A Girl Called Jack: 100 Tasty and Affordable Recipes for the Home Cook

Andrea JS: I originally bought this book for my daughter to encourage here to try some new ideas. She doesn't have a big budget at all. After reading through it myself, and trying out the Keralan curry, I have ordered myself a copy too.
Compared to the big name chefs whose books I have purchased in the past, and only found a handful of recipes that suited my tastes in each one, this book is fantastic, and I have earmarked quite a few recipes to try already. I bought both copies used too...how's that for budget recipe ideas!
I also got a copy of the authors 'Canned food cookbook' too.

United Kingdom on Jul 11, 2023

timc: A Girl Called Jack: 100 delicious budget recipes" is an absolute culinary gem, offering a collection of 100 mouthwatering recipes that are both delicious and wallet-friendly. It's a must-have for anyone looking to create incredible meals on a budget

United Kingdom on Jul 03, 2023

Unknown Reader: I'm very frugal and saw this author's books advertised on her blog. I really like the recipes in this cookbooks and because I'm in the US and the author is in the UK, it's really fun seeing some of her UK phrases in the cookbook (for example, she references an "aubergine", which is an eggplant in the US.

United States on Aug 18, 2022

Amazon Customer: I enjoyed her clarity of writing, the creativity she encouraged the reader to utilize, the confidence she creates for the reader in the nutritional value of canned foods. This is an especially valuable book during time of limited purchasing opportunities and unpredictable income caused by Covid-19.

United States on Sep 26, 2020

Minty Mouse: What a great cookery book! There is nothing overtly fancy or stupidly complex in here and I think the book is all the better for it to be honest. It was nice to pick this book up and think " I can make that....and that, and that" simply because my store cupboard already contains everything I need.

I was attracted to the book having read other reviews in that the recipes were simple and unassuming, yet clearly tasty and nutritious. I think this book sums up the whole "let's get back to basics" cooking, which we have often overlooked of late, as chefs and cookery writers entice us with ever more outlandish dishes that your time and money pressed family probably cannot hope to achieve.

I absolutely 'get' where Jack is coming from, and praise you for getting such a book in print. I too was a single parent to a small boy, and did have to go without meals so my son could eat. I could, however, cook just about anything, so I think I survived well in the circumstances. But it's not funny, it's not nice, and I remember it well, despite being more than 20 years ago now.

So, what has changed? My small boy isn't small anymore, my wages increased, and life got a bit...

United Kingdom on Aug 26, 2016

C. Navas: For someone who is slowly getting out of debt and juggling school and freelance work, money is always tight, and not eating is not really an option.
Jack's recipes are both simple enough that I can do them in the spare time class leaves me, and tastier than anything I could have bought premade for the same price. I cannot thank her enough for the work that went into this book.

Absolutely would recommend.

United States on Oct 01, 2015

T. Cavasoz: I have been a follower of Jack Monroe for years thru her blog and was thrilled to see her publishing a book...so much so that I stalked it here on Amazon and waited for 3 weeks of shipping as it was sent over from the UK. Being able to cook well and cheaply AND for 1.5 people has always been the challenge for me and Jack is a breath of sanity in our overfed world. No super ingredients, no cooking for masses and no "lite" anythings, just.good.food.

This book is straightforward, simple to use and all the ingredients, save the fish paste, have been easy to get in my small town (8k) supermarket. As I live in the PNW, I just make my own salmon paste and its even better than anything that could be bought tinned! Her soups are divine and her breads perfect and she has, as always, inspired me to take another look at my pantry and be creative with what I have to make a masterful meal.

United States on Jan 09, 2015

QueenTess: In addition to the receipes, we also get to read a little bit about Jack's personal experience with poverty. It's heartbreaking. It's overwhelming. I read it off and on to remind myself how lucky I am.

I've tried a dozen recipes out of this book, and all have been added to our family's regular meal plan (two adults, two kids under 5). Our favorites are the Sunshine Bread, Peach & Chickpea Curry, and of course the Kidney Bean Burgers. The only one we haven't liked is the Lentil Burgers, which turned out quite dry; I'll try again to see if I maybe just added too much flour or maybe I can pack in some more liquid.

From an American standpoint, it takes a bit to get used to the different terms and measurements. I'm not accustomed to weighing my flour rather than knowing the number of cups, but as long as you have a scale you're set, and it's much more accurate. I also have nowhere to grow an herb garden where animals won't maul it (indoor or outdoor), so I mostly use dried herbs. Other items are cost-prohibitive due to my location. Jack speaks about using fish bits and streaky bacon, both of which sound like really great deals, but don't exist at the stores I have...

United States on Jun 26, 2014

Mr. K. A. Jones: I want to write this review so people can understand what this book is and what it is not, so forgive me if it seems to ramble a bit but it is quite essential to get the point across.

A few years before Jack went to her local supermarket to buy one of each of everything in the budget range I did exactly the same thing. I found what was edible and what was not. The aim of course was to be able to eat cheaply, the reason was my debts were exceeding my income to the point where it was getting hard to eat. I managed it, sort of. I have to say that no matter what folks say about supermarkets, in reality the service they are providing with their budget range puts them close to being some sort of Saviour to many of us. I know that comment is going to be a bit controversial, but when your belly is empty and your pocket not far behind then you really start to feel like a kid in a sweet shop when presented with cheap goodies. The fact I did it, and Jack did it, leaves me to believe many others must be trying the same.

But what I did not have was Jacks ability to cut the cost whilst upping the nutritional value at the same time. Her ability to substitute one ingredient for a...

United Kingdom on Jun 01, 2014

A. I. McCulloch: Regular readers of Jack Monroe's blog will be familiar with her excellent recipes that conjour up quick tasty and above all, cheap meals from store-cupboard staples such as tinned chickpeas, lentils and cut-price bacon.
Those who have tried the recipes will know that they mostly work, and work extremely well.

This book is a collection of the blog recipes along with new ones but it is also so much more. The first nice surprise was the format - an A4 sized softback packed with beautiful but realistic photos by Susan Bell of each dish opposite the ingredients and method.

For some recipes such as 'Use -Me-For-Anything Tomato Sauce' there are helpful stage by stage photos arranged to make the procedures easy to follow; ideal for nervous novice cooks.

Each recipe has plenty of suggestions for variations - vegetarians and vegans will find that many of these recipes can be adapted to suit them.
For those not too familiar with her work, Jack introduces herself with some moving extracts from her blog - including the now-famous 'Hunger Hurts' piece - and at the end of the book, 'Hunger Hurts - One Year Later', showing just how far Jack has come in that...

United Kingdom on Feb 27, 2014