Archive | Favourites RSS feed for this section

Five Favourite Food Writers

29 Jul

I love books, and I love cooking. Ergo, I have collected hundreds, if not thousands, of cookbooks over the years. I have some books in multiple copies, just in case I have the urge to share (one of the things about book lovers is that we give our books away to like minded souls) or the pages get so cooked upon they are no longer legible! I love them all, and I gain inspiration from every different kind of cookbook. I am catholic in my tastes when it comes to food writing. I dont limit myself to vegetarian writers, though I obviously gravitate to writers who think about vegetarian cooking in a new and different way. I am inspired by all sorts of cooking, and I read not just for recipes and ingredients, but also to look at technique and the way people think about and write about food.

I was asked in a previous post to list some of my favourite cookbooks. I decided to list some of my favourite food writers, because if they are amongst my favourites, all their books are on my Must Have list! These writers also produce wonderful recipes, but they also inspire just by how they express their own fascination with food. I love people who write passionately about food, who bring the personal into their stories and recipes. I enjoy being brought into their world, their minds, their lives. Do try and read some of these writers – just for their passion and joy.

And please note, I have many more favourites than just these five (Julia Child, Elizabeth Luard, Calvin Trillian, Alice Waters …. oh and more and more and more, come to mind!) … but these are some of my current inspirations, as well as constant companions from when I first started to read cookbooks, and food writing, for sheer pleasure. Enjoy!

Home CookingLaurie Colwin

Colwin is probably one of my favourite authors, period. She wrote for Gourmet magazine many years ago, and I never missed a column. In a magazine that could sometimes be daunting for its slightly high-brow approach to food, Colwin’s writing was approachable, intimate, friendly, funny and yet totally passionate about food. You could imagine having coffee with her, and chatting about the perfect recipe for a birthday cake that would appeal to a 10 year old… a meandering comfortable conversation that could only happen between old friends. Colwin passed away in 1992, at the age of 48, from an unexpected heart attack. When I read about her death in Gourmet, I grieved as if I had lost a close personal friend. I was heartbroken, and I still feel a bittersweet sadness when I read her now, knowing that she is no longer amongst us, cooking, chatting, dreaming, writing. Thats how true and real, pure and strong her voice was.

She is also laugh out loud funny, and clear in her opinions and likes and dislikes about food. As a young woman, reading her books, I was inspired. She presented herself, complications, contradictions, passions and all – and you just wanted more. How can you not adore someone who calls a steamed chocolate pudding sincere?

Her two food books, Home Cooking and More Home Cooking (which was published posthumously) are the food books which I give to friends who arent interested in food. The humour and love with which she writes about food, home life, family, are inspiring and beautiful. Her descriptions of cooking and eating and her recipes are immediate and accessible. I love these two books, and wouldnt be without them. If you have not read Laurie Colwin’s writing yet, I envy you for the immense joy of discovery when you do. You will feel like you have gained a lifelong friend. If you only choose one author from this list, choose her.

“The smell of chocolate bubbling over and slightly burning is one of the most beautiful smells in the world. It is subtle and comforting and it is rich. One tiny drop perfumes a room like nothing else.” (from Home Cooking)

AppetiteNigel Slater

Way beyond and before Nigella, there was and is Nigel Slater. He writes about food as one would write about a lover. He immerses himself in flavour, texture, taste, smell. You can feel him want to rub his cheek against the perfect roundness of an egg, squish his fingers in a wobbling custard. He is a sensualist, and I adore reading his books. They are the perfect foodie present – inspirational, contextual, honest and real. No sous vide or fancy foams for Nigel. He waxes poetic on the perfect roast potato, and makes you want to go out and cook one now. He writes about everything with such relish, such passion, such earthy sexiness.

His website gives you an indication of how he presents food and himself, but really, reading his books, in particular Tender (about his vegetable and fruit garden – 5 years in the writing, 500 recipes), Real Cooking, Real Food, Appetite, and The Kitchen Diaries, will be an eye-opening and bountiful journey into the mind of a true cook. I also love his raw, vulnerable, beautiful memoir, Toast: The Story of a Boy’s Hunger.

For food writing that is different from just about anything out there – full of joy and hunger, ravishing and delightful, Slater’s your man.

“Joan’s lemon meringue pie was one of the most glorious things I had ever put in my mouth: warm, painfully sharp lemon filling, the most airy pastry imaginable (she used cold lard in place of some of the butter) and a billowing hat of thick, teeth judderingly sweet meringue. She squeezed the juice of five lemons into the filling, enough to make you close one eye and shudder.” (from Toast: The Story of a Boy’s Hunger)

The Art of EatingM. F. K. Fisher

I consider Fisher to be the Goddess Mother of food writing. She published over 30 books in her lifetime, and wrote about food in the broadest sense: recipes, history, gastronomy, philosophy, culture, and natural history. She loved food, and she had an amazing ability to bring the reader into her fascinations – from oysters to old recipes, from Dijon to California. She wrote about the pleasures of the table with simplicity, humour and a keen intelligence. You cannot help but learn when you read her books – about the science of food preparation, the history of a place or an ingredient, or the economies of scale of consumption. MFK Fisher is also a pleasure to read because she wrote from the mid 1930s to her death in the mid 1990s, so her focus was food in its natural state. Her writings on how to economise, at the start of World War 2, are a fascinating glimpse of a particular time and space.

My favourite MFK Fisher book is The Art of Eating, which brings together Serve It Forth, Consider The Oyster, How To Cook a Wolf, The Gastronomical Me, and An Alphabet for Gourmets, considered her most popular and important books. I also love Recipes: The Cooking of Provincial France, With Bold Knife and Fork, Among Friends, and A Cordial Water: A Garland of Odd & Old Receipts to Assuage the Ills of Man or Beast. Considering that many of her writings were first published over 50 years ago, they are totally contemporary, deeply engaging and wonderfully intimate.

If you havent read MFK Fisher, you havent read food writing. She set the bar for true immersion in food, and her voice was bold, strong and resoundingly passionate.

“E is for Exquisite… and its gastronomical connotations, at least for me. When I hear of a gourmet with exquisite taste I assume, perhaps too hastily and perhaps very wrongly, that there is something exaggeratedly elaborate, and even languidly perverted, about his gourmandism. I do not think simply of an exquisitely laid table and an exquisite meal. Instead I see his silver carved in subtly erotic patterns, and his courses following one upon another in a cabalistic design, half pain, half pleasure…” (from An Alphabet for Gourmets)

French Laundry CookbookThomas Keller

Keller is, I think, one of the high priests of incredibly beautiful, elaborate haute cuisine. His food is astonishing, complex, witty and cerebral. His French Laundry restaurant, in Yountville, California, is legendary, and it is one of my life goals (honestly) to eat there, or at Per Se, his New York restaurant. He is an icon of modern food – the successor to Alice Waters, the founder of the California cuisine movement with its focus on organic, locally produced food. Keller took that one step further and added a particular magic – from sous vide to foams to complex, time consuming chemical processes – his food is constantly challenging how you think about eating.

I love his books, particularly The French Laundry Cookbook and Ad Hoc at Home. The first book is a must to understand the mind of the Chef – his philosophy, his painstaking approach, his creativity and his passion. There is no way in heaven or hell though that I would want to try and recreate what he cooks – its too complex for me, and too overwhelming. I love to look into the mind of someone as passionate and brilliant as he, but I wouldnt want to be him! However, Ad Hoc at Home is much more accessible because it was written specifically for the home cook, and while it shows all the Keller brilliance, and generously allows us to learn his tips and tricks and magic, its actually cookable with basic ingredients and equipment.

Keller seems to me an obsessive chronicler of his approach and his genius. Thats generosity – but its also confidence. For a look into the meticulous mind of an icon of food, these books are an important and inspiring education.

“Whipped Brie de Meaux en Feuillete with Tellicherry Pepper and Baby Mache. This is a very simple, elegant way to serve a familiar cheese and was, in fact, how I began to compose cheese courses. Not only did I want to compose a cheese course, but I also wanted to manipulate the cheese into an elegant form. Brie is creamy and cream whips – therefore, I figured, I could whip Brie, and it worked. Be sure to use a very good, ripe, creamy Brie in this dish. Whipping makes it light and luxurious, even surprising. You recognise the flavour of Brie, but here, because the cheese is light and airy, that flavour is pleasantly out of context and feels new, especially paired with the spicy pepper and delicate greens.” (from an introduction to a recipe, The French Laundry Cookbook)

Comfort Me With ApplesRuth Reichl

Ruth Reichl is the last editor in chief of the late, lamented, beloved Gourmet magazine. She is a critic, cook, author and gourmet of encyclopedic proportions. She is modern, feisty, adventurous, worldly and completely accommodating in her recipes and writing. She brought Gourmet into the larger sphere of multi-cultural influences, and made it much more open and accessible. Her attention to detail, and her ability to describe lovingly every element of a meal scrupulously, makes her a cook’s writer.

Reichl has written cookbooks, including The Gourmet Cookbook: More Than 1000 Recipes and Gourmet Today: More than 1000 All-New Recipes for the Contemporary Kitchen. The latter is an amazing book for vegetarians, as she has made a conscious effort to acknowledge vegetarianism as an important way of life. All the food in these books is easy to make, easy to understand, and delicious to eat. She has also published four very open and revealing memoirs: Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table, Comfort Me with Apples: More Adventures at the Table,  Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, and Not Becoming My Mother: and Other Things She Taught Me Along the Way. Each book is a revalation of a this woman’s complete commitment to her immersion in food, and a remarkable testament to a life well lived.

For a cook starting out, who is unsure of technique and approach, who wants modernism and creativity, but also recipes that are easy to understand and accessible, Reichl’s cookbooks are a must.

“Amora brought long baguettes to dip into the garlic mayonnaise, which was soft, airy, rich, delicious. Eating that aioli was like biting into savoury clouds. As we ate, Robert told stories of his native Provence, where women sit in the sun with mortars squeezed between their fat thighs, furiously pounding garlic into aioli. As I listened my eyes grew heavy and I began to sink into an odd, sleepy euphoria.” (from Comfort Me with Apples)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Happy Birthday Ayah

27 Jul

My Ayah and meToday would have been my beloved late father’s 74th birthday. I celebrated by going to learn how to make macarons, but I was thinking of him the whole day. I miss him more than I can ever say, and yet, I feel him with me all the time. When my sister had her beautiful baby Z, both of us felt his presence, and wished we could have him with us, so he could meet his gorgeous grandchild.

Everything I do, and everything I am, is imbued with his presence, his grace, his essence.

My father was a true epicure. He took great pleasure in all the sensual aspects of life – food, and drink, cigars, and yes, women. He taught my sister and I how to eat, how to enjoy food, how to taste and refine our ideas of what was good. He took much joy from having a meal and good wine with friends and family.

Ayah was a wonderful story teller, a brilliant mind, a sensitive and clever writer. He lived life to the maximum and he passed much too young.

From the time we were young, my sister and I were brought to beautiful restaurants, and ate “like grown-ups” – encouraged to try and taste and order for ourselves. It was an education in enjoying the fine things in life. But my father also was clever about what he consumed and how. He always had fresh fruits for breakfast, always made time for exercise, and when he indulged, he always made sure there was a balance.

One of my favourite Ayah food stories was his immense enjoyment and love of plain white toast, with melting butter, sprinkled with rough grain sugar. My sister and I used to tease him about it – how someone who ate at the finest restaurants would take such sweet happiness in a simple dish. He told us that during the war, when he was a child, he lived in the kampung (rural village) in Malaysia. There were not a lot of supplies and extras. Food and luxuries were scarce. On birthdays, or for very special occasions, children were given a piece of toast, butter (margarine more likely), and sugar. To the end of his life, he felt that one of the greatest indulgences was that simple dish.

This taught me two things. First, that food did not have to be rare or fancy or expensive to be appreciated. You have to know for whom you cook, and what resonates within them. And therein lies the second lesson – food is about memory  – it is so much more than the ingredients, and really about the emotional attachment that we give to what we eat. My father could have had chocolate mousse every day, but that did not make him feel like he was giving himself something special. But a cup of tea, and toast and sugar … now that was indulgence and love, and memory. He honoured himself, and where he came from, and where he was at that moment in time, to pause, to relish, to remember.

toast and butter and sugarSo today, for Ayah, this is my dish. I miss you so much. I love you always.

  • 1 piece of toast
  • 1 tsp softened butter
  • 1 tbsp roughly granulated sugar

While the toast is still warm, spread the butter so that it melts lightly. Sprinkle on the sugar.

Eat with remembrance and love.

Tags: , , , ,

Favourite Things (Part 2)

26 Jul

I was thinking just now (when the fire alarm woke me for no fire) about posting a few more of my favourite things. As a cook, I get obsessional. I have favourite knives that no one else is allowed to use, and, for example, I only like using the biodegradable rubbish bags. I only drink Ceres juices (from South Africa of course!) and while I will buy plastic bread, I try and only have organic milk and eggs. Strange, but these are my balances, in my kitchen. Its a pleasure to have been able to develop these choices and learn what balances appeal to me and only me. You would be surprised how much of a struggle it is sometimes to claim my own space. All this musing reminds me of a story …

When I first rented my apartment, I went shopping to fill up my pantry. I get nervous when I dont have enough in the pantry to make at least 3 good meals. Anyway, I stopped at the jam aisle, and flush with that particular pleasure one gets when living on one’s own, tried to figure out what jam I wanted. I suddenly realised… I knew what kind of jam my Ayah liked, my Mum, my sister, my ex-housemate, my other ex-housemate, my ex-husband… I knew what kind of jam was every body’s preference – except for mine. Hell, I didnt even know if I liked jam at all! And then I realised, jubilantly, that now was the time to figure that out…

It might sound like a minor episode, and in reality, it was, but it was also an empowering experience. Shopping truly for myself, and my tastes. For my desires and my comfort. Mindblowing, after a life of cooking and feeding everyone else. I think that is when my commitment to being a vegetarian really sunk in and stuck – because I did not have to do it for anyone else but me.

I suppose the reason I am telling this story now is that this blog is intensely personal as well. I cook what I like, when I like (to paraphrase Steve Biko). I cook to share, of course, and as an extension of my loving for family and friends, but also because cooking is me. And I cook because its what I love, and where my passion lies.

So on to my favourite things. Some may seem very ordinary, but they are indispensable to my kitchen. I couldnt do without them…

Pretty little cheese all in a row

Greaseproof paper / baking paper

Goddess, I love this stuff. I use it every single day, for something or another. Its such a simple kitchen staple, and until I really started cooking on a regular basis, and for my own whim and fancy, I didnt realise how much I used it, and relied on it. I like it better than plastic wrap or aluminum foil because its paper – much more environmentally friendly to throw away (some bits can even be recycled) and much better chemically when interacting with hot, soft, wet or otherwise foods.

I use greaseproof paper to line my baking tins for everything from cookies to roasted butternut. They are a wonderful means of preventing that sticky gooey mess that ends up at the bottom of the tin and that takes hours to clean. They are a brilliant way to ensure that cookies and cakes bake evenly, and dont stick to the pan. I used to think it was a waste to use baking paper on top of a perfectly good baking tin – but I used it once – in response to strict instructions in a recipe – and have never looked back.

I use it to wrap all my cheeses in comforting, organised little packages. I hate the plastic cling wrap or packaging that most cheese comes in these days. Once the cheese is open, the plastic encourages it to dry out quickly, or even for mold to form. I butter my cheese (I know, crazy, but it works) lightly to keep it moist, and wrap it in baking paper. It is fresh and delicious and there is so much less wastage.

I use it to cover puddings or mousse or soups – anything liquid that will form a skin – when I store in the fridge. This little bit of paper (sometimes I oil it a bit so as to prevent major sticking) prevents the skin from forming, and makes me feel much happier than if I were to cover a hot liquid with plastic wrap. I always worry (I told you I was slightly obsessional) that the plastic will release toxins in reaction to the hot liquid, and that would be bad for the consumers (namely me and those I love).

I use it around my cutting board, and underneath a bowl when grating cheese, to pick up the mess, and make for instant cleanup. Oh I love this stuff. Its simple and inconspicuous, but its a staple I cannot do without.

How do I love thee...

Immersion Blender

I have loads of fun toys and gadgets in my kitchen. Ive got my beautiful and deeply beloved Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer (I saved up for that baby, and have used her a lot), my Cuisinart food processor, and my professional ice cream maker (on sale, and adored). But the one thing that I have found I use all the time is my Kenwood cherry red immersion blender. I bought it on a whim because it was on (another) sale. I thought, this might be fun to play with at some point. When I unpacked it eagerly at home, the plug point wasnt attached, and I am not technical in that way, so I left it until I found a friend who would figure it out for me.

I didnt really think it would get that much use in my kitchen, but to be honest, its the thing I turn to for most of my pureeing, chopping, mashing needs. I made the most amazing blueberry banana smoothie with my immersion blender – in seconds – and it just liquidised all that frozen fruit in the blink of an eye. I make the densest creamiest soups with it, I mash potatoes with it (they come out like silk if you use a deft touch, otherwise they can get a bit gluey), I creamed butternut and spinach for a pie and mixed them with sour cream — all using the immersion blender.

Its such a simple piece of equipment as well. It looks like a … well, now come to think of it, it could be, to a naughty mind, just a little obscene! Its a large wand, with a head that holds rotating slicers. It operates like a food processor, but its much smaller, and because its handheld, much easier to control. Dont get me wrong, I love my food processor. But in part because of space issues, its a big pain in the tukus to take it out of its little storage space. And once I am done, the food processor involves a lot of parts to clean up. Not so with the immersion blender. You pop off the metal part of the wand, wash it, and you are done. It is awesome. Probably my new absolute favourite gadget. I keep thinking of new ways to play with it…

Hardworking and beloved!

Fridge

When I first moved into my apartment, my landlady provided me with a fridge. Dont get me wrong, it wasnt an awful fridge. But it was definitely from the 1970’s, that particular vomity green colour that all major appliances had back then. It was very retro in not a cool way, and it wasnt very big. I could barely fit my juice and staples in, and I certainly didnt have enough freezer space for more than ice cubes and a carton of Ben & Jerry’s. I thank the good Goddess that this indispensable piece of kitchen equipment is par for the course. But when I renovated, I decided I deserved a larger fridge. I think I might have gotten my measurements wrong, or in my mind’s eye my kitchen was bigger than I thought it was, because this fridge just fit. I had to get things built around it, but I dont care! I love love love it.

Its freezer is on the bottom – a clever bit of design, because you dont use the freezer as much as the fridge part, and so bending to check out whats in the bottom of the fridge lurking in the veggie bin, is a thing of the past. My fridge is full of stuff – my vitamins and staples (flour, sugar, salt – all of which I keep in the fridge because of the high heat and humidity here) – as well as food I have just cooked and am saving for friends to eat and taste – or thats waiting to be frozen for next week – and fresh fruits and vegetables waiting to inspire me. It gives me great satisfaction to look into a full fridge – may be its that Jewish-Muslim feeding people thing, but I love knowing that if someone drops by, I will always, always have something to offer them.

My fridge makes me feel safe (against hunger, because as anyone who knows me knows, I could just fade away! 😉 ) and satisfied. When I look in my fridge, I see all the things I have made (thats one last lone oven roasted fig in the centre, by the way, waiting for AngelKitten and Ezril), and I know that I have expressed my love and passion in a way that is distinctly me. I also am inspired. Sometimes I just look in the fridge and think… Oooh, I will make that today! Or I think, I need something soothing and quiet. And whatever my mood, I can always find inspiration there.

Its funny, but taking photographs of the interior of my fridge was a bit intimidating. Kind of like showing your your undies to complete strangers. Oh well, its me, and this is my blog, so fudge it 😉

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Favourite Things

6 Jul

These are some of my favourite things…

Most cooks I know have obsessions –  a particular brand of balsamico or olive oil, certain types of knives, particular tools that they adore, cookbooks. I must admit, I have them all. Cooking enables me to enjoy spoiling myself with things that are “useful” … and buy ingredients which I can share with others and make into delicious dishes.

I love going to grocery stores in new countries I visit – and hardware stores, in the cooking section – and see what gadgets or tools or special ingredients that are local to that place. They are the best things to bring home, because they ensure I have a sensual reminder of the place and space I have visited. Small pleasures, but they are the most important.

I have some things which have never left me, and which go along with me in my travels. I have lugged cookbooks on two week trips to friends, and have packed my favourite knife in my carry on luggage.

I thought that every now and then I would share a few of my favourite things with you because these special items are part of what defines my cooking philosophy.

My favourite cookbook of all time. The Frog Commissary Cookbook by Steven Poses, Anne Clark and Becky Roller, has inspired me for over 20 years. I first got it when I was in university, and its simple, clear writing style, and easy to follow recipes inspired me to cook with passion and creativity. Steven Poses had one of the first modern restaurants in Philadelphia, the Frog Commissary, and is a contemporary of Alice Waters from Chez Panisse on the West Coast. His food is not quite as local/natural as hers is, but it is delicious, divine, delectable.

Though I never got to go to the Frog Commissary, I have had this book since university days. Steven Poses now runs Frog Commissary Catering in Philadelphia, and has cooked for more than 15 million guests. When I first read this cookbook, I fell in love with its unique clever take on food.  Their ideas were so varied, their influences so wide ranging, and their ability to combine different ingredients into a magical special meal made me an instant fan. But it was the absolute specificity of the recipes, and the fact that you could try one and know it would come out perfectly, that had me for life.

I think I have gone through about six or seven copies of this book. I use each copy until it falls apart. For a while there, it was out of print, and I used to buy them wherever I found them (on ebay, 2nd hand bookstores) and hoard them like precious gold. My favourite recipes are either adapted from or inspired by the recipes in this book, and I never ever tire of reading their ideas and inspiration. The food here is very international, vegetarian friendly, and inspired.

I collect cookbooks and always have a couple at my bedside table to page through at night. However, if I had to pick just one cookbook to dream from, be inspired from, and cook from – this would be it.

I collect chef’s knives. I love the different types of knives and different brands – I read about the different approaches to shaping and creating a knife with respect to the art form that this truly is. When I finally had the money and the desire to start collecting my own knives, there was only one knife I wanted – a Sabatier. These knives are handmade in Thiers, France from a single piece of high carbon stainless steel. The blade and handle are a single piece of steel, so there is no risk of a blade divorcing a handle mid chop! The knives are hand forged, and have an unbelievable balance in the hand, and a wonderful almost instinctive slice. Their sharpness stays for ages, and they feel both delicate and strong in the hand. I love these knives, and this one, my 4 star elephant Sabatier is my absolute favourite. Its a bit larger than a paring knife, but not as huge as a big chef’s knife. Its large enough to tackle big jobs, sharp and sturdy enough to mince an onion in a few seconds, and comfortable enough in my hand so that I never ever feel tired when using it.

I have a lot of knives in my kitchen, but this is the only one I will not allow anyone else to use. Its “my” knife, and when I hold it in my hand, I feel confident in what I am doing – which of course is half the battle won!

I have two of these 4 star knives, and I use them every single day. I love them so much, there are no words. I found them on ebay, where you can get amazing deals for old Sabatier knives. Do your research first, though. You must know what you are getting, and where its from. There are a lot of fakes out there!

And finally, my favourite graters. I have tried all sorts – box graters, those crappy ones they sell at Ikea, grater attachments for food processors, etc etc etc. But nothing, nothing, nothing compares to Microplane. These graters were developed as plane tools for the woodworking industry. It was a woman, cooking in her own home, who nicked her husband’s new woodworking tool, who gave these tools their place in inspired herstory. Once you have tried a Microplane grater, you will not use anything else again, ever. Everything, from carrots to cheese to peel, grates smoothly, evenly, and easily. There is almost no effort needed to get stunning results. These three graters are the only thing I ever use for cheese, for grating vegetables, for mincing garlic and ginger, and for getting the peel off lemons and limes. I use them all the time, and though you do have to be careful with fingers (they are sooooooooooooo sharp!) these are indispensable.

So these are three tools which make me happy, and help me to be a better cook. Hope they give you ideas about what you are using in your own kitchen. If you have special tools, I would love to hear from you!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Newer Entries →