I am a complete devotee to cooking programmes. I watch them all, Sophie Dahl, Jamie, Nigella, Nigel et al. Masterchef, Love it! I buy all the books which go with the programmes, and spend two days looking at the beautiful pictures, taken in beautiful kitchens, with beautiful children all smiling at this lovely home cooked food. Then I go to M&S and buy Gorgonzola burgers, frites and salad and my cooking is done.
Recently I was very kindly sent the Little Dish Favourites Cookbook by Hillary Graves. The email from the PR came through, would you be interested in looking at it? Of course, I replied, I saw Hillary on that programme on BBC 1,High Street Dreams. Fabulous. Obviously after watching that, which was all about turning family recipes into huge success at Asda, Waitrose etc, I was wondering what signature dish I could create and make a million from. But quite frankly, pasta pesto and jacket potato with tuna and sweetcorn would not make me a bean.
So, the book arrived, I made a cuppa tea, grabbed a choccie digestive and read every single recipe. Yum, I thought, oooh yes, there are even simple recipes in here that say they take take just twenty minutes and look quite easy. Very healthy too.
I closed the book and sandwiched it in on the shelf between Tana Ramsey's Real Family Food and Rachel Allen's Food At Home. I'm afraid, all good intentions have gone to pot. I'm still on my four day meal rotation with the kids. Pizza (not homemade) with houmous (not home made) carrot sticks and cucumber, jacket potato, pasta pesto (not home made pesto) with added sweetcorn, chicken and rice.
One day I will try much harder. And with books like Hillary making it so easy, I really have no more excuses.
Please tell me that I am not the only failed Nigella?
click here to buy Little Dish
21 comments:
Of course you aren't! I, for one, cannot cook at all. Seriously - I don't even know how to open a packet of self-raising. :-)
MM xx
Christ, I'm a failed grown up
no no no you are not! I have a confession... last week i was in the supermarket, it was around 4pm, so knowing that my girls would be hungry as it was nearing supper time, i bought a box of mini doughnuts for the journey home so stop them whingeing. As we drove home I threw them doughnuts every so often and joked 'this is your dinner girls, make the most of it'. However, i didn't realise they would take me at my word, and then refuse the beautifully prepared legendary pasta pesto combo when we got home.
ps always love to see a new post pop up from you! x
You are the only failed Nigella.
Cookery books? used to buy them...they looked good in the kitchen, but eventually got covered in grease and dust through non use....I was too busy opening tins and packets and grilling fish fingers....oh well never mind....word verifications says peptic .. how apt......
p.s take that back together again..any thoughts??
Little L is still on Hipp. Do I need to say more...
I know how you feel. I have a shelf full of cookery books. Before I went on maternity leave I had a vision of home baking and making delicious but healthy meals each night. The reality is that so far if I manage to cook it's usually fish fingers, and two of my meals today were toast!
Easily done. I love reading cookery books like husband reads novels! I often take one to bed with me, he can't believe I sit in bed reading recipes! However, did make Nigella's blueberry muffins for breakfast on Friday, so I think I'm doing quite well on the domestic goddess front.
I've a stack of bloody cook books - I'm quite a decent cook but usually stick to the one book that I bought years ago! Blinking Nigella makes me feel inferior!
I've a stack of bloody cook books - I'm quite a decent cook but usually stick to the one book that I bought years ago! Blinking Nigella makes me feel inferior!
babe, delete those chinesey things, it's like a takeaway, they tend to repeat on you...
No.. I am failing right there with you! OH puts me to shame - he's been in charge of the shopping list lately where I've been busy and he's far more inspired than I! xxx
your pizza dish sounds really yummy and with the carrot sticks quite healthy! I was wondering if you pop over to my blog for a look! I have a home ware competition going at the mo as well as my usual cooking and crafty posts xxx
I agree, you're not failed... we're all still in training! Thanks for watching High Street Dreams.
Miranda (from Muddy Boots) x
The minute I saw the name "take that fan" I just had to follow your blog...and don't give up...mind you I don't buy cookery books, just log on to internet and find the recipe I need...most of the time I fail...but never give up...:-))..hope you visit me 2...
Hi there, nice to meet you, Jody here, living in California. I am totally on meal rotation here, I even buy frozen pasta which is terrible. But meals with kids seem to be never-ending, so hard to be high principled all the time...or some of the time..
Hi nice to meet you. I love reading cooking books in bed and never never make the recipes. My friends have all confessed they do the same. Is that like reading the realtors glossy free mags and never buying the house?. Probably not, but both really pleasurable!
I love reading cook books, much like real estate brochures but never do any of the recipes except dumbed down Jamie Oliver stuff. But still enjoy thinking of what might have been last night if I'd cooled Duck pancakes with parnip star fruit gratin, oh how my life would be happier.
LOL! Nice read...
Lola x
http://lola-x.blogspot.com
Love reading recipes, never make them. The only exception being when friends make them and then verbally tell me the ingredients and I go at it willy nilly, making it up a bit...That's why one of my blog subjects is idle Hostess. When it comes to the kids i am assuming all those cereal makers claims are honest and my kids are getting all the vitamins in their Kelloggs.
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