It looks like we might have made it...
(aka: HOW is it December already?)
(please note that this post might not show in its entirety in email if this is how you are reading it, please do click on "View entire message" to read it all - there’s a giveaway and lots of good links to check out!)
Well, here we are in December. I taught my last (extra-curricular) baking class of the year yesterday (that photo above was our view as we baked!) and things are starting to feel like they are wrapping up at school. We still have a week and a half to go, though, so we’re all trying to keep the kids busy while acknowledging that it’s hard to focus (for us all!). My activities over the next 10 days include baking so I know everyone will be attentive listeners for those sessions!
Speaking of cooking, this fall has been a bumper season for cookbook and since it’s gift-giving season, I thought I might share a few that I am loving recently - literally, I’ve giving 2 of them away as well so make sure to scroll down! Cookbooks are an excellent gift because they really do keep on giving well after the holidays!
what I’ve been cooking from
The Tinned Tomatoes Cookbook
Pick a chapter to suit you – Storecupboard Saviours; Pasta Sauces; One-Pot Wonders; Family Feasts; Midweek Marvels; Snacks, Sides and Sauces – and select a recipe according to your dietary requirements, time constraints or batch-cooking needs. This will soon become the most-used cookbook in your kitchen!
I have a soft spot for this book because when I was in Sydney after mum died, one of Samuel Goldsmith’s recipes was published in the paper there and my dad saved it because he thought he might like to “have a go”. That recipe was Harissa Chicken Traybake and we made it together on Zoom after I got home. I posted it on Instagram and tagged Goldsmith. He send me a kind message and we got chatting. When he heard that mum had died and dad was learning how to cook at age 80, he offered to send him a copy of the book. I bought one too so that we can cook recipes together and it’s quickly become one of the most used cookbooks in current rotation. A fave is the Cod and Red Capsicum (Pepper) Traybake - we eat this at least once a month.
Easy Weeknight Dinners
Take the stress out of weeknights with 100 easy, quick, and flavorful recipes from NYT Cooking.
If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll have seen me embrace the NYT Cooking App over the past couple of years. It’s the best $4 a month I spend - so much inspiration there, I sometimes just type in the ingredients I need to use up in the fridge and see what recipes it comes up with. I’ve probably made close to 100 recipes from the app with no misses at all! This book ended up being mostly a collection of my favourites with a few new ones to try. Even my dad has made a couple of recipes (I sent him a copy so we can cook together over Zoom) with great success! HIGHLY recommend this one - and it does what it says - easy, mostly very quick recipes that taste great!
Simply Jamie
In five knockout chapters covering Midweek Meals, Weekend Wins, Trusty Traybakes, Cupboard Love and Perfect Puds, Jamie has produced a cookbook that will fit seamlessly into your life.
Anyone who knows me knows what a huge Jamie fan I am and this book goes back to his “Food Revolution” days and mission of getting people back in the kitchen and teaching them how to cook. Simply Jamie offers weeknight recipes with simple ingredient lists (often using pantry and fridge staples), quick prep and cook time as well as weekend dishes that will leave you leftovers that serve you the next day and beyond. It’s a smart, inspiring book.
Ottolenghi Comfort
With game-changing low-lift recipes as well as recipes to spend an afternoon on, Ottolenghi Comfort presents creative dishes that are comfortable to both cook and eat.
Ottolenghi is a name that sometimes people associate with complex, time-consuming dishes with long (sometimes challenging to find) ingredient lists, but Comfort is possibly one of his most accessible works. There are a lot more one page recipes in this one and it feels so much more do-able than some of his previous works. No quick weeknight dinners here if that is what you are after but if you are a weekend warrior in the kitchen, this might just be for you!
Did you know that Blackwell’s offers worldwide shipping?
Please note: the Blackwell’s and Bookshop.org links are affiliate links. This means that if you click over and purchase something, I will receive a very small percentage of the purchase price (at no extra cost to you). Thank you in advance!
A holiday giveaway (Canada/ US only, sorry!)
Thanks to Appetite by Random House sending me copies of both Simply Jamie and Ottolenghi Comfort when I had already pre-ordered them months before, I now have doubles of both!
Want to win a book? Simply leave me a comment on this post and tell me which book you would like to win and why. I’ll choose 2 winners at random on December 15th and contact them via a comment here. Winner can be located anywhere in Canada or the US (sorry international friends) and but must be patient to receive their prize as Canada Post is currently on strike so I cannot post it until, most likely, January!
a little help from my friends
Over the past 18 months, I’ve really prioritised my physical health as I continue my brain surgery recovery. When I was first out of hospital, it seemed the most tangible thing to work on - the emotional trauma is not something you can resolve overnight (or, indeed, after 19 months…). Today I wanted to share three amazing products that have really helped me get through the last little while and helped my physical recovery immensely. Maybe some of these might make great gifts?
Dynamic Runner
Of course, I’ve gotten back to running, and it sure was a slow process! But I had the gift of starting over, from scratch, with no injuries and a few years of running experience under my belt so when I started again in August 2023, I wanted to do it right. Enter: daily stretching and mobility and 3 x week strength work. All in the comfort of my own basement! I’d had this app for a year or so before I was hospitalised and I saw the benefits even when I was not as consistent. There’s so much content! With over 2 years of mobility programming and well over a year’s worth of 3x week strength programming along with injury programming, warmups and pilates/ yoga, there really is something for everyone - even if you aren’t a runner! It’s been a lifesaver for me when I wasn’t ready to go back to the gym and now I am, I’m still mostly training with the app only with excellent results. Bonus? The sessions are maximum 35 minutes long so even when you don’t feel like a workout, you feel like you can manage at least that! There’s even a bodyweight-only month of strength routines which is great for when you are travelling! If you follow me on Strava, you’ll know I practice what I preach and it’s a rare day that I don’t upload one or two activities from DR. I have a couple of colleagues hooked on it too ;)
Check out Dynamic Runner for yourself and get 10% off subscriptions with the code DYNAMICMARDI10
Cheers Athletic Brewing!
Well before my surgery, I discovered Athletic Brewing “near beer” (non-alcoholic) and they were the first NA beers I had tasted that I wanted to buy more of. I became an ambassador for the brand in late 2022 and then, well… things went downhill in terms of me actually being able to share content about things I was passionate about. After my surgery I didn’t drink alcohol for months and even now I drink rarely so these are a staple in my fridge. Even Neil will have one from time to time! They have a great range and are starting to be sold in more and more stores here in Canada. They have an online store and subscription service too if that’s more your thing. I love the fact that after a long run (or before one, for that matter!) I can “indulge” without any side effects. Cheers to that! A post-surgery habit that will stick.
Canadians - check out Athletic Brewing for yourself and use MARDIM20 for 20% off your first order!
Loop
Back when I thought I had a concussion in April 2023, I was convinced that I could find ways to cope with my day to day reality (i.e. noisy classrooms) so that I could continue to go to work. Well as we now know, it wasn’t a concussion and there really was nothing I could do to stop the inevitable but something that I purchased back then that I still use today is Loop Engage earplugs. They allow me to be in noisier spaces and not feel (too) overwhelmed and I’m still able to converse and hear others. I now have a pair in my purse and a pair in my work pencil case so they are on hand when I need them. I also have the Quiet version which saved me on a couple of long flights this year and helped me actually get some sleep.
Want to try Loop for yourself? Click here for 15% off your first order (and let me know what you think!)
Please note: the links for Dynamic Runner, Athletic Brewing and Loop are affiliate links. This means that if you click over and purchase something, I will receive a very small percentage of the purchase price (at no extra cost to you). Thank you in advance!
links you might like
eat
The 25 Most Influential Cookbooks from the Last 100 Years via The New York Times (gifted article). Some real classics in there! How many do you have/ have you cooked from?
The delightful David Lebovitz on Measuring Cups via Substack. Even if you’re not a baker, this will make you smile!
12 Cookies for the 12 Days of Christmas via Leite’s Culinaria. A little holiday baking inspiration for you!
11 Best Cookbooks for Kids to Foster Their Love of Food via The Spruce Eats. You might recognise a title in there ;)
Off the Shelf: The big list of the year via Dorie Greenspan’s excellent xoxo Dorie newsletter. SO many good titles here - cookbooks and food/ Paris related. As Dorie says:
These are just a sliver of all the good books that have come and are still coming our way this season. I think it’s time to buy that t-shirt that says: So Many Books, So Little Time.
live
You deserve a great nap via The New York Times (gifted article)
Experts say a midday rest is great for your health. Here’s how to get the most out of it.
Hooray for experts! My nana was always a fan of an afternoon “lay down” and the older I get, the more I see how right she was!
She was diagnosed with brain cancer and then wrote a rom-com about it via the New York Times (gifted article). I had no idea that Sophie Kinsella had been diagnosed with incurable brain cancer until recently. I put her latest novella, What does it feel like? on hold as soon as I knew, thinking it would be months before it came to me but it arrived on the weekend and, hesitantly, I started to read. I laughed, and I cried, and I read this in an hour. I went through a whole host of emotions in that time. Mostly feeling grateful that my own brain tumour was not malignant, and then feeling guilty for feeling lucky. This is beautifully written. Our stories couldn’t be more different but I related to so many of the little things she shares about being a brain surgery patient. A brave read, indeed.
travel
Travel to France from your couch via the winter edition of The Good Life France magazine, always a great read!
write
I’ve joined Bluesky and it feels like a breath of fresh air in some ways via The Guardian. Have YOU joined the Twitter exodus? I did recently and Bluesky does feel like a breath of fresh air!
(not sure what Bluesky is? The Verge shares some cool things you can do there!)
Social media users probably won’t ready beyond this headline, researchers say via the Penn State website.
A new study of 35 million news links circulated on Facebook reports that more than 75% of the time they were shared without the link being clicked upon and read
Just, wow. Not surprising but very depressing.
buy my books
Don’t have my books yet? They make great gifts… hint, hint… ;)
French food made easy … for everyone!
rent our holiday home in southwest France!
“We spent two weeks in Nérac at this fully-equipped, centrally-located home. It is within walking distance of everything, including the canal, stone bridges, museums, parks, historic churches and of course restaurants and local shopping. (and if you are there on a Saturday, a huge outdoor market is a 5-minute walk away). We enjoyed all the features of this home and especially the patio. We sampled all the food and wine the French are known for. We also joined the locals in playing Pétanque at the square just up the street. Would highly recommend!
~ guest review, October 2022
Our charming house in Nérac, halfway between Bordeaux and Toulouse, is in the heart of Gascony. Bookings open for 2025!
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for a bonus post next weekend and the December French (Food Idiom) Friday in a couple of weeks!
Mardi
xo
I would love the simply Jamie. I could use some more ideas for everyday meals!
Love all these resources!