Rochelle Humes - At Mama’s Table: Easy & Delicious Meals From My Family To Yours

EBURY

UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia
India | New Zealand | South Africa

Ebury is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com .

First published by Vermilion in 2021

Text copyright Rochelle Humes
Photography copyright Yuki Sugiura (food) and Karis Kennedy (portrait)

The moral right of the author has been asserted

Cover design Nikki Ellis
Commissioning editor: Sam Jackson
Project and copy editor: Dan Hurst
Design and art direction: Nikki Ellis
Nutritional guidance: Julia Wolman
Photography (food): Yuki Sugiura
Photography (portrait): Karis Kennedy
Food styling: Benjamina Ebeuhi
Prop styling: Lucy Attwater

ISBN: 978-1-473-59454-8

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

Hi everyone!

Thanks for picking up At Mama's Table . The kitchen has always been at the heart of my home. When I was a child and now as a mum, I have always sat down at the end of the day with my family to eat. My husband Marvin and I are big believers in the importance of sitting around the table together and having that quality time as a family. I know too well the busy demands of family life and I always cook one meal for all of us, even if I make a few small changes for the kids. Regardless of how busy we are, Marvin and I will always make it home for dinner, even if it means taking a break from work to come home for a bit or on one of those days when we are playing tag team to look after the kids. Where possible, I try and cook from scratch and I am a huge fan of simple, fresh, and flavoursome meals that everyone can enjoy.

Since I was young, being in the kitchen and cooking a meal for my loved ones has been a kind of therapy for me. I do most of the cooking in our house but thats because I love it and its how I relax at the end of a long day. Marvin is the drinks guy thats his strength in the kitchen; making sure everyone has a full glass and the ambiance is good with the right music on! He is also in charge of making brunch at weekends. In our house, we really celebrate food. On special occasions, such Christmas and Easter, our families and friends will come to us and Ill spend a lot of time preparing meals. When we have friends and family over and I cook for them, I am often asked to write my recipes down for them afterwards. I have always said Ill do it, but up until now I have never found the time. Our house is super-busy with Marvin, my two girls Alaia and Valle, and our baby boy Blake, but this year felt like the perfect time to put pen to paper and create a book of recipes that are as suitable for the smallest tummies in the family as they are for the biggest.

Ive just been through the weaning journey for the third time and introducing your baby to solid food for the first time can be so exciting. Its natural, especially if you are a first-time mum, to feel nervous when weaning your baby but it is also such an adventure. That feeling that you have cracked it, when your baby has eagerly eaten some broccoli, for example, is the best! I wanted to write this book to show you all how I cook for my family, including the details of how I adapt my recipes for weaning babies. Like many mums, I live a busy lifestyle, so everything including our family meals has to slot in with that. I never have time to cook more than once, so I have incorporated guidance in almost all of my recipes so you know how to adapt them to feed weaning babies and slightly older children, without having to cook for them separately. Cooking in this way means that youll know that they will be experiencing the full range of flavour, variety, and textures that they need. Ive suggested a combination of both pures and baby-led weaning ideas, so you can choose the approach you would like (or do a combination of them, which is what I have always done!). While most of my recipes have this information, there are a small handful that simply arent suitable for very young children, no matter how much they might enjoy them sorry kids! This is usually on dessert recipes, where the sugar content is too high for very young tummies, but that just means theres all the more for us parents!