Wooden Spoon and Vintage Cookbook.

It goes without saying that a Kitchen is a realm full of Utensils and Parafernalia which allows or facilitate Cooking to take place. I must confess that from the time I left the Parental Home with just a Cookbook in hand given by my Mother who told that I might find it useful to now in a fully loaded Kitchen where every drawers and cupboards are full almost to the brim I dare say that my Culinary journey progressed from step to step, little or large.

My Tang-Tang asleep upon one of my many Book shelves of Cookbooks.

My Mum didn't like cooking very much, for her it was rather a chore or a duty to feed the mouths of the entire Family with something. However she was a good Cook, if an obliged to cook and a reluctant one at that. If at my Family Home there were not a lot of Cookbooks, I can only remember a couple: one about Casseroles and Stews and one about Jams, my Mum was diligently cutting out recipes she found in Magazines and Newspapers which she kept in a plastified sheets, A4 Carnet. It didn't mean that she would give a go to every recipe, not at all, but she had them just in case she lacked of will or inspiration to feed the lot of us.

I remember when she did try a recipe one day from her Collection. It was Summertime and the holiday, but it was rainy that day so instead of playing outside we played inside. My Mum fed up by our noises, fed up by us playing Hide and Seek and finding my Brother hidden in the laundery basket (It did give her a start, bless), decided to make Apple Dougnuts to keep us all quiet and put the TV on upon Cartoons. Soon after that my Sister was sent to her Grand Parents, my Brother to a kind of Scout Camp and I was sent to spent days with my best Friends...

Anyhow I inherited that old Carnet of hers with recipes dated from the Seventies and Eighties. It is actually quite interesting to see the fads and the trends Culinary wise spanning about a couple of decades and more. I will have to publish them all into a Cookbook. (I am the Director of Malthere Publications).

So I would state as a parafernalia or helpful utensil for the eyes is the Cookbook. Unlike my Mother I own many, and when I say many it is so many that I have an entire Bookcase of them with bending shelves because of their weight. In the page below this one I will recommend Cookbooks with tried and tasted Recipes at Home.

Tang-Tang helping me to prepare the Christmas Cake.

As you can see from the picture above it is useful to have a Bookstand in the Kitchen. It does help, trust me. I have a couple of iron cast ones now, they are definitely helpful.

Of course the most helpful of all is the Oven, your Stove. I find it essential. However one can argue about that but I will not do a campfire in my Kitchen anytime soon: the fire alarm would turn itself on, I would not be able to reach it apart with a broomstick, it would be a right dangerous Palava. The plus side could be buffy firemen coming in to get you out. But do not try this at home and stick with a usual and conventional Stove. Much, much more helpful. I will tell you what is helpful too, that is supporting the DofE charity. The little girl, (Natalie) I looked after during my Au Pair years went to Peru aged about 18 with that charity in order to build ovens and stoves there for deprived communities and people: Food for Thought.

My Partner's Christmas gift to me a few years ago. 

Not everyone has the luxury to have an Oven or a Stove, so you must appreciate it and a simple thing to do is to give back from it. If you know of a charity which helps people, a charity that do caritative events in order to feed someone in need, just give your little part, and time and bring something to feed someone. I did that for Spectrum in Watford. It was a launch of white and blue balloons up in the air for all the people they helped but some nonetheless died that year. It was a memorial day, and there were a lot of starving souls still with us from different walks of life, hitting bad times. All they need is help and compassion. I remember that my two Terrines went down a storm, a Pork one and a Salmon one. They were eaten almost within a flash.

 The Pork Terrine was given a try at home upon my Man first with success, so I knew it would go down well at the event. I did master the technique enough to do it again. And again because it did become a sort of institution in this house on Boxing Day...

So it is just to say that when you are lucky to have something like an Oven or a Stove cherish it but also share the benefice of it. When I started to work upon this website and create it, I did learn many things I didn't know. But I always say that every day is a learning curve. It is not always Groundhog Day, like the movie of that title says, it changes, always simply, surely but every single step of the way. It may be a minute change or a big one... Nobody knows until you feel the full impact of it and it is reaching home.

 Home Sweet Home.

Of course with an Oven or Stove, you do have to think about the accessories that goes alongside it, just like Oven Gloves to prevent you to burn your hands. I do also think that Kitchen Towells are a sheer necessity. I do like the linen ones because they can be washed instead of discarded.

Thinking of necessary Kitchen utensils, the very first one I bought for myself was a wooden flat Spatula which I still have nowadays. It was probably from Woolworth and I was in my very early Twenties so it dates back to 1996 or 1997. 

My new Spatulas since my Man broke my old ones by clumsiness with his big hands while stirring a Chilli Con Carne.

My next purchase was my own set of Pans from small to large. They were anthracite grey with silver speckles which made them almost sparkle on the stove. Well when you have to cook you may as well cook with a little bit of style. I didn't get them from John Lewis that was for sure, it still was from Woolworth. 

Going down the list of my go to or acquired utensils through time I would say  the stirring Spoon, the Whisk, the Peeler, the Can Opener, the Measuring Spoons and Cups and Jug. Of course the Kitchen scale comes into play, and the Seave.

But a meaningful one was the Wok given by my brother as a Birthday present.

One of my Kitchen corners. Somehow I tend to leave Onions out of the fridge because of three little reasons which may be valid or not: First I was told that Onions in the Fridge were spoiling other products in a Fridge because of their peculiar chemical components. Not researched, so I don't know if it is fact or fiction.  Eggs are also rarely in the fridge, I keep them in the basket because they are being eaten fast. However I always keep the best before label sticked on the handle of my wooden basket. It is always useful to have a couple of covered dishes, first for defrosting and second for food which are better served at room temperature like Cheese.