I’m not much of an advance planner when it comes to Christmas but I did want to tell you all about three gorgeous hardback books that I highly recommend as gifts for the coming season (or for any other reason). These are books to be lingered over and returned to on multiple occasions as the evenings draw in, as I have been doing. There is something for all here from cooking to meditation to the nostalgia of tradition.
Donal’s Real Time Recipes by Donal Skehan published October 9th with Yellow Kite and is described as ‘a kitchen playbook for busy seasons with doable dinners and time hacks for everyday meal-prepping’. We are huge fans of Donal Skehan’s foodie tips and tricks in our house and have had some delicious meals courtesy of his easy instructions and accessible ingredients. I already know that this will be a well thumbed cookery book in our kitchen!
Recipes include: favourite pasta dishes like Chop Tomato Pesto Pasta and Spicy ‘Nduja Carbonara; super tasty one-pot suppers like Saffron Chicken & Rice and Braised One Pan Lamb; mouth-watering bowl food like Chicken Katsu in a Flash and Sticky Soy Salmon & Crispy Rice.
90 FAMILY FAVOURITES IN 30 MINUTES OR LESS from the moment you step into the kitchen to the moment you sit down with a delicious home-cooked meal in front of you.
[ About Real Time Recipes ]
Donal’s Real Time Recipes is the ultimate kitchen companion for busy lives, offering 90 fast, flavourful dishes that can be made in 30 minutes or less. Packed with Donal’s personal stories, clever insights, and kitchen hacks, this book is designed for home cooks who want real food, real fast-without the fuss.
Say goodbye to marinading or time-consuming techniques. With Donal’s approach, you’ll create delicious meals with ease: think quick sauces as the pasta boils, char-grilled chicken while prepping a fresh salad, speedy microwave greens, or air-fried crispy potatoes-all using easily accessible supermarket ingredients. Whether you’re cooking for yourself or feeding the family, Donal’s Real Time Recipes ensures every minute counts, helping you get from kitchen to table without stress, but with plenty of flavour!
[ Bio ]
Donal Skehan is the ultimate companion for busy home cooks! As a TV host, award-winning food writer, and father of two, Donal knows exactly the fun involved in how to balance family life, work, and a love for cooking. With nearly 20 years in the food world and 11 cookbooks under his belt-including Everyday Cook (2021), which snagged Cookbook of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards- Donal makes delicious home cooking feel easy.
Donal is a well-known TV presence, Donal has become a household name in Ireland with his TV shows airing year on year on RTE and distributed worldwide. He regularly appears on ITV’s This Morning, BBC’s Saturday Kitchen and has headlined multiple shows on RTÉ, Food Network, HBO Max & FOX International. His YouTube channel, with over 1 million subscribers, brings easy, flavourful meals to kitchens worldwide.
Website – www.donalskehan.com
Midwinter: A Journey Through a Seasons by Michael Harding published October 10th with Hachette Ireland and is described as ‘a stunning meditation on the season of winter and loss‘.
Snow falls within.
Blanketing the heart in peace.
Winter’s dream takes hold.
Michael Harding is a familiar voice in many households from his podcast and many media appearances. An author and a playwright he brings sense to the chaos of life and is an advocate for a completely different approach to living our daily lives. He encourages serenity and for us all to lean into our days accepting the seasons with a positivity and a sense of joy. Finding the beautiful in the everyday or as I heard him say on radio earlier today – be open to ‘eating the sausage with the mustard’ because you might just discover that you like it!
This book is dedicated to everyone at Pieta House, a suicide prevention charity. This is a work of non-fiction apart from the character of Martin who is fictional but whose story reflects the heartache and loss so many families endure every year.
[ About Midwinter: A Journey Through a Seasons ]
On frosty nights, as he sits by a flickering fire, Michael Harding withdraws into the stillness of winter and begins to reckon with age and death.
As stories emerge from the shadows, we meet a young boy whose arrival brings hope, but whose journey will know winter’s path. November is a rainstorm, December a bleak twilight, but as January dawns and the ice thaws, the fragile light of love penetrates the dark, bringing beauty to the earth and making new beginnings possible.
In writing of shadowed beauty, Midwinter is a poignant exploration of a season of loss, and the glimpses of hope that can follow even the longest nights.
[ Bio ]
Michael Harding is an author and playwright. A recipient of the Stewart Parker Award for theatre, a Hennessy Award for Short Stories and a Bank of Ireland/RTÉ award for Excellence in the Arts in 1990, he has written numerous plays for the Abbey Theatre and was writer in association with the National Theatre in 1993.
His novels include Bird in the Snow, The Trouble with Sarah Gullion and Priest. He is also the author of several bestselling memoirs including Staring at Lakes (winner of the Bord Gáis Energy Book of the Year award), Hanging with the Elephant, Talking to Strangers, On Tuesdays I’m a Buddhist, Chest Pain and What is Beautiful in the Sky.
He is a member of Aosdána, a columnist for over fifteen years with The Irish Times and his podcasts are available on the Patreon platform.
Old Ways to New Days: The Folklore, Traditions and Everyday Objects that Shaped Ireland by Shane Lehane published October 10th with Hachette Ireland and is described as ‘a fascinating journey through Irish folk life and the customs, technologies and traditions that shaped a country and its people‘.
Step back into a world where turf fires warmed the hearth, water was drawn from the well, and stories told by flickering candlelight lit up the night.
Shane Lehane is a lecturer and is also the resident folklorist on RTÉ’s The Today Show, sharing insights on Irish folk traditions.
‘It is a window on our past that demonstrates how many of our traditions and ways of being have had a lasting impact, while some for good or for bad, have been lost over the passage of time.’
Beautifully illustrated by Sara Baker this absolute treasure trove is a very special book that will bring a smile to many faces and spark a few memories that were thought as long forgotten.
‘The illustrations for this book were hand drawn with a dip pen and Indian ink, with the natural imperfections and unpredictability that this method produces. I wanted them to be accessible, humorous and in the vernacular style to reflect the themes and language of Shane’s delightful writing’
[ About Old Ways to New Days:
The Folklore, Traditions and Everyday Objects that Shaped Ireland ]
Foreword by Dáithí Ó Sé
In Old Ways to New Days, folklorist Shane Lehane brings the soul of Ireland’s past to life in a beautifully woven tapestry of tradition, transformation and memory. From the magic of birth to the customs of death and mourning; from matchmakers and milking stools to butter charms and fairy lore, Lehane traces the arc of a society rooted in the land, as it evolved with the arrival of bicycles, electricity, cinema and the wireless.
At once scholarly and deeply personal, this is a celebration of how the old ways still echo in Irish memory and lore, even as the new days roll on. Wonderfully illustrated with dip-pen drawings, this is a book to treasure and a poignant reminder of who we were, and how we came to be.
[ Bio ]
Shane Lehane is a lecturer and course director in Cultural and Heritage Studies at Cork College of FET and teaches Folklore at University College Cork. With over 35 years’ experience, he is known for his engaging lectures on Irish folk custom, tradition, and belief – exploring festivals, the life cycle, and vernacular life. Passionate about folklife, he highlights the significance of everyday objects, architecture, and food in Irish heritage.
Shane has published widely, including influential works on beekeeping and the Skelligs, and frequently contributes to local journals and history societies. A familiar face on Irish media, he is the resident folklorist on RTÉ’s The Today Show, sharing insights on Irish folk traditions.
Away from academia, Shane enjoys life in the countryside with his partner, tending to his bees, growing rare tomato varieties, and crafting traditional furniture and currachs – pursuits that reflect his deep connection to Ireland’s material and cultural heritage.
[ Thank you to Plunkett PR and Hachette Ireland for these three stunning books ]
Fab selection, Mairead. I love the look for the cookbook!
These all sound great. I’d be happy to find any of these under the tree
They really would make fabulous presents, Joanne!