About
Welcome to the food4u&me family!
This really is a family cookbook, so don’t expect Michelin Star recipes, or presentation, although we do try on this as you also taste with your eyes! Do expect to make the most of fresh ingredients, along with simple and interesting ways to create great tastes to share with family and friends.
Flexibility is important to us, so there is plenty of room to make the recipes your own. Some days are invention tests, when you have a glut of pears or simply a range of unplanned ingredients, so have some fun with what you have available.
Let me introduce the family, as they have all had a hand in contributing and inspiring what started out as “Mum’s cookbook for Zander at uni” and grew to the point where it became a recording of food we have enjoyed with friends and family, as well as being easier to organize online.
I’m Tracey, a consultant, educator and author for many years, with a passion for tasty, interesting food, travelling and, increasingly, growing my own food.
My son, Zander, was the original inspiration, as he wanted some recipes to take to university to cook on weekends. An athlete, student and “foodie” from the age of two when he decided on an Italian holiday that adding oil and balsamic to salad was the only way to go, he enjoys cooking but wants tasty, healthy (we won’t mention that chocolate orange mousse cake is not a food group), quick and easy recipes that work with a two-ring hob and microwave. At home on holidays, he is more than happy to help experiment with flavours and recipes, but we still need to do the ultimate Bolognese challenge: his or mine, so will keep you posted. The "Z & friends" category recipes are there with Zander and his friends in mind as they are particularly good for students or people with limited kitchens.
Greg, my partner and Zander’s Dad, loves spicy food, all things Mexican, all things from the sea, and preferably healthy. He is a pro on the barbeque, even with snow outside, and has only recently (reluctantly) admitted that my salsa is better than his – yeah! He (and his Mum) are responsible for the addition of dinosaur kale to the vegetable/fruit garden this year, so we are experimenting with this as you will see.
My parents, particularly my mum, love gardening and we always had home-grown produce in season when I was growing up, so that legacy is reflected here. Zander managed to keep a pot of basil alive for most of his first year at uni! Mum taught me how to make a white sauce, many of the tricks and tips behind great-tasting food, and how to make a fantastic crumble – I remember happy afternoons picking wild blackberries on the common to go with the homegrown apples. Still a favourite of Zander’s! Dad taught us how to fish and catch crabs with a bicycle wheel. They now live mainly in Spain, with summers in France, meaning lots of great local foods to explore.
Greg’s Mum, who lives in the US but visits regularly along with his family, is also a keen gardener, so has added to the fresh, tasty and healthy recipes, along with some great ideas on Mexican dishes and seafood, plus her own secret muesli recipe (still trying to get Greg to share this)!
Friends have also been a great inspiration – we love entertaining and being entertained and there is always something to learn from other people’s recipes, so thank you all!
Finally, while we have lived and travelled in many places, we have been in Switzerland for quite a few years now, so make regular excursions to Italy and France (always coming back with food), as well as around Europe and further afield. Travels are a voyage of culinary discovery for all of us, from Vietnamese pho (now a staple the day after roast chicken), to cod with chorizo (inspired in Spain), simple pastas where the fresh flavours explode in your mouth, Mexican-themed salsas, Asian burgers and Portuguese seafood.
Thanks for joining the family – we look forward to the food ideas you would love to share!
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Bon Appetit!
