River Cottage Every Day

January 17, 2011
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingsall's newest edition to the River Cottage series focuses on the recipes he cooks at home for his family. He sees our food culture as a continuum, with those who are thoroughly involved with the story of their food on one end and those who are entirely dependent on anonymous, industrially produced food on the other. His object, he says, is to help people move along in the direction of "more engagement with real fresh food, away from dependence on the industrial food machine." Chapters include "Making Breakfast," "Daily Bread," Weekday Lunch (box)," "Fish Forever," "Thrifty Meat," "Vegetables Galore," "The Whole Fruit," and "Treats." Fearnley-Whittingsall's anecdotes about the recipes his kids make for their breakfasts (pancakes, oatmeal, tomato toast) and the lunches he packs for his wife (sardine niçoise, frittatas, slaws) hit home. The fish chapter focuses on sustainable species (and the intro outlines why you should avoid others). The meat chapter, interestingly, deals only with "secondary cuts," and offers intriguing yet homey recipes for neck of lamb, venison and pork burgers, oxtail stew, and spring chicken broth, to give cooks the confidence to open up new avenues and reduce waste. Throughout this wonderfully illustrated book, Fearnley-Whittingsall's passion is palpable, his genuine, spiritual love of food inspiring.