Grow Your Own Magazine

Morning peeps,

The Book Club have laid their wares in our coffee room and there are 2 interesting cookbooks there (actually there are 5 books I'd consider - will deffo get the kids baking book and debating the merits of 2 others).

Anyway, one of these is the new Jamie Oliver At Home book - where he raves about his veg garden and does seasonal recipes.

The other is by an Irish cook - Rachel Allen - who tends to do nice, fairly interesting but relatively unfussy things (OH and I were debating the merits of her over Nigella the other night, and Rachel won hands down).

I had already been thinking about getting Rachel's book anyway, but is Jamie's book worth considering? Has anyone got it, tried the recipes, pondered his gardening advice? (I spotted the mirth over his advice about potatoes recently, but didn't see anyone talking about the book itself).

Wings

I'd best say nothing, given my opinion of Jamie Oliver!

KK

Hi Winged one

I have the book simply because we use his first book so much. As far as the gardening advice goes-don't bother, however the recipes are pretty good theres half a dozen which we have used over and over again. Lots of pretty pictures but not much writing really!! Hope this helps.

Ratglass

I had a look through it in WH Smith the other day. I agree that it's not worth it for the gardening advice but otherwsie it depends whether you're into his style of presentation. Most of the recipes looked nice enough but all the text is very 'matey' - much as he speaks - which isn't for me, I'm afraid!

Claire

We have one going for £10 for a hardback (normal retail £25!!!) through the nursery's 'book people ltd' sale. I was debating over whether to get one or not because of the gardening advice for each vegetable type seeing as I don't currently own any vegetable garden book...getting adequate help from Net and Grapevine . But maybe I won't, as you say it's not really a good book for gardening advice. For food recipes, I just check the recipes on the Net too and already got cookery books here and there, need we need more!

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Food for Free

OK, I think I'll get Rachel Allen, the kids baking book and perhaps the book about the rainbow - leaving Jamie for this time anyway. I'm only a so-so fan of his cooking, and if his gardening advice ain't up to much, then I think I'll get the book of recipes I'd prefer.

Thanks all.

I passed on it from our book club last week....I think mostly because so many of his recipes are called names like 'Really Fabarooney Tasty Pheasant' and 'Yummy Scrummy Potatoes!' It really annoys me

Rachel Allen I love though...straight forward recipes that you'll use again and again.

I can also highly recommend the James Martin Dessert Book (from Sweet Baby James show) and the Ballymaloe Bread Book by Tim Allen if they come up...

Yes, this book is fabulous! Makes you drool just reading it and looking at the pics!

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"Its not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you" - Bruce Wayne

We have all the Jamie books - but we love his style of cooking, and straightforward no-nonsense approach. I don't think I've had a duff recipe from him yet...

If you like him and his cooking, then go for it (however we were bought our copy as a present recently).

Millions of people buy Delia's books, but I just can't get on with them myself. Each to their own.

Personally I won't be using the book for gardening advice - that'd be like using my phone to listen to music...

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - Updated - 25th August

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/p/dev036pr___.png

Wasn't a big fan of Jamies until Jamie at Home hit the small screen. I don't even have to watch it to know what he was cooking in any particular week. I just wait and see what my customers ask for. So I am now a confirmed Jamie fan, along with HFW, whose stance on fresh produce and ethical treatment of farm animals I have long been a supporter of.

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

[size="1"]Journal updated Tuesday 5th August

I went right of HFW when I saw the programme - a number of years ago - where he make rook pie by killing a VAST number of rook squabs just to take the 2 bits of breast muscle form each and disposing of the rest. He can't do that and proclaim he treats anything ethically - Ratbag!
However, if Jamie is keeping our Rat in sales,more power to his outspoken elbow!

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It takes more oil than vinegar to make a good salad dressing.

vegheaven.blogspot.com Updated Sept 2nd 2008

Rooks are culled anyway as they are a big a pest as rabbits so you may as well use them.Only the breasts are used as the rest is bitter.

There's a rookery just 50 yards from me. I love them. They play in the air and shout joyfully. If people ate I tiny bit of me I'd be bitter too!

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It takes more oil than vinegar to make a good salad dressing.

vegheaven.blogspot.com Updated Sept 2nd 2008

I'm with you, Flummery. We, the dominant species, having taken over or destroyed the habitat of just about every creature on the planet and confined even the largest to smallish areas promptly regard as a pest anything that doesn't fit with what we want.
That every species is a part of the food chain is not in dispute, but the food chain is about survival. So-called delicacies don't come into it.
If any creature needs its numbers controlling it is we humans - the worst parasite on the planet!

KK

Sorry,sorry,but rabbits play prettily too and pigeons and the cats that c**p on our gardens.If you were a farmer and saw the wheat you,d sown eaten up by rooks and no bread for the hungry humans you would shoot them too.
Mice play dearly,sweet little things,and rats piddling all over foodstuffs and leaving disease in it's wake.
Yes, life is survival,but for all we human's do rooks,rabbits,pigeons,rats,etc.live on.
If we didn't keep them under control,just as any other predator, struggling to survive, only one species would still be on this planet and that would p robably(I think)be rats!
Comments(not arguments,please)on a postcard or to this thread.

Statements of support only, then?

We get into trouble for arguing, so I'm not going to. I'm just going off to a corner to grumble quietly to the wall

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

I'm with you Polly
My 5 acre plot is home or playground to the following wildlife. Rabbits (shoot em, snare em, ferrets whatever it takes) Hares ( don't touch them) Pheasants (open season with the gun and the pup loves chasing them too) grey partridge (don't touch them either) mice (bait in tunnel and store) stoats (like them - they kill rabbits) buzzards (see stoats comment - do not believe all you read about them not taking live prey - have seen it on numerous occassions), pigeons (god bless the buzzard and the sparrowhawk), deer (get left alone), rooks, crows and hoodies(all fair game).
If I didn't contol the above I would not have lasted my first season. Whilst I can appreciate some people may strongly disagree with my point of view, unless they care to finance the entire 5 acre plot being rabbit fenced and caged from above, I will continue on my merry way, whistling all the while, as I tuck into my next rabbit or pheasant. If I shoot rooks and don't eat them, does that make me worse than HFW ?

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

[size="1"]Journal updated Tuesday 5th August

You can like HFW all you like - I don't have to.

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It takes more oil than vinegar to make a good salad dressing.

vegheaven.blogspot.com Updated Sept 2nd 2008

I'm going to come back on this one. I know that it is often necessary for people to kill pests which threaten their livelihood. I don't believe this was the rationale in the programme I cited. HFW was in his woodlouse frittes phase at the time and I think he was courting controversy to raise viewing figures. In my opinion he showed a contempt for life. Interestingly the main comeback he had was for his placenta pate. I had no problem with this. I do however, think he was looking for unacceptable things to eat and therefore killed with contempt. This is an attitude I cannot be having with.

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It takes more oil than vinegar to make a good salad dressing.

vegheaven.blogspot.com Updated Sept 2nd 2008

I'm with Flum - there's killing for neccessity (every species on the planet does this) and then there's killing for 'sport' or just because we can which in my opinion is wrong. I completely understand Rat's point of view and don't have a problem with what he does, that's a necessity for his livelihood, but killing for the sake of tv entertainment isn't on and shows a total lack of respect for life.

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Life may not be the party we hoped for but since we're here we might as well dance

Just like it was a necessity for a gamekeeper's livelihood to kill every hawk, eagle, falcon, kite or harrier that appeared over the land he was looking after?
There is almost always an alternative to killing. If, because of our way of life, we are unable to share the land with our fellow creatures, then it is surely encumbent on us to take steps to deter them. Done successfully this should have the added advantage of being a more permanent solution. Killing a batch of animals only allows others of the same or another species to extend their territories.