Try this cookbook: Ottolenghi Test Kitchen - Shelf Love

Written by Geoff Sharpe of the Vancity Lookout 

Everyone has an artistic passion. The act of creating something new, that fully absorbs you until you lose track of time. In the end, you have new something you’ve created, with a feeling of pride and ownership. 

For some, it might be painting. For me, it’s cooking. I’m not an incredible chef. I have no formal training, except for one class at NorthWest Culinary Academy but what I lack in skills I make up for in passion. That lopsided bread loaf is still tasty, even if a little flat!

Today’s cookbook is one I turn to at least once a week if not more. The pages are bent, and water-damaged from spilling liquids while reading it. Crinkled pages stuck together is a sign of a well-used cookbook. 

Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love is a small book, more utilitarian than beautiful, but far more useful than 99 percent of the cookbooks I own because it’s made for every-day cooking.

The premise is simple — easy dishes using items left over in the fridge. Chapter titles include “your veg box,” “fridge raid” and “the freezer is your friend.” 

Think charred eggplant and tomatoes topped with tahini, roasted pepper salad with cucumbers, za'atar salmon and tahini. Each dish is relatively easy to make and easily substitutable. 

Meat dishes are included, but the vegetarian options are where it shines. There’s even a few desserts, though they err on the more complex side.

Unlike some of the more-involved cookbooks, ones I love like Jerusalem and Plenty More, the dishes are dead simple to make. It’s the difference between rebuilding an entire spice cabinet, or using what you have at home. 

You won’t be recreating dishes out of a high-end restaurant, but that’s not the point. Shelf Love is an ode to leftover veggies you normally throw away, a quick meal when you’re struggling to make dinner, or need variety after too many pasta dishes. I cannot recommend it enough.