These days when I need a recipe in a hurry, I turn to the web. But if I have time, I turn to the legion of cookbooks that we have collected over the years. Besides the cookbooks we each brought to our marriage, we have a number of books rescued from the estates of loved ones who are no longer with us.

I recently wrote about two books of mine that I have long treasured. They are books on French cooking by an interesting author named Edouard de Pomiane (1875-1964), a medical doctor and food scientist who also presided over a popular radio show in France during the 1930s. He espoused a philosophy of simple cooking, which is unusual when you consider the complexity of most French cooking techniques.

Pomiane wrote a lot of books, but these two are the ones most easily found translated into English.

French Cooking in Ten Minutes

Cooking with Pomiane

I think the latter is the better of the two. The ten-minute cookbook is really more of a curiosity. Pomiane was proud of the fact that he could distill cooking advice down to meals so simple that they could be cooked in such a short amount of time. The longer book offers more typically French dishes. Both books are wonderful for their excellent range of menus. You could literally pick one menu and run with it for a simple meal, or for entertaining.

The best part of these books, and the real reason I wrote about them for our mystery writer’s blog, SleuthSayers, is his charming writing style. A sample:

First of all, let me tell you that this is a beautiful book. I can say that because this is its first page. I just sat down to write it, and I feel happy, the way I feel whenever I start a new project.

My pen is full of ink, and there’s a stack of paper in front of me. I love this book because I’m writing it for you…

I wrote my essay during spring last year, and touched on some examples of Pomiane’s cherry recipes. If you are interested, you can check out the essay at SleuthSayers, which is entitled:

All’s Fair in Death and Cherries!

One word on searching for these books online. Typically, it’s pretty easy to find paperback versions. Occasionally one or both of them will go out of stock and the price will skyrocket for new copies. It pays to be persistent and be open to used copies, which are quite abundant (and thus cheap).

All photos—of cherry trees and books—are by me.