Flavour - Cookbook Review

Ha ha remember when I started this blog and outlined it as style focused? Well it looks like 80% of my posts have been about food. And this will continue now..
I was of course first in line to snatch up Ruby Tandoh's new cookbook, having become an even bigger fan of hers in recent months. She was endearingly humble on Bake Off and her passionate writing on eating disordered culture only served to lodge her more firmly in my mind as a person I quietly wish to one day befriend. Having only had the book for a week I'm pretty smug that I've already cooked five recipes as I'm usually more of a buy-for-the-kitchen-shelf-aesthetic kind of gal, finding actually cooking and baking to a set of instructions too much of a challenge for my impatient self.
On my first scan through I clocked the words 'Harry Potter' and was basically already on my way to Tesco's to buy ingredients, succeeding in making a jug of the delightful 'Magic Sherbet Lemon Cocktails' mere minutes later. They were satisfyingly refreshing for the muggy day on which they were prepared, and were eagerly slurped by both my sister (who usually prefers fruit ciders) and my mum (who is sceptical of any summer beverage that isn't Pimms). As a bit of a buffet dinner I chose to make the 'Carrot and Feta Bites with Lime Yoghurt' which were incredibly difficult to not dig in to during preparation because of how amazing they smelt, along with the 'Crispy Lemon Paprika Potato Wedges' which I mentally filed away as a reliable and filling side dish. The more delectable 'Fried Goats Cheese with Thyme and Honey' was a slightly trickier task, I struggled with the panic of frying these quickly enough so that they would all still be hot when served, but they were delicious despite my incompetence. I even attempted actual baking (my thin patience's usual arch nemesis) late on a Saturday night and found that taking the time to enjoy the process as well as the end product made the baking almost as warmly comforting and delicious as the first spoonful of chocolate mousse cake itself.
As I said earlier, I'm a serial purchaser of cookbooks but rarely cook from them extensively, spending much more time devouring the book itself by way of reading and drooling. The thing that satisfied me most about this book is that every recipe is treated the same. Roasted aubergine is written about and treated with the same decadence as deep fried banana fritters are; all foods are lorded as equal in pleasure and value. It delivers fantastically as the writing and photography reflect its intended message  - that you can and should eat what you love. In trying to strike a balance between loving food and loving your body this book can really help, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has had trouble finding pleasure in 'bad' foods because Ruby celebrates them in a way that nurtures your fractured food mindset as well as your insatiable appetite. I also found the emphasis on cooking as a method of self care and as a way of caring for others extremely meditative, which in turn made me a more patient chef than I usually am. Considering my level of fangirl it would have been quite hard for me to dislike this book, but I really wasn't expecting to find it as powerful as I did. As soon as my mum allows me near the deep fat frier I will be attempting the Glazed Blueberry Fritter Doughnuts, and probably gorging on them for breakfast!

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