Food columnist and recipe writer Elizabeth Hewson's approach is all scaling down what cooking should be, so it can be nourishing and still enjoyable – less pressure, more ease.

These are recipes that don't chase trends, viral moments, or complicated techniques. From an It's going to be OK midweek chicken stew, to a Soup for exhausted people (a real dump-and-simmer tomato and chicken heartener), to a whole chapter of one-pots and a range of midweek pastas – these recipes are for people living real, imperfect lives— the ones caught in the relentless rhythm of daily life.

So what should Home Food really be? Flexible, permissive recipes 'with give', in case you don't have something at home and just need to get on with it. Sometimes you just need to throw something together, or one pot is the max that is going to get cleaned; or sometimes trying a little harder on the weekend, so you can batch for next week; and sometimes, well, you just want pasta followed by pudding.

Including plenty of veg-forward recipes, plenty of tips and tricks for making the most of your precious moments in the kitchen, and delivered with the signature Hewson elegant ease, this is the book for when dinner needs to just be dinner – with a little nourishing nostalgia along the way.

Other cookbooks by this author

• Home Food - The Perfect Cookbook for Imperfect People:: Elegant Ease, Cookable Recipes
• Moving Out Eating In
• Saturday Night Pasta: Recipes and Self-Care Rituals for the Home Cook