I knew I had to travel to the Fountainhead Retreat Hotel in Andalucía, Spain after reading the introduction to Helen Bartlett’s book Fountainhead Food. I am equally sure, after having stayed there, that I want to come back to both the place and the food.

I was slow – it took a while before I started cooking from this book – and that is a shame!

Nigella Lawson is one of my favourite cookbook writers, the TV shows also mean that I feel I know her a little. I can hear her voice when I read out the recipes. So they are more than recipes, they are stories and a connection to another human being.

Cooking is fine chemistry but not all Heston recipes include dry ice and dangerous steps, actually – look beond the circus and Heston is making some really nice food.

Why eat out when you can stay home and enjoy good food?

The Australian Women´s Weekly cookbooks have a special place in my life and in my bookshelf. You know that every recipe has been triple tested, but that comes second to the inspiration you can get from these books.

Paella is for outdoor living, but you can also cook a Paella rice in a frying pan in your kitchen. The key is to get startet and for that you wil need the book Paella by Alberto Herraiz.

Alberto uses some very nice technics in this book for cooking both sofrito and stocks, which are the most important part if you want a good flavour in your Paella.

This book is full of proper man-food. Full of flavour and without the pressure that comes from preparing food that is too complicated for your home kitchen.

Look at my copy of Ultimate Home Cooking by Gordon Ramsey! I like to mark recipes I want to try later with a little colourful Post-it Index strip – as you can see; I will have to come back to this book more than once.