Jocasta Innes

Only recently we became aware that Jocasta Innes had died in April of this year. She has particular significance to both of us as a result of her book “The Country Kitchen”. This was the first text which led us to embark towards a different lifestyle, one where our lives began to revolve around growing food, cooking and moving closer to a simpler life style.

As we progressed we accumulated works by other writers but invariably returned to her guide frequently for ideas and for inspiration, re-reading it from cover to cover again and again. For some reason this invigorates and energises us. Maybe we are just aging Pseudo Hippies longing for the 70's.

An important quotes from her..

“Nostalgia for the sake of nostalgia has been avoided because gadgets do save time and effort if you can afford them. After all, it is the flavour of your sausage filling that counts, not whether it was pushed into the casing mechanically or by human hand.”

“ So … make use of the time and energy saved by modern appliances to rediscover the culinary skills known to [our] forebears”

This was particularly memorable after an attempt to build a Welsh Dresser with only hand tools. From that painful exercise arose a well equipped workshop and kitchen. With so much to do it is compulsory to maximise the day. And we are all fortunate that these appliances and tools are readily available in the marketplace both new and second-hand.