Food to make you feel good, whichever way you look at it
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How we eat is a vital way to influence how we feel. There are two new books on your ckbk bookshelves that take food and mood seriously.
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When Australian actress Abbie Cornish asked best friend LA chef Jacqueline King Schiller to teach her to cook, they began a journey into the food and cooking that makes them feel good. Pescan: A Feel Good Cookbook is the result, a document of their friendship, cooking together, feeding others, and exploring the positive role that food plays in their lives. Their food is largely plant-based and dairy free, but with some seafood and eggs.
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There are few meals that feel good in quite the way that a bowl of pasta does. And while Scott Conant’s book Peace, Love & Pasta: Simple & Elegant Recipes from a Chef’s Home Kitchen does not only feature pasta, it takes seriously its mission to nurture with food. The James Beard award-winning chef and TV personality has compiled here dishes he cooks at home. This food is the language with which he communicates with family and loved ones, with which he shows his love and feeds them well.
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Pictured above: Pesto Zucchini Noodles with Cannellini Beans and Sundried Tomatoes from Pescan: A Feel Good Cookbook by Abbie Cornish and Jacqueline King Schiller
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‘a book for skinflint gourmets’
Miriam Ungerer
Originally published in 1973, so celebrating its golden anniversary this year, Good Cheap Food by Miriam Ungerer, was the author’s reaction to working anonymously on a gourmet cookbook that she felt talked down to its readers and relied excessively on pricey ingredients. She wanted to create a book for those who wanted great food, intelligent writing, and had an eye on their purse strings. The recipes are designed on the principle that to eat well on the cheap you must buy what is fresh, plentiful and in season, and find a recipe to cook it.
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The chapters are organised by ingredient, and each features an introduction in Ungerer’s sharp and witty style. This is a book to read as well as cook from, with recipes that have stood the test of time.
Try a filling Corn Chowder when corn is in season in August. Try South Carolina Fried Chicken, and then how about a Pumpkin Chiffon Pie for dessert.
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Ingredient spotlight: mint
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 Mint is a plant with about two dozen species, and hundreds of varieties, but most of that grown to eat is spearmint. It was introduced into England by the Romans, and used throughout the Middle Ages both in cooking and for medicines. Mint can be used fresh or dried, in jams, jellies and sauces, and with meats, vegetables and in sweet dishes.
The flavor is brightest in the fresh leaves, which make a great addition to salads – try this Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad.
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It is a key component of many bright Asian dishes – try these Summer Rolls with Shrimp and Mint. For a touch of sweetness try Coconut, Lime and Mint Granita, or make the most of a classic flavor combination with these Triple-Chocolate Mint Parfaits. For more mint-fresh recipes explore our 12 Ways with Mint collection.
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6 of the best scones
It is Afternoon Tea Week from August 7-13 in the UK. And what is most the essential component of a fine afternoon tea? Scones!
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