Editor's Blog Mar 30th 2012
Food
For some it means everything, for others it’s just something that you need to live. I sit somewhere in the middle. I will always go by the adage that I will try everything once, twice if I like it.
My relationship with food started when I could actually choose what I could eat, and not something that my old dear mother would throw together. It wasn’t her fault, she is actually not a bad cook at all, but when you cook for many, under time limitations, things do tended to get a bit repetitive.
As a child I could tell what day it was by what food was on the table. Sunday Roast (Obviously) Monday Chips egg steak, Tuesday Spaghetti, Wednesday Stew, Thursday Chips Egg Fish Fingers, Friday Chinese and Saturday Shepherd’s Pie. For a working mother of three children this was not bad at all, in fact, it was darn good.
Then I grew up, moved out and started doing my own thing, meat and potatoes being my primary food source, not that I had anything against veg, rice or pasta, it’s just that I had not developed a taste for it at the time. It actually took nearly ten more years before I started to explore food in great depth.
One of the best experiences I ever had was the first time I went as an adult to a restaurant. I chose Duck a l’ Orange and it was excellent, so much so that the following week I sourced a whole duck, cut the recipe from a woman’s magazine and cooked my first proper meal.
Since then I have not looked back. I have taught myself many a recipe and even gone to make some of the traditional dishes with my own twist. I can say with a reasonable amount of confidence that I am a fairly good cook.
With Internet access and an app called Epicurious, the world’s food is at your fingertips. I urge you not to waste your money on those dreadful takeaways, I am calling you to actually cook something that does not come wrapped in a newspaper or packed in a can.
This need not cause you any stress whatsoever, I actually find an inner peace when chopping and dicing vegetables. Start with simple recipes and work your way up to the more complex dishes. In no time you will be whirling around the kitchen like Gordon Ramsey, hopefully without the swearing.
Ed.
