Thanks for stopping by. It’s great to have you here.

 

My name is Sarah Holmes and I am the (very!) proud new owner of The World's Easiest Recipes.  I live in one of the most beautiful spots in New Zealand, the lovely Whitianga on the Coromandel Peninsula. I live with my partner Mark, but for the greater part of my adult life, I've been a single mum to my 3 wonderful children, Joseph, Isabel and Sam....and the loveliest of additions, Sophie.

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I have always loved cooking and am part of a wider family that have a complete passion for food.  My brothers and I had the best of both worlds growing up; our Mum was off a farm and so we learnt about good quality fresh ingredients, and how to cook from scratch.  And our Dad was a businessman who travelled overseas a lot, and so we were exposed to different flavours from around the world from a very young age.   I still remember the elaborate Saturday night meals that came out of his favourite Ken Hom cookbook!

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However, as a single mum it was difficult balancing my own expectations of what I wanted to provide for my children in terms of nourishing, healthy, delicious foods that would become part of their childhood memories, with the more real pressure of having neither the time nor the money to do so.  It was a constant challenge trying how to reinvent sausages and mince every night of the week (back when they were cheap!)  Putting leftovers in a thermos and heading to the beach on Day Three of the same meal seemed to work!

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It wasn't until earlier this year, when I was looking for a change from my career as a teacher that we stumbled upon Linda's cookbooks.  And aside from looking at the business, I couldn't believe that these gems hadn't been part of my life until now!  When I say "where had she been all my life?!" I wasn't joking!  These books are literally 100% dedicated to the simple, most easiest recipes in the world.

 

The trick to the recipes in these cookbooks is knowing how to throw a few basic store cupboard ingredients together to create a taste sensation. For instance, combining sweet chilli sauce, mint sauce, honey and garlic and pouring over lamb chops before cooking will take a family meal from boring to restaurant quality. Or stirring melted caramel chocolate through whipped cream will make a stunning dinner party dessert. Or what about baking recipes that require you to throw everything into a bowl at once and mix? How about making a loaf of bread that requires absolutely no kneading? Just mix the ingredients, tip into a loaf tin and allow to rise before cooking. Believe me, anyone can be a cook using these recipes.

 

I believe that in a world that seems to be getting crazier all the time, cooking is a skill that grounds us and allows us to provide for and nurture the people we love.  And this should be something that is available to all, regardless of circumstance or net worth.  Cooking good food doesn't have to be time consuming or expensive.  And that's where The World's Easiest Recipes comes in! 

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I hope you love these cookbooks as much as I do!  

 

Happy cooking!

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Sarah