This text is part of the special book Plaisirs
Have our gourmet authors from Quebec given each other the word this season? Fall cookbooks have a recurring central theme: simplicity. A heavy trend, which is available in a multitude of recipes and tips, while our daily life resumes its hectic pace and our grocery basket becomes more and more expensive. But do these books still have their place on our counters when it is so easy, precisely, to have access to tons of recipes on the Internet? We went to meet the popular Marilou and nutritionist Jessika Langlois to find out more.
When Marilou created the culinary blog 3 times a day, almost ten years ago, its primary ambition was to combine cooking and pleasure. The success of her initiative led her in 2014 to launch a first book, followed by four others since That simple, his latest opus, has just been released. What does she like in this format, when she is already present on the Web and on our small screen, in addition to having her own magazine? “Honestly, it’s one of my favorite projects,” she says. A blog is about spontaneity. A show is also ephemeral. But I consider the book as a timeless object, a reference that one can use and then pass on to one’s children, a kind of inheritance. My books are also the best reflection of my visual universe, to which I am very attached. »
Jessika Langlois, author of two books, including Cook with what we have, published in August, exclaims for his part, laughing: “Am I a little old fashioned? For me, a book is something sacred. But more seriously, I like its tangible nature. I invite people to take notes in it, to change one spice or ingredient for another. In short, to appropriate it as a daily tool. »
From ease to simplicity
Pandemic lockdowns and working from home may have brought us back to our kitchens, but they’ve also ushered in ready-to-eat and home delivery. For lack of time, energy, ideas or desire, preparing a meal can seem laborious. “Even me, who spends my days talking and testing food, when I arrive home, I often don’t know what to cook,” says Marilou.
It was in light of this observation, and seeing her two daughters feasting much more on pasta with butter and prosciutto than on more sophisticated dishes, that she worked for two years with her team on her new concept. “I realized that the recipes I offered, which were often easy, were not that simple,” she explains. Yes, a recipe can be easy to make, but require waiting times, four pots, special kitchen tools, or a long list of ingredients. So, I decided to keep it simple in this new book, which brings together silly recipes that everyone can love. »
Marilou’s very simple proposals are available from morning to evening: breakfast sandwiches, smoothies without a blender, salads, mealtime soups, muffins, fun desserts like a bear paw to cook in a mug in the microwave, etc. The book also contains ingredient substitution options to make it even more accessible. “In preparing this book, I had in mind a fairly large audience,” she says. Young parents, students, career women. I want that That simple be their ally, that it lightens their mental and physical load when it comes time to cook. »
Valuable Basics
Any nutritionist she may be, Jessika Langlois likes to eat well. His book Cook with what we have therefore represents in his eyes a little “the course in home economics that we no longer have. This is not a health book, but a book of the basics which, once mastered, allow us to manage and be creative. »
The author has therefore structured her book around ten basic dishes, from quiche to meatballs, roast chicken, muffins and puddings. Each chapter begins with the preparation of an infallible base, which is then declined in five variations to change the ordinary. “I want people to understand that cooking doesn’t have to be complicated to be good,” she says. I also made sure that we could replace ingredients that we wouldn’t have at home to save as much time as possible. »
Using this approach, which also encourages reuse, the nutritionist is tackling a second major problem: food waste. “It’s a subject that concerns me like more and more people,” she said. My position is as follows: why constantly reinvent the wheel and impose the purchase of expensive food, a good part of which will end up in the trash? A simple roast chicken can easily be recycled into wrap, in salad, in broth or finish in a quiche. »
With her extremely simple recipes, Jessika Langlois wishes to convince students, young families, the elderly, or even people who lack confidence in front of the stove to find or rediscover the pleasure of cooking. Notice to interested parties!
3 times a day: very simple
Marilou, Editions Cardinal, Montreal, 2022, 264 pages
Cooking with what you have: 10 basics | 50 recipes | 1000 possibilities
Jessika Langlois, Quebec-America Editions, Montreal, 2022, 232 pages
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the To have to, relating to marketing. The drafting of To have to did not take part.