Bracken's books are amazingly simple and yet workable. Another fun book is “Aromas and Flavors Past and Present” in which the great cook Alice B. Toklas partners with a 50s “modern” American magazine editor to make cakes from cake mixes and learns to use a Waring blender. The behind the scenes story is funnier than the book particularly her reaction of margarine.
Oleo still offends me.