Hi, I’m Dr D — I am a periodontist, author, husband, father and grandfather. My working life has been shaped by professional learning, practical experience and a continuing interest in how people make sense of the world around them.

Plain English Kitchen grew from a simple belief: complicated things should not be made harder than they need to be. A kitchen is not only a place for recipes. It is where ingredients are gathered, prepared and turned into something useful. In the same way, this is a place for words, ideas, experiences, questions and professional knowledge.

Some of my work is practical: explaining cooking terms in plain English, or sharing knowledge developed through professional life. Some of it is more reflective: old sayings, family, learning, change, wisdom and the lessons we gather over a lifetime.

I do not believe life always gives us one perfect answer. Often, two opposite ideas can both contain truth, depending on the person, the time and the circumstances. I am interested in those spaces — where inherited wisdom meets modern life, and where experience can help us think a little more clearly.

My books are not written to lecture or to tell people what to think. They are offered as invitations: to understand, question, reflect and perhaps take away something useful for everyday life.

Welcome to Plain English Kitchen.

Figure It Out, Eat It, or Leave It is my no-nonsense glossary of cooking terms. Old Sayings, Modern Problems takes the same approach to the proverbs many of us grew up hearing. No jargon, no gatekeeping—just clear answers. Adjunctive Antimicrobials in Dentistry is a practical, evidence-based clinical notebook for dental professionals. It brings together clear guidance on the appropriate use of antiseptics and antimicrobials in dentistry.

FIGURE IT OUT, EAT IT, OR LEAVE IT

f you have come here from one of my Pinterest pins, welcome.

I wrote Figure It Out, Eat It, or Leave It because cooking language can be confusing. Recipes often use words and terms that assume everyone already knows what they mean.

The Pinterest pins come directly from this book. I also want to be upfront: not every cooking word has an image. Giving every term an image would have made this first book much larger.

If the book is well received, I plan to write a more detailed follow-up, with an image for every cooking term and, more importantly, a recipe to show how each term is used.

Paperback: US$38.25
Kindle edition: US$9.99, or included with Kindle Unlimited
Amazon will show the equivalent price in your local currency.

Old Sayings, Modern Problems

When Wisdom Disagrees with Itself

Have you ever noticed that many of the world’s best-known sayings contradict one another?

We are told to look before we leap, yet we are also warned that he who hesitates is lost. We hear that many hands make light work, but also that too many cooks spoil the broth. Both pieces of advice have survived for generations. Both sound sensible. Yet they cannot both be right at the same time.

That simple observation became the inspiration for Old Sayings, Modern Problems.

Rather than presenting proverbs as unquestionable truths, this book places each saying beside its counter-saying. The contradictions are deliberate. They reveal that wisdom is rarely absolute and that the right advice often depends entirely on the situation.

After every pair comes The Lesson. It is not there to declare one proverb correct and the other incorrect. Instead, it examines what each saying is really trying to teach, explains the circumstances in which each applies, and helps the reader understand why two opposing ideas can both contain wisdom.

Each lesson concludes with The Wisdom—a short italicised reflection that captures the practical takeaway from the discussion.

The real message of this book is simple:

Old sayings were never meant to replace thinking. They were meant to inspire it.

If you have ever smiled at a proverb, questioned one, or found yourself wondering which piece of advice to follow, this book will encourage you to look at these timeless sayings in a completely different way.

Availed formats

• Paperback: US$15.95
• Hardcover: From US$31.99

ADJUNCTIVE ANTIMICROBIALS IN DENTISTRY

Adjunctive Antimicrobials in Dentistry is a practical evidence-based clinical notebook for dental professionals.

It is a concise reference to help clinicians understand the appropriate adjunctive use of antiseptics and antimicrobials in dental and periodontal care — what they can do, when they may be useful and their limitations.

Written for practical reference, it supports clinical thinking alongside individual patient assessment, professional judgement, and current clinical guidelines.

eBook: US$16.00

Available as a downloadable PDF from Gumroad.