Meike Peters:
Eat in my Kitchen
Prestel, 2016.

In a time when recipes are available on many great websites and apps, when you can see what most people are eating right at this moment on Instagram, when your every dietary requirement (or trend) can be catered to rather easily, why would you buy a cookbook? Why are we still smitten with these hard-copy artefacts of the digital world?

And, simultaneously, why must we be picky when choosing which of these recipe books to buy? If you’ve already got a collection of such books helping you out in the kitchen, which new one might help you more? Which new one will make the collection more complete?

The author of Eat in my kitchen Meike Peters was introduced to the pleasures of food and cooking at a young age by her mother. Her first culinary education was rooted in German comfort food, with influences from French and Italian cuisine. Later, her culinary treasure chest got even richer upon meeting her partner who brought with him the cooking traditions of his Maltese mother and American father.

It’s a pleasure to find recipes that will become instant classics in your kitchen

Her new Mediterranean family brought new influences of Maltese and Sicilian flavours. Thus her new book, which first started off as a blog with the same name, encompasses cuisines from various countries and gives us a wide choice of foods for different occasions.

While it’s disappointing to buy a cookbook only to find out it’s full of recipes you already know, or a slightly altered version, it’s a pleasure to find recipes that will become instant classics in your kitchen. After having tried several from Eat in my kitchen you might want to adopt some for those occasions when you don’t want to think too much.

Recipes that are an amalgamation of several countries’ cuisines feel important right now. There is not only joy in experiencing new flavours and in being exposed to the way another culture experiences food, but it might go a long way in understanding the beauty and richness of different peoples. After all, food tends to bring people together in an uncomplicated manner.

Meike starts off every recipe with a narrative that places us in the scenario, the season, and the mood for what we’re about to make. Her strong family connections and influences are very much involved with her food, and her affinity for genuine recipes with ingredients that are in season and complementary to each other. But even before the recipes start, an introduction to the book reassures every cook that they can work with what they know and love.

That each recipe should be adjusted according to tastes and dietary requirements, the kind of equipment you are comfortable working with and the kind of produce that is available to you where you live. These facts are more important than you’d imagine, not only for our physically well-being but also for the environment around us.

The fact that the author expresses joy in what she’s doing and what she writes and eats is already winning points, but then we need to see how usable to book actually is to beginners and seasoned cooks alike.

How many times have you opened a recipe book only to find out that you don’t know what two of the ingredients are, let alone how to obtain them? If most recipes in a cookbook require fancy equipment or rare kitchen gadgets, then it might as well only be available to professional chefs.

The instructions are to the point without ambiguity

Thankfully Eat in my kitchen is down to earth and approachable, you’re given leeway – after all, you’re making food and the process should be enjoyed too.

The hardback book contains 100 recipes, divided into 11 sections which includes a section called ‘meet in my kitchen’ with interviews and recipes by guest chefs and bloggers. There is a photo with every recipe and these gorgeous, colourful pictures are taken by Meike herself (talented lady!).

Curiously, there is no contents page and I found the index page a little tedious when cooking more than one recipe and having to look for the same recipe several times (with sticky fingers and a hot stove, this is not ideal). However, that is where the frustration stops. The measurements have thoughtfully been given in both metric and imperial systems, avoiding any confusion and frantic searches for conversion rates.

The instructions are to the point without ambiguity (this is especially helpful for new cooks) and you can tell that the author bears in mind that ovens work differently and that food needs your attention while cooking. Thus the recipe will not only say ‘cook for one minute’, but it will also instruct on the colour and smell you will need to look out for.

Serving suggestions are not underestimated too. With lines such as ‘serve immediately with a glass of chilled Riesling and use cold leftovers for sandwiches the next day’ at the end of your recipe, it’s hard not to want to go back for more.