Hi! I´m Jim, and I´d like to share a few recipes with you, along with a bit of banter and possibly even the odd opinion or two.
Before my 20´s I was brought up on the standard fayre at the time, bangers and mash, boil-in-the-bag fish and Vest prawn curries. In my late 20´s I met the woman of my dreams, and a truly accomplished, well-travelled cook!
During my 30´s I was treated to previously unknown gastronomic wonders, and learned what it was like to savour the cuisine of many new cultures and cuisines, through both international travel and the dedicated efforts of my wife. Our two new daughters were similarly treated, but generally with child-friendly meals..
Unfortunately in my early 40´s I became a single parent, and so my 4-year-old and 7-year-old now looked to me as the provider of sustenance. However, “kitchen God” I was not. I had very occasionally up to that point created anniversary and birthday meals for my wife, which invariably took all day and every pot, pan and utensil available. The next day I would spend washing up and cleaning the kitchen! These sometimes produced relatively successful results. I was, however, a dab hand at boiled eggs and beans on toast.
I attacked my new responsibility with gusto, preparing spicy, garlic-filled creations and expected the girls to like them. Although I found them enjoyable (in a sort of “well I spent 2 hours on this, so I´m going to enjoy it”) sort of way, I quickly had to reset my expectations and set my culinary sights in a different direction. We did OK for a few years, and once I had mastered a few dishes I actually fell in love with the whole concept of taking raw materials and producing a meal that actually tasted OK and satisfied my daughters´growing “5-a-day” requirements. This is when I caught the bug.
My daughters are now both grown with their own families, happy and healthy (and good cooks in their own right), so I pride myself in at least not giving them salmonella or botulism in their formative years.
Fast forward a few more years, and I now have the luxury of spending leisure time preparing meals that I love, and sharing them with my wife.
So, I would now like to share with you some of my favourite recipes, and would be extremely interested in hearing your personal take on them. Did you try one and it bombed? Was it exceptional? Did you subsitute some of the ingredients? Please let me know, and keep the conversation flowing.