Peg Bracken's was an important book in my mother's kitchen when I and my five younger siblings were growing up. The sentiment is understandable when you take into account that in 1970 our mother had to feed an eight-year old, a seven-year-old, a six-year-old, a four-year-old, and a two-year old, and was pregnant with the last of us!

This is no Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The I Hate to Cook Book is a small 144pp paperback with as much wit and advice as recipes. The recipes are comfort food, but they are good ones, and well-written and tested so they always work even when you are feeling more like a harried mom than a pampered chef!