A Basket of Berries

If you love watercolor paintings and enjoy cooking with fruit then this beautifully illustarted little cookbook is a must. The autor/illustrator Val Archer was born in England and studied art at the Royal College of Art, her watercolor paintings grace each and every page of this lovely cookbook. Not only is she a master of watercolor, but an accomplished cook as well. The recipes she has included in this volume are unique and include such ingredients as Elderberries, Tayberries, and the more common blueberries and strawberries. The illustrations (paintings) are exceptional and look beautiful enough to frame. I have many times been tempted to cut out some of my favirite pages and have them matted and framed. The recipes range from exotic to every day affair. The measurements are in both metric and standard. There are some exotic sounding ingredients. One such ingredient is caster sugar, it is mainly sold in Britain, but can be purchased in the U.S. under the name "superfine" sugar. If you do an on-line search you can generally locate how to obtain the particular ingredient, or find a suitable substitute. The fact that some ingredients may be hard to obtain is the only reason that I could see that one would not find this cookbook simply wonderful! In my opinion I am very fortunate indeed to own "A Basket of Berries" by Val Archer. My cookbook collection would certainly be lacking if I did not have my own copy. I also have a copy of another cookbook that she authored and illustrated titled "A Basket of Apples" it also is an equally beautiful artistic treasure and a must-have for any serious cookbook collector! Happy Cooking, Cathy S.