It''s Complicated is a mosaic of human connections in all their shades - from breaking up to making out, quiet contentment to agonising loneliness, sexting to ghosting, navigating friendships to ''fuckboys'', pregnancy loss to profound fulfilment.
If you''ve ever checked your ex''s social media at 2am - or their new partner''s LinkedIn (because it''s the only social profile you can access) - or are having sex with your partner knowing you''re going to leave - or if you can''t stop thinking about the one who broke your heart a decade ago - or if everyone thinks you''re the perfect couple but you''ve been drifting apart for years - or if you''re swiping to fill a void -
then you''ve probably felt a smarting of shame. But let me tell you something radical: your darkest secrets, your most repulsively shameful thoughts, feelings, and behaviours: you''re not alone.
Philippa Found''s project emerged during the early days of the pandemic, aiming to dissolve the isolation that gripped us all. Through anonymous submissions, people shared their unfiltered stories. It grew beyond the shadows, featuring in large-scale street exhibitions across the TfL network and earning an award from the London Mayor. It became a counterpoint to the stigma around love stories, standing against the shame we carry with our love.
Beyond lockdown, the project thrived, collecting over 1,500 stories. This short story collection, showcasing 250 curated pieces for the first time, peels back the layers of modern relationships. Each story gives a glimpse into the lives of others; cultivating empathy and reminding us of our shared humanity. By reading about others'' experiences, we learn to understand and embrace ourselves better - our desires (or lack of) and those burning, poisonous, suffocating, uncomfortable feelings.
The short stories are grouped into sections mirroring the stages of a relationship, including platonic ones. These aren''t love stories - they''re stories about love.
iii.EXES
iv.SINGLE
v.HOOKING UP
vi.DATING
vii.IT''S COMPLICATED
viii.FRIENDS & FAMILY
ix.IN A RELATIONSHIP
x.BREAK-UPS
Where once Scotland dominated the world of whisky, that''s no longer the case. England is just one of many countries now challenging Scotland''s historic lead.
Until recently, England has been a desert as far as whisky production goes. Gin has been widely produced here for several centuries, especially after the accession of William of Orange and Mary in 1688, but whisky was hardly produced at all, and then at the turn of the millennium everything changed.
More and more distilleries here in England, both large commercial ones and micro-distilleries, are exploring new and exciting flavours, and being as experimental as they like. Distillers are free to play around with different grains, shapes of stills and flavour profiles and many of these distilleries are now becoming serious world-class operations, a far cry from the small craft distilleries of even 20 years ago.
This new book tells the exciting story of English whisky as it becomes established as a serious player on the world stage. Covering topics such as how the industry was kickstarted as recently as 20 years ago by the English Whisky Company, how rye is competing with barley as a grain of preference, the importance of sustainability, the use of peat and oak, and the huge increase in high-end tourism, with vast numbers of visitors enjoying learning about English whisky at distilleries up and down the country, from Cornwall to Cumbria. The book includes profiles of nearly 40 distilleries, with descriptions and tasting notes of key whiskies released so far.
The part-time vegetarian who was identified in Sally''s first book, Veggiestan, has become a thing. Great swathes of the population are now eschewing meat for the best part of the week in favour of healthier, vegetable-based alternatives.
The appetite for new ways to brighten your broccoli, add sparkle to your spinach and titillate your tomatillos has never been greater. Since opening her vegetarian cafe within her shop Persepolis, Sally has seen an explosion of interest in her Middle Eastern-influenced vegetarian dishes.
Inspired by the food Sally serves up daily to her hungry customers, this sequel to Veggiestan, ventures a little further from the Middle Eastern shores, deserts and mountain ranges to other continents and beyond... The book still mostly draws on Sally''s experience in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine, but once again she looks to all parts of the globe for vegetarian recipes (and stories).
Persepolis brings you the most outstanding (and fun) ways of feeding without meat or fish, stopping along the way for a chat with the residents and a bit of sightseeing. 150 new recipes, including more vegan recipes/alternatives, offer a fantastic variety of ideas for the vegetarian cook.
When life gives you lemons you make lemonade. But, what happens when life gives you a stick of rhubarb, a kohlrabi or a cabbage? What do you make then? This book is here to help.
Chef and food educator Ceri Jones gives you 100 easy and delicious seasonal recipes for all occasions. Taking 40 vegetables, from the humble potato to celeriac, Ceri shows you the best ways to prepare them, the tastiest flavour pairings and two or three recipes for a simple supper or side dish for each.
The book is divided into vegetable families, such as brassicas, fungi, pods and leaves, and with each recipe, Ceri provides options for vegetables that can be swapped out with another one in its family - allowing variety and reducing the need to shop for more ingredients so that you can make use of what you already have in the cupboard.
The recipes are easy to scale up if you want to cook for more people and are designed to get on the table with minimal fuss. While vegetables are the stars of the show, the recipes also include seasonal fruits, plenty of fresh herbs, whole grains, legumes, a little meat, fish and seafood, dairy and spices. This is a book that celebrates seasonality, produce, sustainability and, of course, eating more veg. Quite simply, your way of cooking veg and your recipe repertoire will be transformed.
Among the mouth-watering recipes in the book are: Kale and Walnut Pesto Green Lasagne; Kohlrabi Carpaccio with Avocado, Blood Orange and Chilli; Leek, Roasted Pepper and Cheese Toasties; and a Leftover Roasties, Herb and Gruyere Frittata.
For the first time, dessert chef and Happy Endings founder, Terri Mercieca, lets us in on the magic behind their most sought-after ice creams and complementary puddings to give you the tools to create your own versions of their beloved ice-cream sandwiches and desserts that dreams are made of.
Baking might get all the love right now, but it''s time that ice cream claimed its crown as the ruler of desserts...
For Terri, ice cream simultaneously has the power to conjure childhood memories and deliver a taste explosion that stops you in your tracks and floods you with sensory delight. It can offer comfort in both our happiest and saddest moments - she''d even go so far as to say it can be medicinal.
This seemingly simple treat is a result of some of the most complex material science, but this book will be your trusted guide, walking you through the tips, tricks, and techniques to make your own magic, at home. And just like they do at Happy Endings, Terri will show you how to achieve the most moreish and well-balanced dessert with just the right bite.
The Happy Endings Cookbook gives you a full repertoire of recipes including all the elements you could ever need to build your own version of their signature ice-cream sandwiches, alongside impressive sundaes, classic puddings, and tantalizing tarts.
It''s time to lift the lid off ice cream and rediscover the joy it can bring to all of us.
This fascinating collection showcases an astonishing range of period pieces, from the 1750 whale-boned corsets, through the invention of the sewing machine and mass-produced corsets of the 1850s to the makeshift corsets of World War I.
