The photo was the lure for me – cubes of fried cheese nestled in a creamy coconut sauce – as well as the fact that I already had most of the ingredients in my cupboard. First, make the batter for the pancakes: put the rice flour, salt, turmeric and egg into a bowl and mix together.

When I ran out of books, I packed Arya and a notebook into a baby carrier and went on a food safari, to find the best laksa, bun cha or massaman curry in London.Or maybe her ‘New Vegan’ column in the Guardian has had you thinking ‘Hey, this is plant-based food I can get on board with’. And even if a recipe didn’t immediately strike me as appealing, her description of it always had me excited for it by the end. Highly recommended, a great gift for someone who loves cooking and trying new meals as it's also a beautiful book to look through.

Salted miso brownies: I am obsessed with all things miso so when I read that, I knew that was the first dessert I would try. The helpful things section lets you know what some of the ingredients are, what you may substitute, and how to make your own of some of the ingredients, like kecap manis.To make the pancakes, heat a teaspoon of oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium flame and swirl it around the pan to coat. Separate the whites of the eggs from the yolks into two large bowls and add the caster sugar to the yolks. Add the garlic, chilli and cashews, and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the tomatoes and pop the lid on.

So I have borrowed a number of vegetable centric cookbooks from the library this year and have found each one to be more inspiring than the last. The Mushroom Bao was delicious and surprisingly easy to make, I have never attempted to make steamed bread before so expected this to end in disaster but they actually looked just like the photo!With straightforward instructions and easily available ingredients, this is the perfect cookbook for everyone, whether you’re an avid recipe follower, or a more adventurous cook!