...for my birthday

I got the wonderful Flavour Thesaurus! It's a marvellous compilation of food pairings by Niki Segnit, a self-confessed home cook who took on the Sisyphean task of documenting what-goes-with-what.

It's a lovely book to read - nice paper stock and well designed, and is suprisingly easy to dip in and out of. The scope of the book is international so you find out that the pairing of cucumber and rose is a distinctly Scottish/English quirk, and that although goats cheese and fresh coriander may sound strange to our ears, it is ubiquitous in Mexico.

The beauty of the book is just that - she covers classic pairings like say, cheese and apple, but also explores the further reaches of the culinary imagination.  I'd never thought to pair oily fish and anise before, but after reading about Heston Blumenthal's experiments with salmon and liquorice I'm starting to wonder if it might be worth a try...

Granny's favourites

Sadly not my actual Granny's cookbook, but possibly one she might have taken some tips from in her heyday.  I found this fab little book of meatless meals from 1934 in a Brighton junk shop.  Amongst the well-turned pages and tattered corners it has some real recipe gems, all fish based or vegetarian.  I think I may have found my culinary ancestry.

My personal favourites include Eggs a la Tripe (does not contain tripe!), Winchester Pudding (bread, jam and cinnamon steamed in a custard), Stargazy Pasties (as with the pie, the fish peek out of the pastry), and an Excellent Fish Pie, which casually suggests the inclusion of oysters which were apparently rather less expensive back in the day!

Anachronisms aside, it's fascinating that there was real interest in pescetarianism 80 years ago, or at least enough people reducing meat in their diets to justify the publication of a book of recipes.  I tend to think it's a rather modern dietary quirk, but apparently gran beat us to it.

The Tender caress of a good cookbook

When it comes to cook books, I love them all; the old ones with bad photos, the well-used ones with soup stains, and of course the ones you borrowed but 'forgot' to give back.

My mum has some excellent books from the 1970s with horrific photographs of green and purple dishes that all seem to include gelatin and a sprig of curly parsley on top.

I try not to indulge myself in this too much as my urban living space is rather confined and shelf space even tighter.  Still, once in a while a book comes along that I feel I just can't live without. The second volume of Nigel Slater's Tender is definitely one of those books.

The photography is as expected, exquisite.  Photographer Jonathan Lovekin takes beautiful images, full of character, that have a real empathy for the flaws and vagaries of the garden.  Not every apple is perfectly round or unblemished, but that's the point.  He revels in these quirks and produces heart-stoppingly wistful images from them.  Lovekin also worked with Yotam Ottolenghi on his latest book Plenty, but to my mind his photographs have something special in combination with Nigel Slater's food and philosophy.  I also like that the paper stock used is good quality, and feels nice to handle.  These things count you know...

And the recipes, well. I share Slater's attitude to food; constantly hungry, and determined to make even the simplest dish into something to be treasured and celebrated.  Whereas Tender volume one was devoted to vegetables, this is a long, loving gaze at the wondrous world of fruit.  On initial inspection, there are intriguing entries for roasted quince and a sweet black grape focaccia which I may be trying soon.  He also includes some flavour thesaurus style food matching suggestions which will come in handy when inspiration has left the building.

A perfect read for snuggling up under the covers with - just try not to salivate over your pillow.

Spam spam, glorious spam

photo: Hackney Museum

Something from the archives ~

This was published in the post-war austerity years, when fresh eggs and unlimited sugar were still a pipe dream for most cooks. The canny housewife had to find alternatives to fresh cream, butter and so many other things we just take for granted. Seeing this made me feel rather lucky to have such a huge variety of food available in our wonderful metropolis!

Here's a recipe that could come in handy next time M&S runs out of organic free-range Jersey cream. It's not just cream, it's...

...Mock Cream

2 ozs. margarine
2 slightly rounded tablespoons cornflour, arrowroot, blancmange powder or custard powder OR
2 well rounded (not heaped) tablespoons flour
2 heaped tablespoons sugar, preferably castor
A few drops vanilla or other flavouring, if liked
½ pint milk

Blend the cornflour etc, with a little of the cold milk. Bring the rest of the milk to the boil and stir into the blended mixture. Return to the saucepan and cook for three minutes, stirring continuously. Pour into a basin and either cover prevent a skin forming, or press gently down on top of the mixture a round of greaseproof paper previously dipped in water. Leave until just cold, but not set. Beat the margarine and sugar until white. Add about a dessertspoon of the cold cornflour mixture to the creamed margarine and beat until light and creamy, so that the cornflour mixture is completely blended with the creamed margarine and sugar. Continue adding the cornflour mixture until all has been beaten in, then beat in the flavouring a drop at a time, tasting until the right degree is obtained.