Yes dear friends, I tread that line every day. No no, let me finish, I'm just like you, I wake up and put my pants on one leg at a time, just like everybody. But unlike everybody after I do that I'm just as likely to go back to bed and start reading a book.
But my finger is all better now so normal activities will resume soon.
In the mean time, here is what I've been reading for the last three weeks:
This copy of In Search of Perfection by Heston Blumenthal (or Hector Blabber-ball, you can tell, we're such good friends) was less than half price at the local discount bookshop otherwise I never would have bought it. To be honest I find his TV shows uniquely annoying, him smug; his guests are always drunk, his sous chefs are snobs, and his reliance on truffles, foie gras, and Japanese ingredients is boring.
However, in print his enthusiasm for food is very engaging, and whilst I don't envision his recipe for roast chicken (two days of work, boys and girls!) ever having an outing in my kitchen, I love the research, passion and intelligence he writes it with.
Hector's diametrical companion is Jay Rayner. I thought I liked him and appreciated his writing in The Guardian, but discovered that taken out of the weekly restaurant reviews, his aggressive, condescending rhetoric is pretty nauseating. In the book he travels the world ostensibly looking for the best meal, but in reality deliberately going to places he can mock for their opulence and pretension. He makes a big deal out of wrestling with the ethics of accepting free meals, hotels and flights (which he finds deplorable) but accepts nonetheless - charming. I didn't actually finish the book, I left it under my chair in a cheesy wine bar to hopefully find a more appreciative owner. The final straw for me was his description of Moscow. He is offered an all expenses paid trip in return for a favourable review of a dubious restaurant in London, he 'grudgingly' accepts and spends his time ensconced in 5 star bullet proof luxury, complaining about the price of the only meal he had to pay for, the sub-par food he has to eat, and the possibility of being shot at any moment (what?). In contrast I am now reading More Caviar by Art Buchwald who drives to Moscow from Paris in an absolutely free Chrysler Imperial, complete with driver, makes fun of place names and customs and still manages to come across sympathetic and personable. The difference is in the attitude.
OK, enough vitriol, the last book I read is totally wholesome Nella Last's War is a collection of exerts from a diary of a British housewife during the Second World War. She writes about how she comes into her own for the first time in her life, and how all the work she does around the house and in the community is finally being recognised and appreciated. She writes a lot about their meals and rationing and their lives actually seem not to be affected by the shortages of food because of her clever management. It's very inspiring. She recounts a moment from when she first got married and asked her husband whether he liked a particular meal she'd prepared and he replies 'Why should I tell you if I like it? I'll tell you if anything is wrong, though', and his attitude changes when he sees all the other men getting terrible meals because their wives can't cook. There's another bit in the book when the doctor comes to see her for a cold, notices that she's made some bread and mentions that they haven't had bread in a while because there isn't any in the shops and his wife doesn't know how to make it from scratch. I'd imagine even less people know how to make their own bread now, I'd really like to learn.
I think deep down my fantasy has always been to be a housewife and run a home properly. I know, what a loser, right? I'd probable spend my entire day reading blogs and cool stuff online like this totally appropriate Manga my brother turned me on to!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakitate!!_JapanIt's the story of a young boy in Japan who tries to make the ultimate Japanese bread. Bread isn't really a staple over there and the comic tries to promote the slow food movement and craftsmanship in a modern way. Seriously, all they do, all the time is enter bread making competitions. The author does a crazy amount of research and explains the history of each bread they make, as well as the chemical processes that are at work in each ingredient combination. It sounds nerdy but it isn't, and it's totally addictive, you can read it online for free here
http://www.onemanga.com/Yakitate_Japan/1/01/(btw, the guy with the afro is my dream man)
The author also includes a few recipes of easy to make at home breads. Here's is a virtually no knead version that I might try.
This recipe is from a book I bought in a charity shop near my office, entitled optimistically 'Creme de Colorado' hahahahahaha, right? Apparently no, despite having a rather odd premise, and being published in the 80s, this book has a bizzare cult following on Amazon, it is 'never fail' and 'sure to impress'.
There's a lot of garlic and parsley in this recipe, you basically brine the fish for a few hours and then it's ready for the smoker/ whatever.
I'm also making mackerel today, a very simple recipe from this Tapas book I've used before, just rub it with some garlic, oil, and paprika and leave for a few hours.
Result: The trout tastes trouty. The Boyfriend used to have a thing against fresh water fish, it tends to taste kind of muddy, and earthy. I personally can't stand carp, it's big in Eastern Europe but the taste is just too strong for me. I've never had that kind of problem with trout, until now. These were pretty big, or maybe the brine accentuated the flavour. But maybe I'm just nitpicking because the mackerel was so much better by comparison! (might brine overnight the next time)
Mackerel can be a little bitter sometimes, but this was amazingly sweet and juicy. I was hoping to take some to work the next day but there was nothing left!
