I'm a foodie, and I've always enjoyed cooking but lately I find I'm really getting into flavours and textures and presentation. Master Chef NZ finished last week and I'm bereft. I don't watch any other cooking shows but for some reason that one has always kept me riveted, and I've learned things, lot of helpful hints and combinations. A couple of weeks ago I was at Barbara Deleo's house (a fellow cat) and her four children were watching this show. She says it has got them interested in food and cooking too, so these shows can't be bad for us.
Tell that to my hips.
My daughter and her partner bought me a subscription for the Cuisine magazine and I read each one from cover to cover many times. Yeah, I know, crazy, when there are so many books lying around waiting to be read.
I have shelves full of recipe books, featuring cuisine from many cultures. My latest fad is Italian after spending a month there last year. Unfortunately my DB is not a fan of pasta (might as well give me flour and water for dinner, he mutters) but he's getting used to eating it regardless. He does love a pizza as long as it's loaded with meat and vegetables. Not quite Italian, but hey, I have fun creating new combinations and he enjoys eating them.
Oh, and the stereo speaker is essential to sing along to as I create. Apparently my cooking is way better than my singing.
In an attempt to clear the piles of magazines that I only kept for the recipes I went through them all to remove the recipe pages. Great, except I now have a box with literally hundreds of recipes in. So next I decided I'll try out at least three new recipes a week. It will take forever to get through them all, and even if I find keepers I won't get back to them until at least 2030.
Here's last night's new meal, a simple, quick one as I had to be doing other things.
Roasted chicken, cauliflower and pumpkin with herbs and garlic. Now there's a thing - I'm really into herbs nowadays and thankfully my DB is happy to grow a wide range for me. (So I sometimes cook him a steak while I have pasta. Well, you've got to keep them happy.)
as for garlic, DB has grown what seems like a paddock full. Shame I can't use it in cookies or desserts.
It's feijoa season and I need to find some ideas for using up the little blighters dropping all over the lawn. Ahh, yes, a wee drop of wine goes well with feijoa sponge and ice cream.
Do you enjoy cooking? Or is it one of those things you have to get done so you can do the things you enjoy most?
Sue, I love feijoas! I don't suppose you could throw a few over the ditch to my house, could you?
ReplyDeleteI'm not as enthusiastic about cooking as I used to be, but I do enjoy coming across a new recipe - or a twist on an old one - to lift the boredom.
Claire, I'd love to fire across some to you. They are yummy, aren't they? I also like that they come when most other fruit has finished and the winter citrus hasn't ripened yet.
ReplyDeleteI love cooking, Sue -- when I'm not feeling rushed or stressed. It's always fun to try out new recipes. I have a bulging folder in the cupboard of torn out recipes from magazines. I keep meaning to go through them, order them somehow and then work out a timetable of attack. I could have a whole week of cooking something new each day. Or I could try something like your approach -- One new recipe a week. What fun! :-)
ReplyDeleteIsn't it fun, Michelle? Of course some nights all you want to do is get a meal on and out of the way. But the nights I make something new and it turns out great are the best.
ReplyDeleteSue, I'm visiting! Please?
ReplyDeleteI love cooking though I prefer to do it when I've got plenty of time and don't feel rushed. Having seen some of My Kitchen Rules though, I realise I'm not very experienced. No way could I fillet a whole salmon neatly, for instance. I find cooking can be relaxing in the right circumstances and I adore the pleasure other people get from something nice that I've prepared. Having said that, I'm lazy though and don't want to cook every night.
Annie, you're booked in next week! You are so right - cooking for others is the ultimate in entertaining, for me anyway. I love preparing meals for friends and family. It is probably my best way of showing how much I care.
ReplyDeleteI had to look up feijoa on the internet. I haven't seen it in Canada yet but will watch for it.
ReplyDeleteI am not the cook book nut in the house. My husband holds that honor. He has a recipe file on the computer and it grows weekly. He prints off the recipes he wants to use and thus he has a file of them as well. He tries something new on a regular basis. I just do the cleaning and prep work.
Feijoas are very common in NZ, Kaelee. And delicious. That's cool your husband is a keen cook. As long as there's one in the house I reckon.
ReplyDeleteI like to cook and have a ton of cookbooks to prove it. But what I like even more is when my 17 yr. old son cooks for me. He asked to (and did) cook Thanksgiving dinner last year. ;)
ReplyDeleteI had no clue what a feijoa was. LOL
Marcy Shuler
Feijoas! YUM! Sue, you have them dropping on the lawn - you lucky thing! The other thing I adore when I visit NZ is tamarillos! Double YUM!
ReplyDeleteI'm a Jamie O fan! "Lovely jubbly!" We tried his slow cooked lamb shoulder for Xmas one year and now we always do it when it's our turn for the big food feast!
Hopefully these super popular cooking shows are inspiring the serious junk-foodie to have a bit of a go at something freshly made in their kitchens.
I have always loved to cook. I have hundreds of cookbooks and pamphlets, not to mention all the recipes I have cut out of magazines, newspapers, and the internet. I have been so busy lately, however, that I haven't had time to do much cooking. On top of that, I can't find many of my old favorite recipes. I keep hoping that things will settle down and I can get back to trying new recipes.
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