Food has now become as fashion conscious as clothes, IT gadgets and many other things around us. I have collected recipes as a hobby since I was first married in '71; decades of writing them down from newspapers, and library books, or getting them handed on from kind friends, or carefully written out by my wonderful cooking mother, or kept as scraps torn from magazines (sometimes covertly in hairdressers and doctors' surgeries). As many of my friends and now grown up family love food and cooking, I have collected through swapping too. I love the idea that so many people have stores of favourite recipes, many of which will never be in any book or made by a chef, but are relied upon and give repeated pleasure. For me, collecting recipes has been a hobby, a pastime, one of the reasons for reading anything that came into my hands and a way of enjoying the practicalities of domestic life.
Consequently,many of the ones scribbled on book pages or on battered cards, from the Seventies and onwards, come under the heading of 'so last century'. But I only put on this blog those recipes which have earned their place as reliable favourites, a long time ago or much more recently. As I never had any money for years and years, many of them are economical. Cries of 'no more lentils' were heard from children when a packet only cost 30p and could be stretched into at least three meals- lentil bolognese, lentil curry and lentil moussaka. Anyone for lentil sandwiches? There are more baking recipes than anything else, as this has often been a way for me to relax and to give pleasure to everyone else.
Careful readers of these recipes will notice that even the baking ones are very 'put it all in and mix it' up types. There is little very fancy,10 careful stages, cooking in my repertoire. There are some recipes in my collection that do require precision, but I will not have managed to complete them very often. It has always been more slap dash, a good stir and slap it in.
Anyway, if cooking is creative and meant to nourish the senses, rather than a science, one large dollop of experience (or the alternative, enthusiasm) and several dollops of fond intention, will ensure a pleasing result. If there are flaws, chances are only you will notice them.
I do firmly believe that if you are in a bad mood, you will not make good pastry or a light cake.
I'd love to hear of anyone else's favourites or get comments on how any of these went for you.
Consequently,many of the ones scribbled on book pages or on battered cards, from the Seventies and onwards, come under the heading of 'so last century'. But I only put on this blog those recipes which have earned their place as reliable favourites, a long time ago or much more recently. As I never had any money for years and years, many of them are economical. Cries of 'no more lentils' were heard from children when a packet only cost 30p and could be stretched into at least three meals- lentil bolognese, lentil curry and lentil moussaka. Anyone for lentil sandwiches? There are more baking recipes than anything else, as this has often been a way for me to relax and to give pleasure to everyone else.
Careful readers of these recipes will notice that even the baking ones are very 'put it all in and mix it' up types. There is little very fancy,10 careful stages, cooking in my repertoire. There are some recipes in my collection that do require precision, but I will not have managed to complete them very often. It has always been more slap dash, a good stir and slap it in.
Anyway, if cooking is creative and meant to nourish the senses, rather than a science, one large dollop of experience (or the alternative, enthusiasm) and several dollops of fond intention, will ensure a pleasing result. If there are flaws, chances are only you will notice them.
I do firmly believe that if you are in a bad mood, you will not make good pastry or a light cake.
I'd love to hear of anyone else's favourites or get comments on how any of these went for you.