Djiboutilicious: A Cookbook that I use all the Time

I love fancy cookbooks, and cookbooks that I will never actually use for their recipe features.  I like looking at the beautiful pictures; I like the conversations that these books inspire, and I like thinking that one day, I too will get my act together and make something beautiful.

Do you want to know what else I love? I love real life cookbooks.  Cookbooks that get me from store to table, and that face the reality that if I'm out of an ingredient, I'll probably just do without it.  And cookbooks that help me realize that cooking dinner can be a powerful act of love for everyone sitting down to the table.

That is why I love the cookbook Djiboutilicious.  I love this cookbook because the recipes are simple and straightforward.  The ingredient list rarely exceed 10-12 items, and because all the items are for sale in Djibouti, its pretty safe to say that I can get them here in the land of imports.

A camel's head on the cookbook cover!

Djiboutilicious is written by American expatriate Rachel Pieh Jones, a fabulous author who chronicles her life and the culture around her, wherever she might be.  However, this cookbook does not highlight her writing skills; the book is a simple collection of recipes with a few black and white photos scattered throughout where the recipe was too short to fill the entire page.

The cookbook is not a work of art, nor is the book filled with stunning writing, nor is it some great travelog cookbook ala Anthony Bourdain.  Rather, this cookbook is an approachable recipe collection. It's a source of inspiration for something I can actually make, filled with Midwestern classics and a few exotic East African dishes to tempt my tastebuds and to convince me to try something new.

To say that I use this cookbook all the time is the understatement of the century.  Since my mom gave it to me as a gift a year and a half ago, it has become my most referenced cookbook of all.  I use it at least once a week, and sometimes multiple times in a single meal.

So have I convinced you that you want a copy of this cookbook too?  

Okay, here's the deal, it's a self-published cookbook, so you have to email Rachel at trjones.family@gmail.com and ask her for a copy.  I have no idea how much it costs, but I do think that her mom has copies left in the United States, so she should be able to get a copy shipped to you.