My post fell through the letterbox with a heavy thud again the other day. To my delight the very lovely people at Gill & Macmillan had sent me another little gem prior to release. Safely nestled within the envelope was a copy of Domini Kemp's beautiful itsa Cookbook. That was my day well and truly brought to an abrupt halt!
Domini Kemp was born in the Bahama's and in 1983 she moved to Ireland. Before setting up the itsa food company with her sister Peaches, Domini trained as a chef at Leith's in London. Today Domini and Peaches run four bagel shops, the cafe in IMMA, the restaurants in Brown Thomas Dulin & Cork, Feast catering and the gastro-neighbourhood restaurant itsa4 located in Sandymount, Dublin. As if all of that is not enough Domini is also a food writer with a weekly column in the Irish Times Magazine.
As you can imagine Domini is a very busy bee indeed. I'm tired just reading about all that she does! With this in mind she wanted to compile a cookbook bursting with tasty and healthy food that can be prepared by everyone, even those with hectic schedules and little time on their hands. In the books introduction she says, "...every day, I cook at home, where time, nutrition, satisfaction and taste are all key factors. I love to take a recipe, tear it apart, try to make it simpler and tastier and eliminate anything that isn't utterly critical. The aim of this book is to get you to cook rather than stare at a long list of ingredients and say, 'Nah, I think I'll order a take-away instead'." I think it is safe to say that she has achieved all that she set out to with this book!
I have to be honest with you, when I first flicked through the book I must have been a little tired as I set it aside without too much excitement. I revisited it a few days later and all of that changed. Not only does this book contain a recipe for my favourite soup ever, Vegetable Lentil Soup, served in itsa bagel shops. It is packed full of delicious, healthy no fuss recipes.
The book is broken down into clearly defined chapters, The Holy Grail of Basics; Brekkie, Brunch and Elevenses; No-Fuss Dinners; Bit on the Side; Show Off; and Sweet Stuff. This makes it nice and simple to quickly locate a recipe to suit your needs. The book is peppered throughout with Domini's tips and notes accompanying most recipes, this personal touch is all to often absent from cookbooks in my opinion. My favourite thing about the book has got to be the beautiful photographs. What can I say, I'm a sucker & I really do eat with my eyes. My tummy grumbled as I lustfully gazed at page after page of crunchy salad, tender meat and mouth watering dessert. It has been given pride of place on my over burdened book shelf and is already a little dog eared from me thumbing through it planning occasions to try out some dishes. I have made 3 batches of the Vegetable Lentil Soup and think I will happily live on that for the winter months to come and I cannot wait to try out the flourless chocolate cake.
itsa Cookbook by Domini Kemp is available to purchase from October 8th, 2010, priced €19.99/£17.99. If you would like to purchase it online go to http://www.gillmacmillan.ie/food--drink/food--drink/itsa-cookbook and avail of a 20% discount.
