tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060008016421967331.post6503193647138851308..comments2023-09-28T11:08:42.509+01:00Comments on love and a licked spoon: Old friends and new discoveriesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060008016421967331.post-31111160520466789942009-04-11T18:27:00.000+01:002009-04-11T18:27:00.000+01:00Avril, That's why I love Elizabeth David recipes, ...Avril, That's why I love Elizabeth David recipes, their confident simplicity which allows the ingredients to shine. I LOVE the idea of your grandmother's blackcurrant tart with clotted cream. I'm planting blackcurrant bushes this year, so just such a tart might be in my future. I hope you have a lovely picnic, and a wonderful Easter.<BR/>DxLickedspoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10910664613805029106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060008016421967331.post-92089500214284659752009-04-11T13:42:00.000+01:002009-04-11T13:42:00.000+01:00Mmmn yum! Reluctant cook that I am I may be forced...Mmmn yum! Reluctant cook that I am I may be forced to try this Debora. On the other hand I could just wait and hope someone cooks it for me in France! <BR/>Summer Cooking was the first cookbook I ever owned - this lovely piece took me tumbling back to the days when I began to discover that food could be simple, elegant, exciting and taste good, all at once. I loved Elizabeth David's writing: her whole exotic take on food.(I had endured a lot of Sunday roasts with grey meat and soggy veg up until then - although to be fair my grandmother's blackcurrant tart and clotted cream, was and has remained, unsurpassed)The conjuring up of a summer picnic especially, seemed to me a thing of wonder and beauty. So much so that I was inspired, in those undergraduate days, to attempt picnics, a la David, to be eaten in June on the banks of the Cam - happy days. I'm going off to my bookshelves now to track down my copy.The sun is shining and I can feel a picnic coming on... AxAvrilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16292014792864517125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060008016421967331.post-90283620532733895672009-04-10T15:25:00.000+01:002009-04-10T15:25:00.000+01:00That looks so great!and thanks baking is the best!...That looks so great!and thanks baking is the best!Baking Monsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04393380107099085195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060008016421967331.post-78681865235783872172009-04-10T07:30:00.000+01:002009-04-10T07:30:00.000+01:00Rebekka - DO!I'm sure you won't regret it. Let me ...Rebekka - DO!I'm sure you won't regret it. Let me know how you get on.Lickedspoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10910664613805029106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060008016421967331.post-14522305832761558932009-04-10T01:35:00.000+01:002009-04-10T01:35:00.000+01:00I've GOT to check this out!I've GOT to check this out!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060008016421967331.post-48351225107311519192009-04-09T18:39:00.000+01:002009-04-09T18:39:00.000+01:00Oh, Lady P, you are too kind! You know that vine l...Oh, Lady P, you are too kind! You know that vine leaf press I talk about in my post? I've been thinking about THAT all day. I really want to go and buy it and make dolma and perhaps labneh balls for canapés on Sunday...and as Oscar Wilde so famously said, 'I can resist everything except temptation'.Lickedspoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10910664613805029106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060008016421967331.post-20332638415378836602009-04-09T18:13:00.000+01:002009-04-09T18:13:00.000+01:00I have been thinking of this dish and recipe book ...I have been thinking of this dish and recipe book all yesterday after reading your post - thanks for visiting the wee creative blog - and hope the dinner goes well - pizza! Girlfriend, you could make saltines and a can of tomato soup taste good!Lady Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04797024837774358632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060008016421967331.post-88960248377034656902009-04-09T12:46:00.000+01:002009-04-09T12:46:00.000+01:00Thank you La Fée - I hope you make it yourself at ...Thank you La Fée - I hope you make it yourself at some point. It really is good.Lickedspoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10910664613805029106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060008016421967331.post-54195609653783613932009-04-09T11:21:00.000+01:002009-04-09T11:21:00.000+01:00oh this is such a lovely story! the meal looks del...oh this is such a lovely story! the meal looks deleicious too :)Graciehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13448752434521369056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060008016421967331.post-9428340535057148032009-04-08T20:54:00.000+01:002009-04-08T20:54:00.000+01:00Mariana - yes, she certainly had a dramatic and ev...Mariana - yes, she certainly had a dramatic and eventful life. But without her inherent restlessness, she wouldn't have gathered such an awe-inspiring collection of recipes. In this country at least, she changed the way we cook forever.<BR/><BR/>Wendy - I hold out hope that one day I can win you over to the recipes as well as the stories!<BR/><BR/>DxLickedspoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10910664613805029106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060008016421967331.post-39642541009325127942009-04-08T20:53:00.000+01:002009-04-08T20:53:00.000+01:00Elizabeth David is a cool life model! As well as c...Elizabeth David is a cool life model! <BR/><BR/>As well as changing the face of British cooking after WW2, just before the war she sailed through France, down rivers and canals, to the Mediterranean (cooking and noting as she went) with a lover, only to be caught out by the declaration of war and was interned by the Italians. (I think it was the Italians). <BR/><BR/>There is a lovely photo of her in one of her biographies, cooking over a tiny cooker in her tiny flat in London, her eyes narrowed against her own cigarette smoke, a cigarette dangling in her hand. This wouldn't happen now, would it?<BR/>I know, I know, Debora - interested in the life not the cooking...<BR/>Sorry<BR/><BR/>W xxxWendy Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03532817003318632539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060008016421967331.post-65088984514696290542009-04-08T14:12:00.000+01:002009-04-08T14:12:00.000+01:00Yes I think it was that film Debora and yes "evoca...Yes I think it was that film Debora and yes "evocative" it was. I felt sorry for her when she lost her "soulmate". <BR/><BR/>Thanks for the grill tip. I shall try that next time. <BR/><BR/>I'm very curious about Catherine's tip. And if the advice came from a Persian then it must be true, mustn't it?Marianahttp://thrumykitchenwindow.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060008016421967331.post-36467473715807540002009-04-08T11:17:00.000+01:002009-04-08T11:17:00.000+01:00Thank you Catherine. I'm very interested in the mi...Thank you Catherine. I'm very interested in the milk tip. I've heard of soaking them in salted water before, but never in milk. I'll give it a try.Lickedspoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10910664613805029106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060008016421967331.post-56531644897751797272009-04-08T01:22:00.000+01:002009-04-08T01:22:00.000+01:00This looks wonderful. A Persian friend of mine adv...This looks wonderful. A Persian friend of mine advised me to soak aubergines in milk before frying so they don't absorb as much oil.catherine @ www.unconfidentialcook.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14575873066347951124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060008016421967331.post-41175786926812760852009-04-08T00:38:00.000+01:002009-04-08T00:38:00.000+01:00Hello Mariana,Was the show you saw 'Elizabeth Davi...Hello Mariana,<BR/><BR/>Was the show you saw 'Elizabeth David: A life in recipes', the film about her life? If so, I saw it too and thought it was very good. The images of food were beautiful, so evocative they made you want to press pause and rush straight for the stove.<BR/><BR/>Don't be put off from making the maqlub by all of the stages. It does take a little time but it's all very simple. It's perfect for those days when you facy pottering around in the kitchen for a couple of hours. That's one of the things I love about cooking - you look busy, too busy to distract with the mundanities of life such as picking up dry cleaning or going to the bank, but really you're in a semi-hypnotic state of bliss.<BR/><BR/>I do grill aubergines on the barbecue, especially when I'm making Italian roll-ups, involtini, but then they're cut lengthways and are less likely to burn!<BR/><BR/>Oh, and well done, detective. The Le Creuset pictured here is a more recent addition, a couple of years old, and I used it here because I thought that lovely blue looked a little Persian. But I promise, my older ones are in just as good nick! Stick around, I'm sure they'll show up sooner or later...Lickedspoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10910664613805029106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060008016421967331.post-46162463660563025742009-04-07T23:57:00.000+01:002009-04-07T23:57:00.000+01:00Gosh Debora - what a fabulous post! I saw a show o...Gosh Debora - what a fabulous post! I saw a show on Elizabeth David a few months ago. Very interesting life she had I must say. <BR/><BR/>I love your "history" with her book. It's amazing how "old" things become more meaningful and valuable as one gets older. <BR/><BR/>I must add I have never heard of Maqlub. And given the number of mediterranean books I own this is extraordinary. When I am next feeling Herculean I will experiment!<BR/><BR/>I have to say I never salt eggplant anymore and I didn't know they soaked up less oil that way. I must admit I use a ton of paper towelling when I shallow fry them. My neighbour recommended grilling, but I'm scared to try because I fear they will shrivel up!<BR/><BR/>One last thing - I'm having trouble believing that beautiful Le Creuset is overworked! It looks so new.Marianahttp://thrumykitchenwindow.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com