Tuesday 30 March 2010

Still loving "Miss Dahl"...

So.... i bought her book.
You expected it of me, right? she is now my new best best friend, in my head. The book was worth it to me, just for reading all the personal stories of her life. I can believe it to be true - the travel, the modelling, the weight debate....
Mostly i love her book as it really is close to how i eat. Miss Dahl is a vegetarian and a food lover, like my good self. But she also appreciates (and cooks) good quality meat for those that she loves. So the recipes were all how i would cook.
MOST-est and BEST-est of all though, Sophie Dahl completely understands food in all its goodness:
Have you EVER cried when reading a cookbook? (not you MrsB, it is inevitable you have my gorgeous, soft hearted Love) imagine me in bed last night, reading this:
"...cooking and eating can be so simple, yet both can be a far reaching expression of love and humanity that is universal....
...The last supper, conjured after someone has died or left, that you play over again in your head: What did we talk about? What did we eat? How could we not have known that this was going to be it? Grasping the bones of the mundane and holding them close and dear"
"Grasping the bones of the mundane" writes Miss Dahl, "and holding them close and dear" this is exactly what cookery does for me. She says it so much better than I. And, when i find myself in a horrible dark place, that comes and goes - cookery is that precious mundanity that helps anchor me.
This morning i found myself alone and in need, so i made a batch of Easter Marzipan Cakes (from the wonderfully Motherly Nigella) and, for breakfast, some of Sophie's "Indian sweet potato Pancakes" pg.30 of the book

Some of you may squint at the idea of something curry-ish for breakfast, but i am made of hearty stuff! and i like the thought of a challenge...
I made these this morning and only deviated 'slightly' from the recipe by adding crushed corriander seeds - my dads voice in my head "why can't you follow the recipe as it is? why go adding bits it might not need?" well, it's not as if corriander is so far off the Indian / Asian Palette is it?

They were fresh and tasty - good for you and low in fats etc... as i am beginning to expect of Miss Dahl. But, you know me. They were a little bit too healthy so i added a generous soft slope of Cambozola blue brie on the side....
Taste = heaven!!
With a breakfast like that under my belt, i am either:
a) set up for a good couple of well fuelled hours...... or .....
b) salivating over what's for lunch!
I shall be watching her, tonight, 8.30pm, BBC2 (and Holby City on i-player later)

11 comments:

A Thrifty Mrs said...

Ahhhh how I love La Dahl. I was so prepared to hate her but I think she is a jolly good egg. I'm very jealous of the way she looks the lucky thing.

Her book is at the top of my 'must buy when I get paid' list.

LPFish said...

a jolly good egg indeed!

LissyLou said...

mmmm i loved this scrummy post...so excited about episode 2 of the lovely sophie xx

::cupcakesandbiscuits:: said...

I ordered the book yesterday from Amazon, I had to!
Can't wait!
xx
p.s I have some peanut butter fudge setting in the fridge as I write. My mouth has been watering all day at the thought of it!

menopausalmusing said...

I love curry-ish stuff for breakfast, much to the disgust of my other half! All the more for me, I say! Another one here who is looking forward to Miss Dahl again....

YarnRoundHook said...

is the answer b)? If you are anything like me it would be - always thinking about what I can eat next!

You have bunting in your kitchen - I am off now to hang up mine - why had I never thought to before?!

LPFish said...

*shhh, i have bunting in every room in the house... and outside!*
i am having jacket spuds for dinner with a cream cheese and dill sause type of filling...

::cupcakesandbiscuits:: said...

OMG!!! PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE!
It's almost perverse, it's so good!
I know I have expanded just eating one piece but I care not a jot. It's so yummy, it's so rich, it's so decidedly decadent!
Eldest Biscuit, who loves nuts found it too sweet and youngest Biscuit who doesn't, scoffed his.
And to top it off my eldest practiced making tea again!
Could it get better than that?
x

LPFish said...

haha - blog it! have you blogged it already?

louise35flower said...

ooh I'd forgotten it was tonight thankyou for the reminder :D

Bunnyhops said...

A very kind person bought it for my birthday in the summer & it's been top of my pile ever since. The recipes are not overly-fussy & focus on good ingredients. Like her grandfather, she writes so engagingly. She's not just another celeb with a cookbook. She writes honestly about her battles with food & her current slimline look is refreshingly down to a balanced diet, not starvation. Food has clearly always been important in her family & she also has formal training. I lived on her goats cheese, baked egg & swiss chard (from the veg patch) all summer. Yum!

Yes another fan … in case you hadn't guessed!