Stop Reading and Start Cooking – Making the Most of Cookbooks you Already Own!

This month in the cookbook club it’s time for us stop reading and start cooking – from any one cookbook we already own.

April is here, and it’s well and truly autumn in Australia – I’m looking out of my kitchen window at my Claret Ash trees and they’re totally living up to their name. While the title above says otherwise, I do urge you to keep reading this post right through to the end, because this month in the Lambs’ Ears Cookbook club we are going to stop reading and start cooking – from our own cookbook shelves. We will be taking a good, hard look at our own existing cookbooks, picking just one from the shelves and cooking solely from that for the month.

Seriously – it can be any one book, style of cooking, or cuisine that you like. We do this once a year and it’s just one way to get more use out of the books we already own. If you’re in this group, then I’m sure you have heaps of books that sit quietly on the bookshelf. You bought each book there for a good reason, so now it’s time to get it down and really explore just one for the month of April.

So, like I said – stop reading and start cooking. I can’t wait to see what you all choose to cook from and share.

OUR SEASONAL FLAVOUR FOCUS FOR APRIL

Our seasonal choice for this month will be leeks. They are in season in Australia now, are full of nutrition and pre-biotic fibres, and are just plain delicious. They’re a favourite of mine for their subtle, mild onion flavours, and the classic sophistication they bring to a host of other veggies. They are a more delicate, understated substitution for onions, and also combine perfectly with butter and good olive oils, either of which will make the humble leek utterly shine as a stand-alone dish.

Hang on – what did we cook in March?

I was away, visiting our daughter in Japan, for much of March, but the Lambs’ Ears Cookbook Club soldiered on, sharing some delicious one-pot/pan creations from The Actually Delicious One Pot Cookbook by Poppy O’Toole. Here’s a few of their creations. Join in with our Facebook groups to see more.

So tell me – what will we cook from in May?

March was a busy month for new cookbooks, and one book that sparked a great deal of interest is Home Food, by Elizabeth Hewson – which will be our May cookbook club selection.

Elizabeth is a home cook, recipe writer, columnist and the author of two previous cookbooks. She’s also the resident home cooking food columnist for the Weekend Australian Magazine.

Her new cookbook, Home Food, gives us all permission to forget perfection, and to embrace comfort over complexity when it comes to home cooking. It’s designed for busy lives and offers something for every cook, from throw-together meals when time is at a premium, right through to recipes that you can happily potter through when you want to lose yourself in the kitchen, without actually losing your mind at the same time.

But for April, it’s time to stop reading and start cooking – from just ONE of your own cookbooks.

 

IF YOU HAVEN’T JOINED THE LAMBS EARS COOKBOOK CLUB YET, YOU WILL FIND ALL THE DETAILS HERE.

HERE’S HOW 2026 IS SHAPING UP SO FAR

Our whole-year cookbook selection is any of  The Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater

April – Any ONE cookbook from your own collection
March – The Actually Delicious One Pot Cookbook by Poppy Cooks
February – Sunshine, Lemons and Sea Salt by Donna Hay
January – Salata by Michael Mantissas and Kristy Frawley

Please note, this post contains links to online Australian bookseller Booktopia. If you purchase via one of my links you will get a great price, and I will get a very small commission.

 

 

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