“Saag Aloo Shepherd’s Pie” from “One: Pot, Pan, Planet”

Kirstin: This is a genius recipe. I have no idea what shepherd’s pie has to do with saag aloo (don’t get me started on the whole cultural appropriation thing here) but at this point I don’t care. This recipe is a delight; the curry flavoured lentils go so well with the crispy cauliflower, potato and spinach topping. AND it heats up well the next day too. I’m definitely making this again, but next time I’m going to flip the recipe around and start with the boiling potatoes before I start on the beans (Jones starts with the beans first). Oh and the melted ghee on the top is Just Perfect.

Here’s the recipe if you want to try it too!

“Double ginger and apple cake” from “One: Pot, Pan, Planet”

Kirstin: Double ginger. What is not to love about the title of this recipe. DOUBLE GINGER. And also apple. I love the way Jones gives directions for both vegan and non-vegan takes on this cake. We went non-vegan this time around. And I loved that Tom helped prepare the apples, although they sank into the batter so you can’t see how pretty they were. Also the little pockets of stem ginger were delightful. Honestly I think this cake is a real winner and easy to bake too. We are off to a cracking start with this book.

Cookbook of the month, March 2021: “One: Pot, Pan, Planet” by Anna Jones

Kirstin: We’ve cooked from Anna Jones before and loved her books. But since her last book, our family has been getting better at eating less meat and so I’m curious to see how these recipes will work out for us. I already love the vegan options included in the descriptions. As our son would say LET’S GO!

Our Verdict: “One Tin Bakes”

Kirstin: I thought this was a fabulous little book. As a non-baker, however, some of these recipes were a tad complicated even though the results were delicious. I loved that Edd does his own photography, I love the design of the book too. Would I leave this book on the kitchen shelf? I’m not sure. I’m going to leave it there for a few more weeks and see if I crack it open again. That recipe for tiramisu may will be referenced again in the next few weeks so we shall see.

“Peanut Butter Chocolate Tart” from “One Tin Bakes”

One of habits I’ve developed in the past year is whenever I have surplus baked goods, which is often, I will run them up to my friends at the shops on Royal Hill Greenwich. The lads at Dring’s Butchers are particularly happy to receive any and all products, and if they feel there’s been too large a time gap in baked good deliveries, they will let me know. It’s an excellent quid-pro-quo: they throw meat at Buddy the Dog, I drop off cookies and cakes.

But my family also knows, through bitter experience, that if I make something they particularly love, they need to make clear that I should not be taking any excess up Royal Hill. In ordinary circumstances, they are all excellent sharers, but the trials and tribulations of the past year has taught them to look after their own needs first. Fair enough.

I knew I was on to a winner when they said after their first bites, “Please don’t take any of this up to Royal Hill.” It is a delightful combination of chocolate, peanut butter and more chocolate. If you are a fan of Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, this would be the dessert for you. (If not, you can safely give this a pass). It’s sweet without being too cloying, as the peanut butter perfectly sets off the richness of the chocolate. I could easily see this becoming part of our regular baked goods rotation.

This is also the recipe that features on the front cover of “One Tin Bakes.” I know it doesn’t look as good as that one, but I suspect I will be making it so much that I’ll be able to perfect my technique.

Highly recommended for peanut butter-chocolate lovers.

“Tahini chocolate chip cookie bars” from “One Tin Bakes”

Kirstin: The ultimate chocolate chip flapjack.
Megan: This was gooey and crunchy. All at the same time.
Tate: I like how it was thick because that meant there was more of the best bit. The chewy middle.

So. There you have it. We all loved it.
And Edd Kimber takes all his own photos. Amazing.

If you also want to bake this, scroll down through this page to find the recipe.

“Tiramisu” from “One Tin Bakes”

Kirstin: I last made tiramisu in December of 2020, when we called it Tier4-misu. Because Lockdown. And here we are again, still in Lockdown but now trying Edd Kimber’s version. To be fair, I really did not think there was much to change when it came to Tiramisu. I am glad to find out that I was wrong because Edd has two interesting amendments. One is to use spicy rum (which I love as a long drink with ginger ale although we call it Pirate Rum in this house). And also he suggests drizzling a little hazelnut chocolate spread into each layer. These two simple little changes, added a depth of flavour and took the tiramisu to a WHOLE new level. We will be having much more tiramisu in the future. Also because our cat, Gus loved licking the mascarpone pot afterwards.

Created with RNI Films app. Preset ‘Agfa Vista 100’

“Milk Chocolate Caramel Sheet Cake” from “One Tin Bakes”

Kirstin: Mr Kimber says in his introduction to this recipe, that if there is one cake he wants us to try, it is this one. So I gaily ordered all the ingredients, knowing that I was up for some sort of a baking challenge but not really reading the recipe through all at the same time. AND THEN I READ THE RECIPE. And the recipe starts with making a caramel. Which is all kinds of scary for the non baker that I am, but actually turned out FINE, even though I am pretty sure that merely inhaling the caramel as I went along gave me diabetes. Indeed the whole cake was divine and was the source of much merriment on a lockdown Sunday. So thank you Edd. I’m not sure I will ever make this again, because it was a bit of a faff, but it is one we will definitely remember.

Cookbook a Month, February 2021: “One Tin Bakes” by Edd Kimber

Maureen: Edd Kimber, winner of season one of “The Great British Bake Off”, has written another book. It’s his fourth. He was the first winner on Bake Off, which was before Bake Off became BAKE OFF.

Kirstin: We haven’t done any of his previous books, have we?

Maureen: No. But we loved the James Morton bread book, who was another Bake Off alum. We still use that bread cookbook over here, in fact, we were using it just last week to figure something out.

Kirstin: Didn’t we do John Whaite?

Maureen: We did that one too! So maybe we’ve done more Bake Off contestants than we thought. In any case, a month of baking will be fun.

Kirstin: Yes, yes!

Maureen: Especially when we’re in a global pandemic and in lockdown month number 783. Or at least it feels that way.

Kirstin: Bring on all the diabetes!

Maureen: You only say that because you’re a diabetes doctor. You think about this too much. Everything in moderation, right? I think both of our families will be pleased.

Kirstin: I hope so.

Maureen: I like that with the “one pan” concept, he’s trying to make baking easy. It will be interesting to find out if it works.

Kirstin: Mmm. We’ll see.

Our Verdict: “A Year of Simple Family Food”

Maureen: This was a brilliant success.

Kirstin: I think so.

Maureen: What did you like most about it?

Kirstin: It was just really cosy, I think.

Maureen: It was all the things we love to cook most. It had Italian food, check, it had Asian food, check, and it had baked goods, check. It hit the holy trinity, frankly.

Kirstin: And the baked goods were really good.

Maureen: Maybe because it was an Australian cookbook, it felt familiar and foreign at the same time, which I liked.

Kirstin: I don’t normally do baking, but I thought her baking recipes were really good.

Maureen: The instructions were simple and they worked, for all of her recipes, which, as we know, doesn’t always happen.

Kirstin: And they didn’t have silly ingredients.

Maureen: No, though sometimes she used an Australian term, so you had to Google it to find out what it was called here. But that’s what Google is for, right?

Kirstin: Right. The pictures were so lovely. I would love to spend time in her kitchen, it would be very calm and lovely, with recipes that work, and that’s all you want.

Maureen: I agree. This was definitley my favourite cookbook in a long time.

Kirstin: This is definitely staying on the shelf. Mainly for the desserts.

“A Year of Simple Family Food”
Overall Grade (A- F): A (Kirstin) A (Maureen)
Grade for Photography (A-F): A                                                                          Favourite Recipes: Dark Chocolate, Walnut and Oat Cookies (Kirstin) Chicken Karaage (Maureen)                                                                                            Any Disasters? No.
Bookshelf or Charity Shop Donation? Kirstin: Bookshelf. Maureen: Bookshelf. Would you give this to a friend? Yes, enthusiastically.