Picnics - Claudia Roden

I was really pleased when out and about today to see a new reissue of Claudia Roden's 'Picnics and Other Outdoor Feasts' (interesting too to see that it's cheaper now than it was when I bought my copy 11 years ago - which when you take into consideration inflation is something to celebrate).

The charms of camping had escaped me by the time I reached my teens (my life is simply better with proper plumbing and beds in it, also there are many things that live in fields that I don't want to spend the night with) but I still love a picnic (my next sister down doesn't hold with picnics either, possibly regarding them as the thin end of a wedge that will see her stranded in a tent before she can fight back, suggestions that she might like it are denied in the strongest imaginable terms). The ones we went on as children were nothing like as exotic as Claudia Roden's memories of outdoor meals in the Seychelles or Egypt. Cold chicken, cheese and pickle sandwiches (heinz mild mustard pickle), wagon wheels, and orange segments were what we had (and very good it was too).

The food scene in Britain has changed somewhat since those days - a few minutes in any supermarket will furnish a picnic basket that would have utterly defied my young imagination (though would anything in it taste better than the picnic foods I remember?) and that perhaps is the beauty of this book. It's broken down into 4 sections; eating in the garden, food to take out, cooking in the open, and suggestions for the traveller. There is everything in here from suggestion for al fresco wedding breakfasts to instructions for making and using a haybox with plenty in-between - this is the source for my preferred ratatouille recipe. 

It's been a while since I last pulled this book of the shelf. I remembered it as a source of inspiration but had forgotten just how much was in here - it's probably best described as a sort of gallimaufry of information - recipes, memoires, cultural history, and quotations (Jane Austen on strawberry picking, Trollope and Surtees on picnics and many, many more). When I first read this I would have been mildly suspicious of sushi and sashimi, but again it's now almost ubiquitous as well as being an ideal picnic food. I may still not be that keen on making my own, but the account of Japanese picnics to celebrate the full moon and cherry blossom sound delightful and perhaps do-able if I can find a suitable venue and round up some people (and of course there is the weather to consider) who would like to eat under an August harvest moon whilst reading poetry (youngest sister would probably comply but sadly she's miles and miles away).

There are a few picnic books about but none of them have made me feel they having anything more to offer than this one for eating outdoors or in, or even just reading for inspiration. It is wonderful to see it back in print.

Capsule Cookbooks – part 2

So much for the cookbooks that I could at a push do without – though they give me a lot of pleasure and almost as much inspiration... What’s on the shelf that’s indispensable? (Indispensable being a loose term here obviously because really all these books are a lovely luxury.)

Ever since I got it last summer I’ve been devoted to Niki Segnit’s ‘The Flavour Thesaurus’. It’s become a key to all my other cookbooks; take one ingredient, look for combinations, find a recipe in one of those many contenders – but better than that (and it would be pretty good if that was all it did) it’s also a great read, lovely to look at, and contains a few good recipes as well. It’s the perfect book for the semi confident cook like me; I like a bit of direction and Segnit does it so well – I’m maybe such a fan because her two key flavours approach is particularly friendly to wine matching and that makes things easier for me too.

Another newish book is ‘River Cottage Every Day’ which was a Christmas present from my sister a year ago. So far it’s been all about the baking, but there’s a lot of good stuff in there. Ideologically the River Cottage way (and sometimes it does feel a little like a cult – but I mean that nicely) is one that appeals to me. Fresh, seasonal, home grown or sustainably sourced – basically food with thought behind it, and all very makeable as well – nothing that the harassed wine merchant/book blogger can’t deal with at the end of the day as long as she’s prepared to get her hands dirty from time to time.

And whilst I’m on the subject of River Cottage there are the handbooks. I love this series and actually think they’re all indispensable. It’s not just food it’s an entire way of life from foraging to fishing via baking and preserving with a bit of gardening. If I was going to be stranded on an island these are the books I’d be hoping would wash up in a packing case and happily if I was going to limit myself to only ten cook books (hell will freeze over first) I could totally cheat the odds with these because so far all but two arguably fall into different categories. Pam Corbin’s ‘Preserves’ and Daniel Stevens ‘Bread’ are the two which are absolutely cookbooks, and I love both of them. ‘Preserves’ has made my kitchen far, far, stickier and jam making has become a bit of a passion, although that’s just the tip of the iceberg. ‘Bread’ isn’t the first bread book I’ve bought (I also have a Ballymaloe version, and actually other books about preserving) but what both of these books have in spades are good clear instructions, and good clear explanations of why you do what they ask. It’s an approach that appeals to my pragmatic learning style, the results have been excellent and they’re not going to be easy books to supersede.

I can’t imagine my kitchen without Nigella Lawson (I’m a child of my times) but though I have all her books – because basically I just can’t help myself – the one that I use more than any other is ‘How To Be A Domestic Goddess’. Hardly surprising given that I’m no stranger to the dark art of baking. There’s something about the philosophy behind this particular book, as well as the absolute reliability of the recipes that makes me think this will always be a great fall back book. It’s certainly been upping my calorie count for the last decade.

I’ve had ‘The Art of the Tart’ (Tamasin Day–Lewis) for almost as long and despite not having a good hand for pastry it’s been responsible for some great tart’s and some awful jokes. I have lots, though not all, of Tamasin Day-Lewis’ books but seldom have the time to use them properly; her thing seems to be food that demands a certain amount of time and pottering, perfect if you have a weekend to spend gossiping in the kitchen whilst giving something the odd stir before unveiling an amazing meal for 8. Not so good when you’re at work till 9pm and back for 9am. Still I can dream/hope and there’s something pleasingly grown up about these books, also once you’ve created your tart it’s very friendly to the work late start early cycle that I can’t seem to escape.

Claudia Roden is another food writer who’s left her mark on me. ‘A New Book of Middle Eastern Food’ (another Christmas present from my sister who’s getting good at this) is a classic that’s not especially pretty to look at but is packed full of not just food but history and culture. For my cooking life Mediterranean food with an emphasis on Italian has been in the ascendancy. It’s all balsamic this and a pinch of fresh basil that, which at one time must have been a nice change from French cuisine but is now so bloody ubiquitous that discovering first middle eastern food and then a whole lot of other culinary cultures (including French) was a real revelation. And delicious.

Better even than Claudia Roden however is Jane Grigson, all her books are fantastic but the ‘Jane Grigson’s Fruit Book’ and ‘Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book’ are hard to beat. Arranged (just in case anyone’s missed out on these) alphabetically by fruit etc each chapter does sweet, savoury, and history. These are books which absolutely fire the imagination with the romance and promise of mulberries, damsons, pomegranates, carrots...

Which would leave me one book left and I think it’s got to be another newish one Susannah Blake’s ‘Afternoon Tea Parties’ because right now this is very much the kind of thing I love; home grown, a little bit vintage, not to formal, fun, decorative – basically indulgent.