I will preface this post by admitting that I cannot cook. Not even a little bit…but sometimes, well, my characters have to eat, and prepare food and my lack of any clue gets in the way.

So, as you can probably guess, I dig into books.

And I absolutely love historical cookbooks.

I’ve hunted out the ones I have–I think. There could be more lurking on my shelves that I’ve completely forgotten about <–this happens a lot more often that I would like, but is a nice surprise when an ‘I had no idea I bought this!‘ book is found.

The following books all have recipes, as well as what could constitute a typical meal and often the mechanics of cooking and the technology used. For giving a setting the right feel, especially for fantasy–through taste and texture and especially scent–I’ve found books such as these invaluable.

They also give a remember that food is seasonal–a fact I often forget even with something as simple as milk.

Kim Knox – Romance with a brew of sex, magic darkness and technology…