I consider myself an above average cook with the ability to decipher seasonings, choosing what might be best for which dish. I enjoy making, and usually make, all my cakes, etc., from scratch. By scratch I mean I do not make boxed cakes. Why would anyone use that stuff? Okay, okay…forgive me. I know sometimes people just don’t have the time to mix and measure, but for me, it’s the best way to go. And it’s healthier.

I have also been a cookbook collector over the years. I’ve collected a couple vintage cookbooks as well. Some books I’ve kept, some I gave away to a friend or to the Goodwill, etc. Others I’ve sold to used bookstores once I tired of that particular book. Needless to say, I love cooking and baking from scratch with tasty ingredients.

However, at the same time I’ll be the first to admit I shy away from new things. I received a PDF copy of the cookbook, Tried and Tested: 101 Recipes, from author, Carol Jones, some months back in exchange for review. It took me some time to go over it and check out some of the recipes. I give the book 4 Stars (on Amazon) for a small book that was big on flavor and carried many different recipes.

I really liked this cookbook and think a print edition would be a good edition to my cookbook library, and for the current price of .99, one can’t go wrong with the e-book. Some of the ingredients in the dishes are not something I would’ve tried usually, and I couldn’t try everything, of course, and not all foods are suited to my taste, such as liver. Yet, this cookbook has something for everyone, and for me I found many of the recipes interesting, and they urged me to try them. I had to do a little recipe tweaking here and there or find a substitute ingredient or food as the author is British and not everything was easily found in my neck of the woods.

Some of my favorites of the recipes I tried from Tried and Tested: 101 Recipes by Carol Jones are:
Italian Chicken Casserole
Stir-fry Beef with Ginger
Grilled Tuna with Olives and Tomatoes
Asparagus Stir-fry (*Note: I really do not care for asparagus, but this recipe made this vegetable delightful!)
Mexican Bean Burgers
Moroccan Mushrooms with Couscous
Macaroni & Cheese (*With nutmeg? – I never would have guessed!)
Cherry & Almond Loaf
Lemon Cake

What I’d love to have seen more of in this book are soups. Other than that this is a pretty great book; small but chock full of great and tasty recipes. Also, I’d like to see it in print. Make sure you download a copy from Amazon!!

Check out Amazon for the e-book here:
http://amzn.com/B00DSCR7XU