Seasonal and Sustainable: Cooking for Healthy Living is not just another recipe book. it draws upon Karen Mugliett’s holistic attitude to sustainable living centred round the home. An attitude which owes a lot to Karen’s formation as a home economics teacher and University pedagogue.

‘Young people are sometimes overwhelmed by the thought of the planning, preparation and cleaning that goes on with cooking. One of the intentions of this book is to demonstrate that it does not need to be so. Knowing the basing techniques, having the right tools, planning can all help’ stated Karen.

The book includes a first chapter intended to instill the proper attitudes to home cooking, attitudes such as budgeting tips, shopping wisely, organising meals, sustainable cooking. These are followed by other indispensable information on kitchen tools, meat temperatures, etc and then basic recipes which are considered as fundamental to a wide range of recipes. ‘One of my target audiences were young people starting a household, who might take on the responsibility of daily cooking without an overall sutainable perspective’.

The core of the book is the four seasonal chapters. ‘ I have organised the book around the seasons, in order to promote the seasonal approach to sourcing ingredients particularly vegetables, fruit and fish. Adapting the cuisine to what is available makes sense from a healthy, economic and sustainability point of view.' Each chapter of this book focuses on some of the most common vegetables found in the particular season and gives a variety of different recipes using those particular vegetables.

The different chapters are enhanced with seasonal, sustainable or health tips. These are practical ideas intended to make home chefs ponder on the implications of their cooking. All recipes are healthy, with a strong focus on fruit and vegetables. Food preparation should have an underlying sustainability philosophy, minimising kilometres (for produce transportation), minimising pesticides, supporting fair trade and local producers. Karen’s nutrional expertise has been translated into practical indications on how to achieve tasty dishes without using ingredients high in calories,fat or sugar. For example in a recipe for the fig cheesecake (featured in the article), I used a base made up of muesli, figs, etc, instead of biscuits and butter which are high in trans fats.

The book contains about 110 practical, economical and healthy recipes all tried out (and photographed by Karen’s husband Jesmond). Seasonal and Sustainable: Cooking for Healthy Living is just one milestone in Karen’s quest to foster a sustaible living culture. Responsible living starts today is the motto I used in a website I launched earlier on this year http://www.culinariaandwellness.com . My objective is to foster a healthy community, conscious of its responsibility towards sustainability and enjoying a better quality of life.