Get Ready to Try Out Some *Intriguing* Cookbooks
In 2020, I began experimenting with my cooking skills — nothing too drastic, because they were pretty much non-existent at that point — to bring some more color into my life. Living in Turkey for the past year due to the pandemic has been a culinary blessing in some ways… Though I do miss the absolute smorgasbord that is “American cuisine”, which in my mind includes anything from Thai to Chinese to Mexican and more, it was refreshing to live in a place that is so defined by its fresh ingredients and grandma’s homemade meals.
By walking on the streets everyday (because what else is there to do during quarantine?) I was constantly exposed to colorful vegetables and fruits, laid out fresh from the nearby farms in various arrays, with sellers competing against each other to see who could laud the delights of his offerings louder than all the others. While this hustle and bustle of everyday life in Turkey blends into the background a lot of the time, it was still one of the beauties of a Mediterranean lifestyle that stuck out for me every time I ventured outside in a country that has enough worries under its belt to justify a little commonplace luxury in the culinary department.
This is all to say that I have been feeling inspired to make some changes in the way that I view food, and to look for beauty in it as much as I can. Since there is something in life that bring us so much satisfaction AND we come into contact with it so frequently, why not make it a delight?
“Show me another pleasure like dinner which comes every day and lasts an hour.” — De Talleyrand
One major argument against this, of course, is that not everyone can afford to experiment with food in leisure time. But having solid ingredients at a relatively affordable price seems like a good place to start, and this is something that Turkey does better than the United States, where freshness is viewed as a luxury or privilege in some places, instead of a daily necessity. Granted, there is a substantial rise in prices here due to the economic struggles that my country faces. Still, the Mediterranean mentality towards fresh food, and it’s omnipresence, is still the same.
Ingredients make the meal after all, and I believe that having one or two fresh vegetables prepared with care and creativity feels a lot more luxurious than a 3-course frozen meal — though perhaps a little less filling! Again, one must work within a budget, but now to the really fun part… Here are some of the cookbooks that I have been feeling SO inspired by. If I dabble in even a few of these recipes, I think that I will feel much more fulfilled during this pandemic.
Yes, my tween dreams are coming true! I mean, what more could you want as a Middle Earth geek? 🤤 While first exploring Tolkien, I remember not feeling too thrilled about the idea of “first breakfast”, “second breakfast”, AND “elevenses”, all before “luncheon”, because I am not a huge breakfast person. I prefer to start my day off with a solid meal, instead of the little knick-knacks that come with breakfast, even though Turkish breakfast is such an iconic presence. The recipes in this book, however, are just too good not to try at least once — even the breakfast ones, which are a lot more hearty and feel more like lunch than I am used to.
My summer in Scotland during high school had a lot of the same energy as this book — those “steak and ale pies” were unforgettable. The warm nostalgia of being a child in Hobbiton, playing outside with your hairy-footed friends while the smell of wine braised oxtails wafts out of the windows, carried on the steam… Though I cannot say that I have experienced it physically, I CAN say that my soul has, and it was glorious.
“Fernweh” = a type of homesickness for a place that you have never been, or might not even exist
I must say that I am a sucker for an *aesthetic* charcuterie board, and cheese is a center-piece of the whole experience. Also, this book has awakened a dream in me of becoming an actual apprentice to a cheesemaker in the South of France, which, although it does not seem to be in the cards for me anytime soon, can still be lived through the delectable details that the chapters go into.
I also know that the world becomes a little bit more exciting each time you gain familiarity with a previously inaccessible field — in this case, cheese — because you can, in Davies’ words, “identify, evaluate, describe, and understand” something that went right over your head previously. I have a future-me in my head who is concentrating with furrowed brows, closed eyes, and head tilted to one side, to determine the precise age of an aged cheese, or pinpoint its town of origin, feeling no reservations about the pronunciation of said town. I guess we all have those snapshot versions of ourselves that propel us into our futures — no matter how caricatured they are — and this is just one of the many that I pull out of the cupboard every once in a while.
I mean… This one is just beautifully charming. If these are good enough for “Anne with an E”, the Queen of Cottagecore, then they are good enough for me. These recipes call for a full aesthetic immersion, so I will have my classical music and candles set up beforehand to make the most of each one. There are also some stunning ambiences that fit the mood and theme perfectly, so I should create a YouTube playlist for all of my Avonlea needs.
The video I have attached goes through all of the scenes that you could possibly want, from Anne’s bedroom to her surreptitiously munching on some veggies in the kitchen to the warmth of the fireplace on a cold Canadian evening.
I think I need a little bit more of those light-hearted little moments in my life, so trying out some of the tastes of the Cuthbert household might be just the right thing after a whole year spent in the concrete jungle that is Ankara, Turkey.
So these are it for today… I have so many to choose from already! I recommend that you try something like this yourself. The worst that could happen is that you improve your culinary skills just a smidgen by learning what not to do next time! The best thing would be that you get transported into another world, and feed yourself in the process!
The next time that I am binging on Harry Potter, or Doctor Who, or some other series, I will put aside the popcorn for a second (blasphemy for me, truly) and check to see if they have their own fantasy cookbooks, so that I could feel more productive and capable in the process. Plus, it will only help the immersion.
