*
At the mall, after walking around for a bit, we finally found a table. I was hungry, yet clueless about what it was that I truly craved. After pondering all the possible options, I decided on coming home and cooking something myself. Why? Why not just enjoy the practicality of ready-to-go food just as I enjoy the ease of pret-a-porter?
.
I couldn't. There is something haunting me, pleading to be made. Something I probably haven't made in 3 or more years, and that was one of the first recipes that aroused in me a hunger for something more than food. A hunger for cooking.
.
So here I am. Sitting amidst a mess of old recipes from my big ol' folder, staring at a 6 year old sheet of paper. Has it really been that long?
.
For how long have you loved food? All your life? And for how long have you loved cooking? When and why did you pick up that very first recipe, or stared blankly into a refrigerator/pantry and decided to create magic? Was it the need or the lust, hunger or a looming desire?
.
I have always loved food. Its in my genes, along with the passion for good, hearty meals and for sharing them . But I had never really thought that much about it until it became my fiend. So I read. And started to really think about how the ingredients went together and how the flavors could be more interesting. All of a sudden I was looking to photos of ingredients I had never tried, things that sounded interesting but had never been a part of my life. Yes, that was my first fix of food porn: Diet magazines.
.
There were a few experiments those days. When my parents were out and it was my responsibility to fix dinner, I would play now and then with what I had at hand. I remember the first time I tried to bake... a chocolate cake that looked like rubber and a honey cake that puffed up, out of control, into a odd looking foam. Then there were oriental dishes. Slowly, I learned a little here and there.
.
But there wasn't a passion just then. Not the overwhelming passion that makes us turn off our TV's and computers and head into the kitchen. Not until I was introduced to Jamie. Certainly, I blame Mr. Oliver for being the first of many to make me see how fun a kitchen could be and how easy it is to translate feeling into food.
.
It was not forgotten. It just wasn't so important. Not until I felt like eating a truly heart-warming , comforting and easy dish of pasta. This was the reminder. The original dish, Tagliarini with bacon in olive oil, has been adapted to the occasion and different ingredients so many times, the description of "Pasta Cacio e Pepe" rang a bell. I knew that. I had once made something as pleasing as it.
.
And after all, that's what it will be tonight. A simple and hearty Pasta dish. It will probably be some farfalle, a tablespoon of butter and a few tablespoons of the Parmesan I grated last night. I crave something filling - so in go the my favorite miniature sausages (pork free), sliced and fried in a little olive oil. Pepper to taste, rosemary, and a glass of wine, and boy oh boy, am I a happy gal.
.
Cooking, and enjoying food (not just gobbling it down) mean the world to me nowadays. So tell me, what dish is it that makes your heart beat faster and your world go round?
*
*
And just in case you are curious, here is that 6 year old recipe for Tagliarini with Bacon:
Cook the tagliarini. In enough olive oil, fry thin slices of bacon (turkey, if you must) and add rosemary, chopped up garlic and thinly sliced parsnip. Add the pasta and fry for one minute. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and sprinkle with grated parmesan. Serve warm.
.
from an old episode of The Naked Chef
*
.
I couldn't. There is something haunting me, pleading to be made. Something I probably haven't made in 3 or more years, and that was one of the first recipes that aroused in me a hunger for something more than food. A hunger for cooking.
.
So here I am. Sitting amidst a mess of old recipes from my big ol' folder, staring at a 6 year old sheet of paper. Has it really been that long?
.
For how long have you loved food? All your life? And for how long have you loved cooking? When and why did you pick up that very first recipe, or stared blankly into a refrigerator/pantry and decided to create magic? Was it the need or the lust, hunger or a looming desire?
.
I have always loved food. Its in my genes, along with the passion for good, hearty meals and for sharing them . But I had never really thought that much about it until it became my fiend. So I read. And started to really think about how the ingredients went together and how the flavors could be more interesting. All of a sudden I was looking to photos of ingredients I had never tried, things that sounded interesting but had never been a part of my life. Yes, that was my first fix of food porn: Diet magazines.
.
There were a few experiments those days. When my parents were out and it was my responsibility to fix dinner, I would play now and then with what I had at hand. I remember the first time I tried to bake... a chocolate cake that looked like rubber and a honey cake that puffed up, out of control, into a odd looking foam. Then there were oriental dishes. Slowly, I learned a little here and there.
.
But there wasn't a passion just then. Not the overwhelming passion that makes us turn off our TV's and computers and head into the kitchen. Not until I was introduced to Jamie. Certainly, I blame Mr. Oliver for being the first of many to make me see how fun a kitchen could be and how easy it is to translate feeling into food.
.
It was not forgotten. It just wasn't so important. Not until I felt like eating a truly heart-warming , comforting and easy dish of pasta. This was the reminder. The original dish, Tagliarini with bacon in olive oil, has been adapted to the occasion and different ingredients so many times, the description of "Pasta Cacio e Pepe" rang a bell. I knew that. I had once made something as pleasing as it.
.
And after all, that's what it will be tonight. A simple and hearty Pasta dish. It will probably be some farfalle, a tablespoon of butter and a few tablespoons of the Parmesan I grated last night. I crave something filling - so in go the my favorite miniature sausages (pork free), sliced and fried in a little olive oil. Pepper to taste, rosemary, and a glass of wine, and boy oh boy, am I a happy gal.
.Cooking, and enjoying food (not just gobbling it down) mean the world to me nowadays. So tell me, what dish is it that makes your heart beat faster and your world go round?
*
*
And just in case you are curious, here is that 6 year old recipe for Tagliarini with Bacon:
Cook the tagliarini. In enough olive oil, fry thin slices of bacon (turkey, if you must) and add rosemary, chopped up garlic and thinly sliced parsnip. Add the pasta and fry for one minute. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and sprinkle with grated parmesan. Serve warm.
.
from an old episode of The Naked Chef
*
No comments:
Post a Comment