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Take five - from maths to Jamie
I began this post yesterday, inspired by the painting on the left, but I didn't finish it and anyway I was very dissatisfied with what I...
Nov 14, 2023


Looking for something new with Nigel
"The minute details of cooking continue to fascinate me, the quality of the time we spend in the kitchen, the little kitchen tasks that...
Oct 20, 2023


A postscript on first recipes
As a self-taught cook, I learned through cookbooks and love them dearly. There's an evolution to learning to cook this way and choosing...
Oct 18, 2023


Best - who says?
"Best - "of the most excellent type or quality"; "giving most pleasure, happiest"; "most suitable or appropriate" Oxford Advanced...
Jul 25, 2023


White hot cool and rabbit stew
"A story is way more important than a recipe. A recipe can confuse you but a story ... a story can inspire you." Marco Pierre White...
Jun 26, 2023


Professionally Californian - a blog
"Queen of California Cool Cooking, Patron Saint of Vegetables" Lauren Kodiak/Kitchn I have a list of blog sites I come across now that...
Apr 13, 2023


They say I'm a good cook - but ...
"You have to eat to cook. You can't be a good cook and be a noneater. I think eating is the secret to good cooking." Julia Child...
Apr 12, 2023


Middle-Eastern then and now
"Fusion is just a way of describing what we are doing today. When you think of the Ottoman Empire, that's exactly what they were doing –...
Mar 21, 2023


Three good things on a plate
"It always feels less overwhelming when you remember that you're only 1-2-3 steps away from making a memorable meal." Alice Zaslavsky...
Feb 14, 2023


Robert Carrier, tomatoes and indexes
"Cook dinner with Robert Carrier and you’ll need butter, cream, wine and quite a lot of cognac" Jay Rayner It's guru week - by which I...
Jan 30, 2023


Reading recipes
"mistakes can sometimes have wonderful outcomes" Barbara Sweeney I think I have sort of done this a long, long, time ago, but a couple...
Dec 28, 2022


Excess
"You can’t just push the door and walk in; no… here you ring a bell, and wait for the door to be opened and for you to be greeted. It...
Dec 21, 2022


Weeding
"it’s not a matter of deciding which books you give away. It’s figuring out which books you absolutely need to keep." Russ...
Nov 14, 2022


Buy this book - now
"good things come to the table, where good things are food things and food things must absolutely be good." Noor Murad/OTK I know. I've...
Oct 18, 2022


Summertime - More Please
"it's a smile, it's a kiss, it's a sip of wine ... it's summertime!" Kenny Chesney Today, just to demonstrate the yin and yang nature of...
Oct 2, 2022


Parsley is a herb not a garnish
"food that survives the ages is food that is good for us." Jill Dupleix So says Jill Dupleix in her page of bon mots called Kitchen...
Sep 28, 2022


Melbourne Italian - a cookbook gift
"Go into the kitchen and cook for someone you love. The pleasure will be mine." Guy Grossi "The oil, the flame, the onion ... You can...
Aug 24, 2022


Too many Italian cookbooks
“While she loved the whole idea of cooking elaborate meals, her forte was in the reading of cookbooks.” Linda Wiken Yesterday I talked...
Jun 23, 2022


'A circuitous route to 'A word from ...'
"Indecision is a decision" Jason Evert I meandered to this post from a starting point which was going to lead elsewhere. However, as I...
Jun 22, 2022


A Stephanie for the street library
"On top of my wish list is a desire to make every one of you a lifelong foodlover, to enjoy cooking for yourself, your friends, and for...
May 6, 2022