ALICE'S COOKBOOK

A cookbook filled with recipes to nourish a busy lifestyle.

Stop eating prepackaged pasta because you have no time to cook, writes the author. Don't miss all the jokes at the dinner party because you are sweating it out over the stove. Food editor Hart thinks spending time with friends and family is made great by sharing a fantastic meal. To pull this off, the author prepares most meals early. “This advance prepping is my way of picking a path through life's vicissitudes, with sanity somewhat intact and delectable food on the table,” she writes in the introduction to her debut cookbook. Hart follows that up with easy-to-follow menus and recipes for seasonal lunches, portable breakfasts and parties, among other occasions. She breaks down exact prep time, as well as how long a recipe can be refrigerated. The author has even manipulated recipes so that multiple items can be in the oven at the same time and temperature. The recipe for Quick Damper Bread Dipping Sticks, meant to be cooked over a campfire, includes tips on how to transport prepped ingredients to the wilderness. The author's menu for an Autumn Sunday Lunch for Six includes Carmelized Baby Roots, Feta and Sweet Lemon Dressing; Slow-Roasted Red-Currant and Thyme Lamb Shoulder; Glazed Cabbage; Giant Yorkshire Pudding; and a Pear and Almond Tarte Tatin. To this feast, Hart folds in as many time-saving tips as possible and provides a minute-by-minute break down of how to get all of the dishes on the table by 2 p.m.

For readers too busy to cook or those simply seeking fresh and tasty ideas.