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Lucy Tweed took her instagram account into this recipe book, Every. Night. Of. The. Week. to show us that great meals can be cooked all the time. A wildly entertaining and practical cookbook filled with shortcuts and permission to do it your own way, by Donna Hay’s right-hand woman. As Donna herself says: ‘Lucy has a … Continue reading Every. Night. Of. The. Week. Lucy Tweed
No Plan B opening lines: The meeting was held in a room with no windows. The room was rectangular and it had no windows because it had no external walls. My blurb: Jed Starmer is not a thief. But he is a teenager caught between a rock and a hard place. Does he take the … Continue reading No Plan B, Lee Child
Triple Cross opening line: Suzanne Liu lived for days like this, days when her world seemed like a great game and the sweet smell of opportunity and cash hung in the air like lavender and sage. My blurb: Alex Cross and John Sampson are trying to hunt down 'the Family Man. A killer who targets … Continue reading Triple Cross, James Patterson
Oink! is subtitled the perfect pork cookbook, and I think it is. There is a flavour wheel in the recipe book which is a great resource when looking for inspiration. It’s about bacon sizzling in the pan for breakfast, epic Sunday roasts, potjies and braais. It’s about great, easy-to-follow recipes with the most versatile meat product in the … Continue reading Oink! Billy Forssman
The Bullet That Missed opening lines: Bethany Waites understands there is no going back now. Time to be brave, and to see how this all plays out. My blurb: Bethany Waites is dead, as far as the police are concerned. But, they have never found her body, and the case has been left to go … Continue reading The Bullet That Missed, Richard Osman
Blowback opening line: It is a brisk autumn day in June in one of South Africa's largest cities, and thirty-year-old Benjamin Lucas is enjoying an off day from his South African Diamond Tour. My blurb: The President has a hit list, and a hit squad at his beck and call. He will do anything and … Continue reading Blowback, James Patterson
The Retreat opening line: Thea's scream rips through the clearing, startling the birds from the trees in a flurry of flapping wings. My blurb: DS Elin Warner has been called to a murder scene on an island retreat her partner designed. Will's sister Farrah is the resort manager and she has a long history with … Continue reading The Retreat, Sarah Pearse
From farm child to ballet dancer to chef, Mynhardt invites people to step into his kitchen and make themselves at home. Not only in his actual My Station Street Kitchen, where you can dine, but also through his recipes. Chef Mynhardt Joubert has been cooking from his Station Street Kitchen in Paarl in the Western Cape … Continue reading My Station Street Kitchen, Mynhardt Joubert
The Apartment Upstairs opening lines: The bus idled in traffic. Scarlett rubbed a circle in the steamed-up window. My blurb: Scarlett's Aunt Rebecca was brutally murdered in the apartment upstairs from hers. It has been a month since she was last in the converted house, but now she has returned to carry on with her … Continue reading The Apartment Upstairs, Lesley Kara
The Family Remains opening lines: 'Jason Mott?' 'Yes. Here. That's me.' I stare down at the young man who stands below me ankle-deep in the mud of the banks of the Thames. My blurb: Changing your name cannot change your past. And when that past appears in the form of a bag of bones, many … Continue reading The Family Remains, Lisa Jewell
Michael Olivier says Friends. Food. Flavour. is the culmination of a long journey. He was invited by the Voyager Wine Estate in Western Australia to prepare a ‘Cape Buffet’ for the duration of the Margaret River November Wine Festival. He and his wife, Madeleine, researched, deconstructed, and rebuilt the recipes, leaving them with a collection … Continue reading Friends. Food. Flavour. Michael Olivier
Last year I was invited to attend a function at Sense of Taste Cooking School. Somehow my email got lost on the way back to Debs which meant my space was taken up by someone else. She kindly arranged for me to attend the SA Pork event the next day and I am so glad … Continue reading 100 Choice Recipes With Pork
Buck’s Pantry, opening line: Lianna's hands gripped the steering wheel at ten and two as she drove five miles under the speed limit down the country highway. My blurb: Lianna has been sent to rural Texas to buy out a private bank. She is focussed on one thing, and one thing only, and that is … Continue reading Buck’s Pantry, Khristin Wierman
To Herman, Home Cooking is like Rachel from Friends. To me, it's about memories, old and new. Home Cooking is Herman Lensing’s sixth cookbook and follows the highly successful Dit Proe Soos Huis (Human & Rousseau), published in 2019 and 2020 winner of the SA Boekprys best nonfiction title. Home Cooking tells the story – in his own … Continue reading Home Cooking, Herman Lensing
Shattered opening lines: Early morning was one of her favorite times of the day. The sun had just cracked the horizon and traffic was still light. My blurb: Michael is in Ireland, on honeymoon, and decides that a call from his FBI agent friend can wait for his return to New York. But he will … Continue reading Shattered, James Patterson & James O. Born
Escape opening lines: He's here somewhere. I know it. And the girl might still be alive. The girl: fifteen-year-old Bridget Leone, abducted off the streets of Hyde Park forty-four hours ago. My blurb: Detective Billy Harney cannot understand why he has been taken off a case and moved into a special unit. But he follows … Continue reading Escape, James Patterson And David Ellis
As author Chantal Lascaris says, it’s time for the salad to take centre stage! Traditionally salads have been viewed as side dishes, but those featured in The Ultimate Salad Book, are anything but as they move boldly into the realm of main dishes. And nobody knows better how to achieve this than Chantal as she presents … Continue reading The Ultimate Salad Book, Chantal Lascaris
The World Of African Wildlife is a safari guide for young explorers. Here are examples of the information you can find in the book: Birds that are most often seen walking or packing on the ground include francolins, sangrouse, guineafowl, ostriches, cranes, bustards and korhaans., the secretary bird and the large and boldly coloured ground … Continue reading The World Of African Wildlife
I cannot emphasize how important it is to read to children. And using children's picture books is a great way to get them to engage and participate in being read to. Luckily for Hannah her parents are both avid readers. And she will ask for a book when she wants to be entertained. Here are … Continue reading Picture Books
Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love, written by Yotam Ottolenghi and Noor Murad, was egged on by the Pandemic. The recipes were inspired by what was in their kitchen and is a guide to making the ordinary, extraordinary. This handbook has many recipes that are similar to others in the Ottolenghi collection, using ingredients I associate … Continue reading Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love