A LITTLE BIT OF READING - AND SOME DIY : "AINSELY HARRIOT’S MEALS IN MINUTES"

Ok, credit where it’s due, I haven’t done books on this page for a very, very long time. But on the contrary, I have done cookery books before. Now, I do not own a massive number of cookery books. But I seem to go for a select few and over-use them, as it were. I mean, I believe in doing things properly. Ainsley Harriot’s meals in minutes are definitely going to be one of those books I am going to over-use. I have made one single meal out of it to date. But it was just SO good… I mean, SO GOOD. I had to share. This has to be an absolute treasure trove. And treasures (of this kind anyway) are for sharing J

Now, seeing as this is a cookery book it has no “story line” per se. But I will tell you about the concept, what I tried to make and the result. Now, anyone who has me added on facebook will actually know the answer to this one. And they will probably roll their eyes as I have been raving about it. What can I tell you, I like my food. Good food makes me happy. Risotto makes me especially happy. Home-made risotto… Well… Now I had some trepidation about risotto. One of my very dear friends who is a better cook than I will ever be most of the time has bad memories with risotto. I trust his culinary instincts implicitly. And risotto is jokingly referred to as “black rice” in the household to this day. Hence, to be fair, I was worried. But the result was risotto to rave about. And no doubt the recipe will be circulating, so more than one household was “saved” with one fell-swoop.

I am quite a confident cook at the best of times. But I wanted to be double-sure with this one. So I did things completely and utterly by the book. You know, bought all the ingredients and didn’t improvise (you know how it goes – “oh I don’t have any X – I’ll stick in some Y and Z instead, it’ll be fine”. I religiously followed the instructions. Which by the way, are crystal clear. The only fault I can find with this particular recipe is that the preparation time is slightly “exaggerated” if you see what I mean. It depends on the speed you chop at, but honestly, it takes me more than five minutes to wash and chop 250 grams of mushrooms alone. But apart from that, no issues whatsoever. Simple, easy to follow and ingredients that are easy to find.  And even though the prep. Time –wise I haven’t tried the more “speedy” sounding dishes but even though there was a slight “inconsistency” here, the recipe claimed it would take no more than 35 – 40 minutes and this was about correct. In short – give it a go! There are a lot of practical but novel ides in there, ideal to, with a tiny bit of prep, spice up your weekday nights with a wonderful homecooked meal. And the added satisfaction that “you did it all yourself”

A “NAKED” BOOK REVIEW…

I was pottering about the kitchen this morning when I was struck by rather a bizarre thought. As you know, the aim of this website is to provide a non-expert review of films or books for other non-experts. It’s all very well and good to have expert opinions but they sometimes differ largely in perspective from the concerns of the “common people” i.e. us. In this website, I strive to be “useful”. Alerting you to the presence of a film you may not have heard of. Providing a review for a book you may have seen but not considered. Well, if I want to be truly useful – not to mention honest and open about sharing the good books I have come across, there is one book I CANNOT leave out. It is not, however, the kind of book you may have initially expected… I’m not quite sure how to put this… Ok …
It’s a cookery book.
Now, as I said, I strongly believe in non-expert, down to earth views of things. Pretty much everything. This is not to say that I believe experts useless, quite au contraire. It’s just that, unless you’re an expert – or at least quite knowledgeable – yourself on the matter, their advice can be rather hard to implement. Unless it’s a real down-to-earth expert who actually tailors his/her advice and opinions to be down to earth and practical. I’m talking about Jamie Oliver..
Now, one thing to know about me is that I am not a very good cook. I was blessed with a mother who is an excellent cook but a perfectionist and a very impatient teacher. Any attempts on my part to help /experiment in the kitchen were whisked out from under my nose with a cry of “Oh give it here I’ll do it” from Mom and howls of protest from me (Mom, I defy you to look me in the eye and tell me I’m lying).It wasn’t the idea of me cooking that “upset” Mom, but the learning process and all it entailed. Indeed, if someone could “upload” cooking into me Matrix style, Mom would be more than happy to leave all the cooking to me. Unfortunately, there were mistakes to be made, experiments to be undergone, kitchens to be wrecked, ingredients to be burnt and Mom would rather just do it herself than go through all that. So here I am. On the wrong side of 25 and unable to cook to save my socks.
Now, being an industrious soul, I decided some time ago to remedy this sorry state of affairs. Mom was still as Mom as ever so I needed was a book. A practical book. Down to earth. It needed to be well written though – and by someone who knew what they were doing. (I am as impatient as my Mother and the quicker I get round to the production edible of food items the better.) I picked Jamie Oliver as my “expert of choice” on a whim more than anything else. I had seen a few of his cookery programmes, The Naked Chef and all that. I liked his style. I mean, he is a proper A-list celebrity and yet doesn’t put on airs. And I like his whole philosophy of wholesome, healthy meals. So I trundled along to the cookery books section – and Mr. Oliver has written a REMARKABLE number of books let me tell you – I decided on “Jamie’s Ministry Of Food”. I rifled through it a little and figured out that it is basically a very well illustrated “cooking for idiots”. Just what I needed. I bought it on the spot.
And now, basically, I swear by it. The dishes suggested are practical things that you can cook quickly day to day. I admit that finding some (some as in a VERY small number indeed) of the ingredients may be difficult depending on the country you are in but nothing a little ingenuity can’t overcome… The instructions are basically idiot-proof. I mean, I can follow them and believe me, that’s saying a lot. And it isn’t just basic things for beginners, oh no. Mom who is quite an accomplished cook was quite impressed by a number o f novel ideas. Porridge for instance. Ever thought of grating cooking chocolate into your porridge, adding a spoonful of marmalade and warming it through to cook chocolate- orange flavored porridge? No? Neither had we. Mr. Oliver has. Basic salads, basic dressings, dips and salsas, pasta sauces, you name it. Broken down into bite-sized morsels for the beginner. And the range goes all the way to lasagna and beef wellington. No matter what “level” cook you are, you will find something to “sink your teeth into” (Ho Ho  ). And for those of you with families – Mr. Oliver being a father of two himself, he is very conscious about vitamin values, filling and healthy meals for the little ones… In short, something for the whole family…
The book proudly proclaims “Everyone can learn to cook in 24 hours”. I thought it was a marketing ploy. I am now beginning to suspect he was right. I strongly recommend this book to anyone with any interest in cooking – I have come a long way thanks to it… I mean, even Mom is impressed… ;)

JULIE & JULIA

Ok, so “the spirit of Oscars® past” is right above us, how about the spirit of Oscars® present? And it would be a shame to finish the week without at least one “true story”, right? Well, technically it’s “two true stories” as the film says, but I’m getting slightly ahead of myself…
Julie and Julia is based on two books. One is “My Life In France” by Julia Child – one of the greatest cooks and cooking writers of the 20th century. The second is “Julie & Julia” written by Julie Powell, who is possibly one of Julia Child’s greatest fans… Now, Julia Child (as some of you may know) was the wife of a diplomat. She discovered and fell in love with French cuisine when her husband Paul Child was posted to Paris in the 60’s. She then discovered she had a distinct talent for it. Her life’s ambition became to popularize French cuisine “for the servantless American cook”. And boy did she succeed. As we all know, her recipe book is a household stable item pretty much all around the English – speaking world. Julie Powell was a secretary in a government agency in 2002. She had a loving husband and an OK life but she felt in a rut and was looking for direction. Then one evening, completely by chance, she and her husband happen on an idea. Julie will take Julia Child’s 524 recipe long book, cook every single recipe in it, and try to finish it within one year. She will share this experience with the world, via a blog. By the end of the year, Julie has been through more than she could ever possibly imagine… Throughout the film we go back and forth through time hearing her candidly sharing her experiences via her blog on one hand, and learning about a truly fascinating cooking icon on the other…
First and foremost, this is a film the “gourmands” of this world MUST NOT miss. Cooking and food dominates the film and some of the food shots simply make me salivate to think about them… Secondly, the acting was top notch. Meryl Streep gives a brilliant performance as Julia Child, and Amy Adams as Julie Powell is not too far off… (interesting to note by the way, that Stanley Tucchi who plays Paul Child, Julia Child’s husband and Meryl Streep were also in The Devil Wears Prada together!) This film is good quality, heart warming and fulfilling entertainment at its best. Many “entertaining” films will come and go without a trace, this is not one of them. It will leave its mark. Now go on, take a bite – and bon apetit!