The karoga night was a great success and all agreed that the girls came up to par with any of the all male teams that have cooked in the past year. It was a little chilly outside which I suppose, is why the bar with it's roaring open fire was crowded and only the hard core support team braved the out doors. Jim and I were definately warmed up by winning the Johnnie Walker Black Label Whiskey in the raffle!
The method of cooking - throw it in and taste as you go - does turn my mind to my own approach. I stand by my theory 'if you can read you can cook' you may not become a great Michelin star winning chef but with the mastering of a few techniques you will be able to produce some pretty impressive dishes. I back this theory up with my collection of roughly 250 cookbooks - 251 if you count the cake decorating book I picked up from our post box this morning on my way to work.
My collection is divided into several catagories -
Of course there are the 'bow down and worship' volumes such as Elizabeth David and the Roux family, not so much used for recipes but for reference and general ideas, although Elizabeth does do a wonderful Chocolate cake.
Then I have about 20 which I use all the time. They have so many little coloured flags coming out of the that I should really tag the recipes I have NOT made, it would be easier. There are several English icons; Delia Smith and Nigella of course, and the little less know Diane Henry, the author of 'Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons'. If you love Middle Eastern food then this is one you must search out. I am not a big fan of Jamie Olivers books (love his attitude to food and his 30 minute meals) however, 'Jamie's Great Britian' is the exception and we are addicted to his Steak and Kidney Pudding and the Rabbit Pie.
The Australians are, of course, led by Maggie Beer and Donna Hay. 'Maggie's Table' spends most of its life on my coffee table. I just love browsing through it and reading about Maggie's philosophy on food and life in general. I love how it is divided into seasons. Donna's 'At my Table' was a birthday gift from my very dear friend Sally, when I was living in Western Australia. The page with Onion Risotto is totally stuck together from over use and the Lime and Chilli Icecream is to die for. Joanna Glynn's 'Slow Cooking' is one book which I am determined to work through cover to cover this winter.
The French and Asian sections are smaller and then we get to the cake decorating and baking books which deserve a whole post to themselves!
I am waiting to inherit my Mother's copy of that 1970's icon Margaret Fulton's Cookbook, original edition. Everything is dated - baked avocado with prawns, photos of brown and yellow kitchens, my younger brother's favourite Beef Strips in Tomato Cream Sauce, and the memorable Chocolate Mousse which he and my Father decided to surprise us with and the put 2 tablespoons of instant coffee granules instead of liquid coffee made ready to drink! But that is what I love about it, it reflects the era when Australia was waking up to International cuisine in the home rather than just in restaurants.
Coming out on top as the all time favourites though are the 4-5 plastic folders with type written pages, laborously copied from the hand written books of my mother and grandmother. I don't think either of them would profess to being an exceptional cook but everything in here is special, full of memories and stories, and delicious. I regularly make Masie Holman's Sweet and Sour Pork and Spagetti Bolognaise, I cannot eat either dish cooked any other way.
I gave myself this project when at home with my Mother for a month or so. Every evening sitting with the books. The hand written ones were easy - mostly with the names of the original contributor as part of the title. However, my grandmothers copy of "Every Lady's' (not sure what the full name is) was another story. It is so fragile each page is encased in it's own plastic sleeve; trying to find the recipes by the names we used was nearly impossible and required frequent queries to Mum. Of course she has practically memorised the ones she uses frequently so sometimes had to really think to remember the original name. Being a farmer's wife, my Grandmother was a great baker, and her contributions read like a role call of the ladies of the district. All familiar names from our childhood even though we only spent our very early years in Leeton.
I have added my own favourites collected mainly from friends. My two favourites being 'Sally's Cornflake Biscuits' and 'Anita's Shortbread' (which my mother has claimed as her own - if you won prizes at church coffee mornings she would claim the blue ribbon every month!). Many of Sally's Mother's recipes are to be found amongst our family favourites as well. Maybe I will make her Chilli Con Carne tonight.
One day I really must reproduce 8 copies for my niece and my cousin's children. To have a bit of Rees family kitchen history to add their own favourites and hand on to their children.
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