Saturday Me(me)

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Time to return to Danielle’s Saturday Meme at There’s a Book and the question is : Are you Fond of Cooking?

Why I’m fond of cooking: It brings good friends together and feeds (pun intended)  some of my creative needs! I cook for myself too, but often will make a big batch of say chili con carne and freeze it into portions for late returns after work when I am too tired and lazy to do much but defrost ! I rarely eat pre-prepared food, just loving to cook from scratch with fresh ingredients from the market, but heh, I don’t have kids, that could change everything !

Who taught me: I am self-taught, but was very inspired when I was young by my father’s Pheasant stuffed with apple and shallots in Calvados.

Specialties: My Summer Brunches ! otherwise : Hummus, Daube,  Falafel, Pissaladière, Gulasch, coffee cake and lemon mousse. A couple I have written about already here and here.

Accompanying essentials : candles, musique d’ambiance and, of course, good wine.

Favorite cookbooks : (gives an idea of my influences)

La Cucina Mediterranea– Ricette di Terra e di Mare da Rory Buonassisi

Moro The Cookbook – given to me by my sister-in-law (my brother is probably the best cook I know) by Samuel and Samantha Clark, who have a passion for the intense flavours of the foods of Spain, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean and run a London restaurant called the Moro.

Do you enjoy cooking?

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14 Responses to Saturday Me(me)

  1. When my boys lived home, I would do the same thing especially in the winter, cook big batches of soups, sauces, etc and freeze for tose days that I didn’t feel like coooking.

    • Joanna says:

      Hi Cheryl, thank goodness for freezers, huh? I do make jams and can some veggies, but mostly I make use of that wonderful modern invention! Winter soups, ratatouille, yep super useful.

  2. Oh! I really hope to cook “ahead” more in the future. It sounds wonderful to have things ready to go, especially when things start getting more and more hectic. I’ll have to give Mediterranean food a try sometime as it’s probably one of the few types of food I haven’t tried. Sounds yummy! 🙂

    • Joanna says:

      Apart from the obvious garlic, onions and tomatoes, Mediterranean cooking has taught me to appreciate ingredients such as capers, anchovies and olives 🙂 I am heading to the US for a month and am looking forward to trying lots of new foods (though a little wary of the portion size ;))

      Go for the big batch freezing, it’s a great time saver 🙂

  3. Valentina says:

    Yummy, Mediterranean cooking 🙂

    Here’s mine:

    http://carabosseslibrary.blogspot.com/2011/07/bit-of-meme_09.html

  4. Patricia Tilton says:

    Love the post and the photos of delicious foods. I love Mediterranean food. Used to love to cook and took classes when my daughter was young, but now am very limited in what I do. But, your blog did make me hungry.

    We are having pork ribs for dinner. 🙂

  5. Mmmm, that food looks so fantastic! And I totally love candles while I’m eating, it’s one of my favorite things!

    I think I’ll do more making of big things and freezing someday when I have a kid or two as well – soooo much easier!

    • Joanna says:

      Crystal, part of cooking for friends is creating a welcoming ambiance for the evening with candles etc.. Though I do light candles just for my own dinners sometimes too 😉

  6. I used to love to cook and bake (especially bake), but now my diet is so limited due to allergies and hypoglycemia that I can’t eat many of the things I used to love to prepare. *pseudo-Gallic shrug* C’est la vie. Enjoyed this post! (And yes, the portion size in North America is ridiculous.)

    • Joanna says:

      Loved your “pseudo-Gallic shrug” Beth :). I really love baking too and often make my own bread. I limit my cake baking to when I have guests otherwise temptation would be too great, though that said, generally prefer savoury to sweet food. I have developed a mushroom allergy over the last few years and have to really watch them hiding in restaurant dishes as my reaction is very severe and I used to love mushrooms (and mushroom picking).

  7. Diane says:

    Love trying different foods, and yours sound yummy.Love the candles, so will be right over.
    But if thats olives in that picture, I am afraid I am going to pick them out…… yuk!

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