Intro
THE DAILY BREAD PRAYER
Bread is often taken for granted. Before any cooking activities, this prayer should be kept in mind.
magic FORMULAS
Art is a way to escape dull routine & boredom.
The genius eye of a cook observes the ordinary in ingredients with curiosity, generosity & a new power of imagination, transforming the usual & boring into less ordinary.
A cookbook after all is not very different from a grimoire.
"Bunch of Asparagus" by Edouard Manet, 1880.
PIzza philosophy
The pizza philosophy goes by the rule:
ONE OLIVE PER BITE.
The one essential secret of a good cook is Generosity. Especially when it comes to olives. Stinginess destroys recipes.
Portrait of the artist's mother following the pizza philosophy rule, by James McNeill Whistler.
LA SAGESSE DE LA GRAND-MÈRE DE JACQUES
"Ne se mettre à genoux que pour récolter le persil et les feuilles de menthe pour fair du Tabboulé."
- Jacques Brel (edited)
LESS IS MORE
Sometimes, less is more. This also applies to food. I recently discovered one of the best sandwiches I've tasted in my life in a little old snack in Portugal and it consisted of just two ingredients.
the real deal
Cooking is not only about ingredients but cooking tools! Storing olives in a clay jar is not the same thing as storing them in plastic.
Mathematical formulas for cooking can only be applied as following: Cooking food in a clay pot ≠ as cooking in metal.
HIT TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE
This simple recipe will cause addiction:
Whip 1 liter of cream (30% fat, cold from the fridge) for c. 18 minutes with a hand mixer & enjoy the magic:
Delicious butter will form. Pour off the buttermilk, drink it & enjoy both!