New To Me...

I met Nigel Slater today.... not in real life.  LOL

I met him by way of the movie Toast.

It is a very interesting movie based on the Memoir of Nigel Slater by the same name.  I found it on Netflix Watch Now.  The most fascinating part for me was the progression toward becoming a professional caterer and what drove him toward that life.  I had just had someone ask me if I had seen it and so I looked it up and there it was.... just waiting to be discovered.  It won't win any Academy Awards but it has it's moments.  My favorite part is when he becomes enrolled in a Home Economics class and the determination he showed in learning to bake a Lemon Meringue Pie.  He was certainly driven...

Nigel is a food writer in the UK for The Observer and he has written a plethora of books on food, gardening and cooking.  He also has had several video series over the years on food.

Slater has his own website which is simply his name so it is easy to remember...  www.nigelslater.com.

He is a home cook (not a chef - as he shares right up front), a writer and a gardener....
I cannot wait to discover more.

Here is a little bit about him in video form.

I think I will be looking for some of his books and videos on YouTube to investigate more!

Foodie Reading... Katish

Wanda Frolov was a writer for Gourmet Magazine and began publishing these stories in the magazine from what I understand.  She put them together into a book form and made quite a lovely fiction/cookbook out of it.  This book is set in the 1920's.  It is about a Russian immigrant named Katish and how she came to live in LA with a family as their housekeeper and cook.  Simple Russian recipes are scattered throughout the text and I have tried several of them, myself.  I have not found a bad one, yet.... and I suspect I won't.

I am just sad it took me so long to finally pick it up and read it because once I did I could barely put it down for long.  If you are a foodie you will, no doubt, enjoy this book.

Marion Cunningham... in memorium

I missed this until this week because of our "off the grid" time in the wilderness but I wanted to share her philosophy because it is one that has shaped mine...  She had a heart for the home cook and for the beginning cook.  I loved her take on food and meals together.  


"People are living like they are in motels.  They get fast food and take it home and turn on the TV.  Schools and sports groups have soccer practice or what have you during what used to be called the dinner hour.  We don't need more competitive sports.   We need to sit facing people with great regularity, so we are making an exchange and we are learning to be civilized."  Marion Cunningham 1922-2012


another favorite...

Marion Cunningham on Home Cooking

"Home cooking is a catalyst that brings people together. We are losing the daily ritual of sitting down around the table (without the intrusion of television), of having the opportunity to interact, to share our experiences and concerns, to listen to others. Home kitchens, despite the increase in designer appliances and cabinetry, are mostly quiet and empty today. Strangers are preparing much of our food. And our supermarkets, which once considered restaurants and fast-food places the enemy, have joined the trend by enlarging their delis and offering ready-to-eat food they call "home-replacement meals." But bringing ready-cooked meals home is not the same as cooking in your own kitchen, where you are in control of the ingredients you use, where you fill the house with good cooking smells, and where you all share in a single dish, taking a helping and passing the platter on to your neighbor. Nothing can replace that." — Marion Cunningham, from the introduction to Lost Recipes.

and a few great articles I enjoyed on the subject of MC

A Cooking Kinship

In Memory of Marion Cunningham

Marion Cunningham from Tea and Cookies

New York Times Obituary to Honor MC

Fannie Farmer and the delicious waffle recipe...

Buttermilk Crumb Muffins - Marion Cunningham  and Julia Child

"Home cooking is a catalyst that brings people together."  Marion Cunningham