It was supposed to be a novel when I walked into the bookstore. But then I was fascinated by a shelf full of cookbooks. Admittedly, I haven’t bought a cookbook for a long time and have to say that many offer a lot more than cooking instructions. Some are true wellness books. I chose WILD & COZY with the subtitle “Warming recipes for cold days”. An illustrated book full of wonderful photos of the Scottish nature. Rough landscapes, wild mountains and ice-blue lakes. Browsing through it is – almost – like vacation. While the cold wind is blowing around my nose, the next pages of the book will be served. Presented like in a rustic cottage, there is an orange punch with aperol and honey or a traditional hot coffee with whiskey and cream, then a steaming elderberry soup, crispy chestnut bread, a vegetable stew with cheddar cheese or cod with mustard sauce and kale. The sweet dishes include poached pears with Guinness sabayon, a quince crumble with macadamia nuts or shortbread with caramel. This is “Coorie”, the Scottish expression for the Danish “Hygge”, which means something like “comfortable” and “protected”.
So a book for the right balance between outside and inside, which incidentally makes you want to cook and is also suitable as a Christmas present.
The cookbook was designed and written by three women. Julia Cawley is a freelance photographer who also runs the food blog Liz & Jewels. Saskia van Deelen is a nutritionist who is visibly passionate about cooking, baking and styling for her blog Dee’s Küche. Vera Schäper is a graphic designer and develops book and magazine concepts. WILD & COZY was published by Jan Thorbecke. It costs 28 euros.
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