This new book Easy Everyday by Jessica Merchant - her fourth, came out a few weeks ago. It’s very good, does what it says on the cover! There are some nights that come suppertime I’m so exhausted I’ve no energy left. The kind of nights when I want a home made meal, not takeout, not the rock hard things I’ve frozen for such an occasion, and forgotten to take them out of the freezer, (lol) but something freshly made and hopefully including veggies!
This book has been so useful, in these times of need, and I’ve not made anything I’d not like to make again. There are breakfasts, lunches, dinners, sides, snacks, sweet treats and even some cocktails and mocktails. So really Jessica has you covered for all times of day. I like how it’s written, the headers, the great doable photography, and the little tips given in the recipes to let you know which parts you can make ahead, like a sauce or dressing from the first chapter in the book. When I’ve not been thoroughly exhausted I’ve made a quick and easy dinner or lunch, and that has been a bonus too.
These are some of the dishes I’ve made, also did bbq meatballs and a tortellini Caprese salad which I forgot to take pictures of, which were also good.
Chicken tortellini soup with tomatoes. The recipe uses fire roasted tomatoes, which are not the easiest to come by or an economical choice here in the UK, so I used tinned cherry tomatoes as one of the tins of tomatoes (plus a tin of normal ones) and added in a pinch of chilli flakes and a handful of chopped olives. It was so comforting and delicious.
The easiest fancy puff pastry quiche. Herby bacon and asparagus quiche, no pre baking! I served with Branson Pickle!
Caprese cottage cheese toasts. We had this one as a Sunday supper after a lunch out. It was pretty, light, tasty and just right. I’m not the biggest fan of cottage cheese, but it was good here.
Cranberry jalapeño chicken salad. I used dried cranberries (in place of dried cherries) as don’t keep dried cherries on hand. This is a really lovely chicken salad, making it again this week.
Tomato lentil lunch soup. The recipe is the book is fire roasted lentil lunch soup, I used a tin of cherry tomatoes. Also I only used only one of the two tins of lentils in the recipe, and we thought it was a great little lunch. The picture in the book also has seasoned sourdough croutons - which look do look yummy, and I’ll add them on a colder day. 🙂
