hesitant cook, and have strong food aversions and allergies, so most of the recipes are beyond my ability. Most cookbooks are like that! However, I loved reading about them, and lots of them look adaptable to something I can do. One recipe for an onion and sauerkraut pasta is very similar to an onion cream pasta I already make, which was neat to see. (It's very delicious and rich - I imagine the sauerkraut helps lighten the richness.)

Each chapter also has a list for further reading, mostly about food or cookery, but also about enjoying food - The Hobbit shows up, as do the Mrs. Pepperpot stories. (Some books, like Hibiscus or Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, are on multiple lists if they relate to the chapter theme.)

I really enjoyed just reading through this book, even if I never cooked anything from it. But i used the instructions to sauté asparagus from a pasta recipe, and it came out perfectly. I only ever steam asparagus, which I love, and have been nervous about ruining it by trying a new cooking method. If nothing else, that's a win! show less

ToC
Feed me now
More food, less work
Hidden in plain sight
Wild appetites
Normal perfect moments
For the love of it

No photographs, but nice illustrations, carefully written recipes with notes about what you can substitute (and when not to).

Pearl couscous with anchovies, tomatoes, and olives (16)

Whatever-you've-got fried rice (138)