Books for Cooks

Having seen how much Jen struggled to identify her ten essential cook books to tide her over until the removal van arrived (she ended up with twenty-three) I thought I'd have a go at picking my top ten.

I've tried to stick to ones that I actually cook from all the time, rather than those I curl up with on a Sunday afternoon and daydream about Nigella-esque dinner parties. So here goes, Kate's essential reading list:

Moosewood Restaurant Low Fat Favourites
This is the first cook book I bought when I went veggie (10 years ago) and several of the recipes are in constant rotation as midweek suppers - saffron zucchini pasta and Japanese sesame spinach in particular. I love American cook books. Whoever had the idea of chucking the scales in the bin and using volume measures (particularly for baking) was a genius. A cup of this, a spoonful of that, mix it up a bit and ta-dah! Muffins!

Vegetarian Planet - Didi Emmons
Another American book full of gorgeous recipes. There are some really innovative twists on classics, none of which are overly complicated. I particularly love her selection of veggie burgers and this is generally the fist book I reach for when I want to bake cookies.

1000 Vegetarian Recipes - Carole Gelles
This is a fab book full of excellent basic recipes. I bought a copy for my little brother when he went veggie a couple of years ago and would recommend it to any new veggies.

Vegan With a Vengeance - Isa Chandra Moscowitz
Iconic vegan cook book. The banana pancakes are our special Sunday brunch treat and I have many future plans that revolve around cupcakes.

Veg / Vegetable Heaven - Catherine Mason
Technically two books but I love them both. Seasonally focused recipes with beautiful flavour combinations.

The Vegetarian Gourmet's Easy Low Fat Favourites
Ahhhh, banana bread. This book contains the best banana bread recipe ever (low-fat and full of choc chips) what's not to love. Easily veganised and a firm favourite on cake Friday (in my office) I'm sure you'll be reading more about it here in the near future. Oh yeah, there's also loads of other great recipes in here including a fab Hungarian paprikash.

The Low Fat Indian Vegetarian Cookbook - Miridula Baljekar
Dahl. mmmmm.

Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery
I eat Indian food at least twice a week and this book is a classic. I have been buying copies of this in second hand shops for years and distributing them around family and friends.

The Bean Book - Rose Elliot
Rose Elliot is the Delia Smith of vegetarian food. I have fifteen of her books and they're all great. However, as a total legumaniac this is the one i use the most.

Feast - Nigella Lawson
The list wouldn't be complete without at least one of Nigella's offerings and this is my current favourite.

So that's my top ten, only another three hundred and fifty left to review.