Cookbooks

Practical and helpful, food magazine Health Food Guide has released 101 gluten-free recipes volume two following the sellout of the first volume.

Not all gluten-free food is healthy - salt, sugar and fat can fill the gap left by wheat and other gluten-containing grains, but these recipes, as all in the magazine, are checked for their nutritional value. There are plenty of mouth-watering dishes here for those who can't eat gluten as well as those who can - among them eggplant chicken meatballs with tzatziki, spiced lamb with crispy roasted veges and chickpeas, Mediterranean lemon fish, polenta pizza, pumpkin and lentil curry with rice, cauliflower and blue cheese soup, and banana bread.

If you have a glut of fruit or vegetables in the garden or have been tempted by the freshness and cheapness of produce at the market, then Mary Tregells' Notes from the Jam Cupboard (New Holland) may provide some inspiration. The Austrian-born British food writer offers numerous recipes for jams, chutneys, cordials, pestos and sauces, as well as recipes for using them - whether it's apples and pears, stonefruit, berries, citrus, tropical fruit, onions, courgettes or tomatoes.

I was intrigued by her pear and chocolate jam, a rhubarb and apricot jam infused with Earl Grey tea, a marmalade and carrot cake, potato and dandelion salad, and variously flavoured vodkas.

The stylish design, photographs and anecdotes, make this an attractive as well as useful book.