Books for Your Kitchen

Even the occasional home cook should have a few useful reference books on hand. In many cases, it is easier to locate needed information quicker than searching on the internet and if you select your reference books carefully, chances are that the information, in a published book, is more likely to be accurate.

The first book pictured is The Penguin Companion to Food by Alan Davidson, which is a soft cover book. It is out of print, but it is very findable. The Oxford Companion to Food, is the hardcover version. The Oxford Companion is still in print and it is easy to find either new or used.

Here is what The New York Times said about the Companion to Food by Alan Davidson … “A masterly work with a variety of voices, from the straightforward, almost dry, to the quirky and witty …. It’s not hard to be awed by these pages dense with extremely thorough and well-written entries, enhanced by cross-references and indexes and larded with anecdotes and strong opinions.”

The Food Lover’s Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst was first printed in1990 and has updated several times. It is a soft cover book that measures 7 inches x 4 ¾ inches x 1 ¾ inches. The cover has changed  and it is now a soft rust color instead of white. There is a hard cover “deluxe” edition. In my opinion, the soft cover version is a book that easily fits in a kitchen drawer, on a shelf or standing in a cabinet … it is my go-to-book.

A Simple Lunch ...

I was my Mother’s Little Helper in the kitchen and her love of cooking and entertaining was definitely passed on to me. My dream job is to be a personal chef for a small family, a single person or a couple.


Today’s simple lunch started with a Tasti-Lee™ Tomato. Tasti-Lee™ is a special tomato variety developed by the University of Florida: seed is produced and distributed exclusively by Bejo Seeds, Inc. It is not easy to find a consistently good tomato in Florida, especially having been raised in New Jersey. During the Summer, the “Jersey” tomatoes are so sweet and flavorful.  Tasti-Lee™ has that great tomato flavor because they are vine ripened.

On top of each slice of tomato is a scoop of tuna salad, and to add another touch of color to the plate, some Manzanilla olives. Manzanilla olives come from the southern region of Spain. The tuna salad ingredients include: finely chopped carrots, celery and red onion; mayonnaise, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

So as I dream ... about my dream job ... I have fun being a Vintage Shop Keeper and taking care of my Etsy Shop ... auntemilie !