Yasmin Fahr - Keeping it Simple

When I was 11 years old, I woke up early on the morning of my younger sister Ashleys birthday to make her banana pancakes. I remember sneaking out of my room in the still-quiet house, trying to keep our dog from getting hyper and waking everyone up as she followed me into the kitchen. She sat, watching me, as I whisked the batter, cut the bananas, got out the orange juice and set the table.

Oh man the pancakes were awful. I dropped one on the floor and our dog, who would gobble up anything, sniffed it and walked away. It was not a great start to my culinary career.

Despite that blip, food and cooking are an integral part of my life, whether its learning about different cultures through food, visiting markets around the world or having friends over for dinner. And while I love dining out in restaurants more than anything, taking that little bit of time to cook for myself, a loved one or a few, is a form of self-care. Slowing it down is a way to ground myself, spend quality time with people I love and feed myself something delicious thats also good for me.

The point of this book is to encourage you to cook more at home and enjoy the process. Youll find reliable recipes for weeknight dinners, easy and approachable cooking techniques for roasting a chicken, cooking a whole fish, searing scallops and lots of kitchen shortcuts. Soon youll start to learn things without even realising it and, in turn, will become a better cook. My goal is that youll have dinner on the table in the time that it takes you to drink a glass of wine. Maybe two. These recipes are for all of us who love food, want to feel good, find ourselves short on time and dont want to end up with a kitchen full of dirty dishes.

The best part? All of these recipes can be made in one pot or pan (sometimes with another thrown in for prep), dont require a lot of skill but taste like they do and tend to be on the lighter side. Thats not in terms of substance, as they are well-portioned, filling main courses, but more in terms of making sure they are healthy(ish).

So, now that you know what youre getting yourself into, my definition of healthy for these recipes loosely means that there will be no butter (maybe some ghee), very little dairy (other than feta, mozzarella and Parmesan, because I love them, and really, who doesnt?) and more lean than fatty meats. Youll also probably catch me sneaking something green into everything I can.

As we all know, but maybe dont put into practice enough, being healthy is not just what you eat, but how you live your life, from how much you sleep and how much exercise you do, to thinking positively and incorporating care for yourself and others into your daily actions and thoughts. Youre superhuman and my hero if you dont feel anxiety in this social media-infused, tech-loaded era, which is why I think those last few things are so important now more than ever. And thats how I define being healthy: feeling good in your body and day-to-day to life.

My goal is to empower you to feel confident in the kitchen, as I know how intimidating and overwhelming it can feel until you get the hang of it. I think youll find that theres something deeply satisfying about the ability to feed yourself and the people you care about with food that is both beautiful and nourishing. And, hopefully, the stories and tales sprinkled throughout will make it feel like Im in the kitchen with you, guiding you along over a glass of wine.

Most of us, myself included, are not aspiring to be the next MasterChef (at least not admittedly), so the recipes in this book are meant to help you become a better home cook. I aim to do this by providing you with tips and tricks that Ive learned from fellow cookbook authors and talented chefs who were kind enough to bestow some of their knowledge onto me.

For example, theres a list of commonly used words and phrases that took me a while to figure out (like the difference between a gentle and active simmer), efficiency recommendations so you can maximise your time in the kitchen, plus ways to use leftovers and leftover ingredients so nothing rots in your fridge and goes to waste.

Follow the recipes, pay attention to what you like and dont like, and soon, youll be tweaking them and adapting them to your personal preferences; we all tend to have different peculiarities (youll get a sense of mine, soon enough). Yes, you might mess something up (you can blame me), but hopefully youll learn from it and get it right next time. The best thing about cooking is that there is always a next time.

Where to start

All of the recipes are simple and dont require a lot of skill, so you can bounce around the chapters or start anywhere youd like and have some fun with it. In the is also a good place to begin, as youll become more familiar with using the condiments and ingredients listed to maximise taste with minimal time and effort. Plus, these recipes are so easy that youll surprise yourself and any guests, with what you've pulled together. I always tend to feel quite pleased with myself after creating a beautiful 20-minute meal. Once youve mastered the main recipes, you can start reading the side notes and swap-outs to get an idea of how the recipe can be adjusted. But only go there once you feel ready, so you dont become overwhelmed. Whatever your level, read the below information before you start.

Swapping proteins

In the , most of the recipes have instructions on how to cook basic proteins such as scallops, steak, prawns (shrimp) and chicken. The idea is that you can also use these proteins for the other dishes, for instance, subbing in chicken for prawns, if you just had prawns the other night or arent in the mood. The recipes are fluid, so dont feel constricted by what you see written on the page.

Quality matters

As every chef Ive ever interviewed has hammered into my head, the end result will only be as good as the ingredients that you start with. This means not only using high-quality oils, fats and salts, but also using ingredients that are in season and fresh because they taste better. Youre fighting an uphill battle if you start with lifeless, sad-looking vegetables yes, Im talking about that limp, squishy squash you found in the back of your fridge. I dont like wasting food either, but thats a no-go.

Stick to the seasons

In this day and age, its easy to get raspberries and strawberries year-round, but they also dont taste nearly as good as they do in the height of the summer season where you feel like they are infused with the flavours of the sun, sweet and sticky juices dripping down your hands as you eat them. For this reason, when applicable, the recipes have seasonal swap outs.

Most importantly

Have fun. My friend Jon makes endless fun of me because I use this word a lot. For example, Want to take a fun walk? or Should we get a fun drink? As if it wouldnt be fun, if I didnt say the word. I hope that you do what makes you feel good while making these recipes, whether its lighting candles, putting on music, dancing around while you wait for something to roast or simply sitting on the couch with a glass of wine until your timer goes off (on that note, timers are very helpful, especially if there are other people around to distract you). I have a hula hoop in the kitchen that I often use while Im waiting for something to finish cooking. Nothing is right and nothing is wrong just go with what makes you happy.