Stuffed Vine Leaves Saved My Life

This is the only full-price cookbook I have ever bought. I'm fairly new to cooking and on a low budget so I can't afford to spend money on cookery books when the Internet is accessible to me. But this book, which I picked up in a bookshop one day, was so impressive that I splashed out and bought it, cheaper, from Amazon I LOVE food. I have always really enjoyed eating and anyone who has ever cooked for me has commented on how much I appreciate their food. Nadia Sawalha also loves food. She really genuinely loves cooking, eating and feeding others delicious food. Two recipes which convinced me to buy the book are Egg and Twigs and Sage and sausage stuffing which Nadia says she eats "sometimes, only sometimes with creamy mashed potato and red wine sauce". As soon as I read that, I made it my next mission in life to get the ingredients necessary to make that delicious sounding dish which I knew would be a real pleasure to eat! It may or may not be a Michelin star quality recipe or a TV chef style recipe, but it is a delicious, easy, enticing FOOD LOVER'S recipe and that's the kind of food I want to eat and cook for the people I love. The only chef I ever saw who has a real passion for food and eating is Jamie Oliver. Nadia Sawalha's love of all things culinary is staggering in comparison to his. Nadia Sawalha knows well the science of cooking, and she is technically brilliant enough to have won Masterchef, but first and foremost, she is a pure lover of food. As a consequence, she cooks absolutely scrumptious food that I cannot wait to cook and eat too.

I brought this book back in April and I can say that was money well spent. The reason being not only has Nadia provided a collection of her family recipes from stuffed vine leaves to lasagne (that has a slight Middle Eastern twist). Each recipe comes alive as Nadia quite beautifully relates it to a particular family member or occasion, which sometimes brings a smile or chuckle to your lips. Be warned this book is not just a collection of recipes from the Middle East but rather an amalgamation of recipes that plays homage to Nadia's life.

This is a charming book. One feels the author is chatting to one personally. The food works and is delicious. However, though the family anecdotes are nice, felt I was bombarded with far too many snaps e.g. kids making faces, Auntie this and that! I like Nadia Sawalha - a great favourite of my family re. her TV appearances. I am sure dining with her is a wonderful experience, her warmth and hospitality comes shining through in all her ventures. Is it not time we forsook mind-bogglingly awful celebrity cooks making capital through TV and persuaded Nadia to make a Series? 'The Scrumptious Miss Sawalha'perhaps?

I'm surprised at how very good the recipes in this book are, I'd not really bothered with any of Nadia's books in the past to be honest, I assumed they wouldn't have a lot of substance- I stand corrected. She's mixed a range of Arabic and Western family style recipes really well, the Arabic particularly interest me as I am familiar with the cuisine of the Levant but not very good at recreating the tastes. Her recipes are simple and by the looks of it well explained well, she's inspired me to give them a go.

the book was delivered on time and I was very happy with the service. The book is fun and I have already cooked several recipe's successfully I am happy with the purchase

Bought this for a friend who loves cook books. I haven't actually cooked anything but it looks lovely, there's some nice family history, photos and tales behind the recipes and I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again.

This is a lovely book, with lots of stories about Nadia Sawalha and her family, however I am not convinced it is a great cookbook, good just not great. The first recipe I tried was the stuffed vine leaves, now I had never eaten vine leaves before let alone cooked with them and I did struggle. I was dissapointed with the result and I knew I had made a mistake but couldn't see what as I had followed the instructions to the letter. Now in contrast the Mussakhan was one of the best dishes I have ever eaten, a roasted chicken on a Magical Carpet of bread, Onions and Sumac, really delicious, this was my first experience of Sumac and it was a good one. It's a lovely book I would recommend to fans of Nadia Sawalha but if your looking for a great cookbook this might not be it, the book is full of Nadia's family favourites and is very charming with a few gems.

Just a wonderfully funny, warm,truthful and entertaining book. Every page brings a smile, and if you follow the easily written recipes every page brings a great flavour too! Thank you for sharing Nadia!

great Arabic food .. love the way she talkes about her life and exsperinces. easy recipies and nothing complicated /// recomended

Great book with soulful family recipes , Thank you Nadia