Since its inception, House & Garden has been one of the best magazines to turn to for food and recipe inspiration. Our food editor Blanche Vaughan, who began her career as a chef at Moro and the River Cafe, has been responsible for all of the recipes that appear on our pages for the last six years, whether devised by her or by the chefs and food writers she admires. Always seasonal and with vegetables and fruits as the main building blocks, these recipes are now available in a beautiful cookbook, House & Garden: A Year in the Kitchen.
“These are the recipes I love to cook at home," says Blanche, "dishes that I turn to throughout the year because they answer a craving for a particular thing to eat at a particular time. The recipes evolved from ideas for what to cook and what I chose to include in the food pages of House & Garden each month: a reflection of our appetites, the food growing then, the weather, how we are living and eating each season.”
In spring, you'll find sections on leeks, rhubarb and foraged produce like wild garlic. Summer brings ideas for asparagus and broad beans, courgettes, tomatoes and apricots, before autumn's earthier crop of beets, squash, apples and quinces arrive. In winter look for warming recipes involving root vegetables, beef and pork, enlivened by citrus and with a special section devoted to festive cooking. Each chapter brings menu ideas for every occasion, from quick suppers for two to long and relaxed lunches with friends.
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“This is more than just coming up with ideas though,” continues Blanche, “it’s an opportunity to love the process the whole way through; culminating in the pleasure of eating the food and sharing that experience with others.” Throughout the book Blanche takes inside her creative process: the visit to a Japanese shop where ranks of mirin and ponzu sauce inspire their own menu of autumn dishes; or the sight of fresh spring plants carpeting woodland which takes her on a foraging trip. If you take pleasure in all the facets of cooking, from shopping for produce to serving a finished dish, this is the book for you.
House & Garden: A Year in the Kitchen, was published by Octopus on September 7. The book is available to order now. Save £5 when you order a copy of A Year in the Kitchen (Mitchell Beazley, £35) at bookshop.org using the code OCTOPUS5 until October 6 2023 only.
House & Garden Editor Hatta Byng will be in conversation with Blanche Vaughan on the book at Thyme in Gloucestershire on Friday September 22 at 10 am. Book tickets here.
You can also see Blanche at the Malvern Autumn Show on September 23, and Calico Club members can attend her conversation with journalist Fiona Golfar at Vogue House on October 3.
