Happy New Year!

I can't believe that this year is over!  It has been a difficult year for me personally.  I started going to the gym and changing my lifestyle and it has worked, but I still have a lot of changes to make mentally.  I tend not to be mean and even cruel to myself when things don't work out.  My resolution this year is to be kinder to myself and to practice self-compassion and self-care.  Here is a list of some of my favourite cookbooks that I have used over the past year:

Although this isn't my favourite cookbook, it is a must have in my kitchen as a reference guide.  My favourite recipe in this book are the quick drop biscuits which I adore because they are quick, easy and tasty.  They are the perfect accompaniment to stews, soups and as a side to roasts to soak up gravy.

Diane Kochilas is my favourite Greek cooking author!  Named after the island her cooking school is situated on, this is full of delicious and nutritious Greek cooking.  Also check out her website for more recipes here.

Oh, hello veggies and aren't you nummy!  Ottolenghi has done a wonderful job of getting my family to enjoy vegetarian food.  The Black Pepper Tofu is spicy and delicious and totally worth making as a treat every so often.  It is a little heavy than you think because of the sauce.  This is a family favourite as is the Shakshuka.

This is another book by Ottolenghi that is a family favourite!  This has one of our favourite recipes, Conchigle with yogurt, peas and chile.  While my husband and I love the recipe, we have made it simpler for our purposes and now we can have it made in 30 minutes or less.  We skip making the "green sauce" and instead use a microplane to grate the garlic directly into the yogurt, stirring in the feta, basil and peas just before adding the drained pasta.  It is easy to overdo it on the garlic this way as it won't smell fragrant until you add the warm peas.  When making the pine nuts and chile topping, add some onion as well and cook until caramelized.  Whatever you do, don't skimp on the olive oil!  Dump it all on top of a single serving bowl, then dish it out making sure to capture some of the onions, pine nuts and chile for each person!  Also, conchigle of the correct size (medium) can be difficult to find so use another type of pasta that is good for capturing sauce (rotini or orecciate for example).