My cookbook: cibo (a shameless plug)

As some of you may know, I recently finished a little pet project, which, kind of like this blog, started as a whim and ended up being more than I’d imagined it could be.

It’s a little book of recipes – about 150 recipes to be less than exact – that have informed my cooking and eating for the last 5 years. If I’ve made and loved it, it’s in the book. Some of the recipes are mine, some belong to friends, friends of friends or relatives. Some have been appropriated years ago from now forgotten cookbooks and websites, some have been passed down from generation to generation. The only thing these recipes have in common is that I’ve deemed them all worthy of the only cookbook I keep in the kitchen. The one I turn to for everything, the one that has my grandmother’s cheesecake recipe, the one I made myself so I’d never complain again about grams v. cups, rambling descriptions, inaccuracies and overly touched up photos that look nothing like what came out of my oven.

I find that sometimes you just can’t trust a cookbook to walk you gently yet confidently through the many stepped process of kouign amann or your first go at no knead bread.

So I made my own.

And while my reasons for pouring so much effort into a personalized cookbook were almost entirely selfish, I did make it with a few special women back home in mind. Thus, it’s not filled with my own jargon or the weird Australianisms I’m slowly but surely incorporating into my everyday speech. I also avoided including pictures of the dog. I understand not everyone loves them as much as I do. And I tried to make it as straightforward and honest as possible. That said, it’s still my quirky little creation made to my tastes and filled with my favorite recipes (though some of my current favorites didn’t make the deadline).

If you’ve enjoyed the recipes I’ve shared with you so far and would like them (and many, many more) in a lovely old school format complete with index and pictures and my spelling mistakes in all their glory, then go ahead and check this out. If you want to order one (or two…) I won’t earn a cent, just a huge ego boost. And you’ll be repaid with a lovely little reminder that anything’s possible with a lot of free time, a little inspiration and lots and lots of butter.