Things in the Garden, Cooking Inspirations

After morning chores took a stroll through the garden to see how things are progressing. Still lots of food ready to eat and more on the way - thank goodness we won't starve.

Broad Beans on Target

Kale

Garlic looking very healthy

Self Sown Fennel. Let it go to seed once.

Two of the many Self Sown Radicchio. Again let it go to seed once for a permanent crop

Celery

Coriander Flowering. When the seeds are still green and soft they will be used in various dishes to add flavour and crunch

Flowering Jasmine "Gladdens your Heart"

In some commentary on another blog, readers referred to inspirational books on cooking that had set them on the path to getting serious about preparing their own food. This was reminder of a few of the books that set the scene for our cooking.

Back in the early 1980's a passing acquaintance hearing we were about to prepare a special meal for friends loaned us Elizabeth David's French Provincial Cooking which was used to prepare an authentic French feast. Although not as easy to use as Julia Child's books it nonetheless forced some discipline in preparation and delivery and brought us into the world of French cooking and cooking for pleasure. Ten years later we acquired the box set of Elizabeth David's books but took out the pristine French Provincial Cooking and gave it to the stunned acquaintance who had forgotten that we never returned her loan. The dog eared stained original still holds a special place with us.

Not long after that The Cuisine of Paul Bocuse joined our shelves and brought creativity to the kitchen. Over the years cookery books accumulated on our book shelves, some just for their prettiness, others for specific recipes or techniques still used and others just because they were about cooking. When hunting for something new to do with a vegetable in over supply it's not unusual for us to sit with a dozen rarely opened books over coffee examining alternatives. Sharing the discovery process is not as easy on the web as it is with the hard copy.