Mrs Beaton always got it right when it came to the basics!

Back to Basics in the Food Department!

As with so much else these days, it's a sign of changing times!

Jamie's Ministry of Food - Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours by Jamie Oliver

Following on from the tv series on Channel 4 and Jamie's Ministry of Food experiment to encourage the residents of Rotherham in Yorkshire to cook good, hearty, healthy food at home, this title is hitting the bookstores at the right time - and we don't just mean pre-Christmas! It really could be, probably should be, your all-year, all-round, guide - whether or not you really do need a step-by-step illustrated tome beside you in the kitchen - or whether you call yourself an experienced cook and just want to try out the recipes!

Jamie's Ministry of Food has it all here for you, broken down into bite-sized (well, almost) chapters - Twenty-minute meals, Quick pasta, Tasty stir-fries, Easy curries, Lovin salads, Simple soups, Homely mince, Comforting stews, Family roasts, Delish veg, Quick-cooking meat and fish, Kick-start breakfasts and Sweet things (indeed)!

Though it is rumoured that Jamie never managed to finish reading a book while at school, Jamie's Ministry of Food - Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours is presented in a simple, straightforward style - and reader / user reviews suggest it makes practical  use of easily obtainable and relatively inexpensive ingredients!

Jamie's Ministry of Food - Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours by Jamie Oliver is published in Hardcover by Michael Joseph (2 Oct 2008) ISBN:0718148622, 360 pages. List Price £25.00. Available new from Amazon at £10.00 - a saving of 60%!

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Delia's Frugal Food by Delia Smith

This apt title first appeared back in the late seventies - in the days of miner's strikes, 3-day weeks, a sunken pound and a Britain that had taken on the mantle of the Sick Man of Europe! Several editions of Frugal Food have been printed since - of which this version - revised and updated - is perhaps the most timely and succinct!

Delia's tricks for Frugal Feeding include some commonsense reminders that we should all be repeating - out loud - every time we write out a shopping list:

BUY PRODUCE WHEN IN SEASON!  REPLACE MORE EXPENSIVE INGREDIENTS WITH HUMBLER ALTERNATIVES!  EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT CUTS OF MEAT!  and  BE CREATIVE WITH LEFTOVERS!

As one reviewer put it - we need to 'seriously re-think about what we cook, what we eat, and more alarmingly, what we throw away'!!!

Delia leaves you with 170 recipes with which to practice! Chapters include: The Cheap Charter, Luxury Soups, Eggs and Us, Frugal Fish, Chicken's Lib, Offal - But I Like You, Bangers are Beautiful, Go With Grain, Who Needs Meat?, Quickening Pulses and Pauper's Puddings!

Delia's Frugal Food by Delia Smith is published by Hodder & Stoughton  (Hardcover - 30 Oct 2008) 256 pages, ISBN:034091856X. List Price £17.99.  Available new from Amazon for £8.99.

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CHINESE FOOD MADE EASY: 100 simple, healthy recipes from easy-to-find ingredients by Ching-He Huang

Continuing our basic, or for the most part fairly basic theme, here you have it - but with an Oriental difference! Brought to you by the lady who has done so much to popularize simple, straightforward , healthy Chinese cooking through her TV series with the BBC. Chung-He Huang shows how Chinese dishes can be made with fresh easy-to-find ingredients, while delivering simple, practical tips and techniques along the way!

Starting with the familiar (if not fully authentic) Chinese dishes such as Sweet and Sour Prawns, Chicken with Cashew Nuts, Chop Suey, Cantonese Vegetable Stir Fry and the like - often with a special and imaginative twist, she then moves on to Szechuan food - the hot and spicy stuff - with its noodle and dumpling accompliments rather than the traditional rice we are more familiar with in Cantonese style cooking!

We are also treated to recipes featuring Seafood, Fast Food, Desserts and food for special celebrations including Chinese New Year! So you too can now be ready when the Year of the Ox rolls around on January 26th 2009! Just remember that Chinese New Year celebrations usually last for several days, so prepare your feasts accordingly!

We note that CHINESE FOOD MADE EASY currently stands at number 50 on the Amazon best-seller list and has excellent customer reviews, many focussing on the practical way it is presented!

CHINESE COOKING MADE EASY: 100 Simple, healthy recipes from easy-to-find ingredients by Ching-He Huang is published by Harper - tv tie-in edition (7 July 2008) ISBN:0007264988, 192 pages. List price £17.00. Available new from Amazon for £8.49.