Wednesday, August 9, 2006

Record Eating




This year, the cookbook I have used and loved the most has been Nigel Slater’s The Kitchen Diaries. It is a cookbook for those who love fresh, seasonal food and for those who love to eat frugally, but richly. His premise is simple: document what he eats each day throughout the year, featuring special recipes within each month that most reflect the harvest at the particular time.


For example, this month features recipes with tomatoes, basil, and citrus notes to add a summery lightness to dishes. Meanwhile, I remember making a delicious pumpkin soup spiked with bacon in the cool months earlier this year. Everything Slater features is in tune with the calendar and in tune with what our bodies need at these times.


It is a true diary in the sense that he records on a regular basis. When he is not logging a recipe, he is inviting us to read his everyday meals. He uses leftovers and eats sensibly. In May, he titled an entry, “A bunch of beetroot, a cheese, and a loaf.” In June, Slater claimed an omelette made with shrimp from a jar to be decadent when eaten with a glass of white wine.


He is an honest writer: instructing us to use a handful of rocket lettuce as “a green mop” under roast lamb so as not to waste the jus. I have looked ahead to my birthday, and in this entry, Slater has a picnic for six outside and wants everyone to eat with their hands. “No washing up” is permitted and the menu is fixed with prawns, pork belly, and sliced lemons. I’ll certainly follow this man’s lead, as it sounds like exactly what I want. My friends are in for a celebration this year.



Nigel Slater, The Kitchen Diaries. Fourth Estate, London: 2005.


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