With these iconic words ringing in my ears I set about to become the chocolate king I had always dreamed off.
I won’t lie; I have grand ambitions to be the next Willy Wonka.
So with these expectations of grandeur and the craving of chocolate goodness (which has been building up as I watch everyone around me gorge on mini eggs, crème eggs and a plethora of other chocolaty delights) I set out on Easter Sunday to make my own chocolate … sans recipe.
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So the last few weeks have been quite monotonous – I haven’t written anything because nothing exciting has happened: no great successes, no great failures. All pretty bland really – just like my meals over the last few weeks.
Although they have all been fairly pleasant, they have become a tad repetitive and uninspired. The odd moment of inspiration has found its way on to the plate, for example a very tasty and comforting coconut rice pudding and some hearty and juicy home made burgers.
If you haven’t worked it out already I’m a bit of a baker at heart. I love bread and cakes, biscuits and tarts, and in the last few weeks I have been on a baking spree – which I should probably stop fairly soon in aid of trying to eat a bit healthier. Whilst I said before it’s not about deprivation, it’s also not about pre-mature cardiac arrest!
However I thought I would share a few baking/flour based cooking treats from the last few weeks.
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During the last few months I have come to appreciate the different types of food and cooking experiences that come with this sort of project. From long luxuriating cooking to chuck in the pan and on to the plate style.
So I thought I would share one patient food and one culinary quickie with you and as a little extra I have thrown in a quick eulogy about how amazing farmers markets are.
On Friday lunchtime this week, I sat down with my friends and watched them chow down on a veritable feast of falafel. Both of them had fluffy white pitta breads stuffed with salads, hummus, chilli and falafel. Meanwhile I nibbled away at a pot of Edamame beans and a banana.
The gulf in the appetite whetting nature of our lunches was mostly down to my bad organisation, but it spurred two important thoughts. One: when can I eat falafel and pitta, I want it now! and two: I need more interesting lunches.
This week marked another craving… Pasta
Last year I probably had pasta three or four times a week, whereas so far this year I have had none. It has been nearly two months without the Italian shape-shifter, meaning I have missed out on around 28 pasta dishes and counting.
I was heading to my parents for the weekend, and knowing they had made pasta before and had a kitchen big enough to facilitate this sort of activity I decided this would be the weekend of pasta.
So what happens on Wednesday lunch time when you’re sitting in the office eating your From Scratch salad, perusing food websites and emails for inspiration, and you get an email telling you the best place to go for a Chinese New Year feast? – Dim Sum in particular….
Most people in my situation would either ignore it or plan to exploit the loop-hole in the rules and use Chinese as one of their occasional dinner trips to satisfy their dim sum fix. In my over excited state I did neither.
Throughout this entire week, everywhere I have gone I have smelt or seen bread. At home – bread. At work – bread. Even on the train – bread. I felt just like the woman I saw today staring longingly through the window of a nearby Pie Mash & Eel shop, her nose pressed firmly against the glass and with a substantial amount of drool dripping from her lips… only with bread.
After surviving a (seemingly deadly!) bout of flu in the first few weeks of January on predominantly porridge and fruit, I was fortunate enough to have an early break with a ten-day holiday in the stunningly beautiful Mauritius. Despite not cooking myself, the country’s multicultural cuisine and abundance of fresh ingredients ensured I ate plenty of great food from scratch – the taste of sunshine is amazing! Continue reading
Greetings fellow food lovers!
Welcome to Suppers from Scratch – my quest to get back to cooking fresh, delicious food filled with love.
Sometime in the middle of 2010 I had the idea to try and cook everything I eat for a year from scratch. Months quickly flew by and now I am at 31st December with a challenge, some porridge oats and the flu- about to embark on my culinary adventure…
