Made with love
It should come as little surprise that food from the heart always tastes better, writes our columnist.
BAKED GOODS and mince dishes are items of comfort and care. They filled my freezer on the arrival of both of my daughters and I send them out as friends and family celebrate milestones or the lives of loved ones passed. Lately tough times have had me baking and mince-browning on a weekly basis, sending out gestures of love wrapped in foil packets with notes signed in kisses and hugs.
This is a great and healing tradition. Food, at its most basic, is nourishment, but it also plays a complex and vital role in families and communities. When I cook for a friend in need I try to think of happy times with his or her family. Whether it is a new baby, a birthday, a death or a household with the flu, the same idea applies. Holding feelings of love in your heart when cooking is good practice in general. I swear that it
I swear that it is intention that makes for a well-risen cake, and positivity that leads to crisp pastry.
is intention that makes for a wellrisen cake, and positivity that leads to crisp pastry.
New-age wisdom is rather keen on this idea, specifically the work of Japanese author Masaru Emoto. Emoto performed experiments in an attempt to prove that water crystals are affected by human emotion. He claimed that water labelled with words like ‘‘love’’ had more beautiful crystals than those labelled with negative emotions. Although his work is widely discredited, it certainly feels true that cooking with love improves food.
When cooking for others, it is good to have a fall-back dish. When I talk about this with friends, people remember the dish that their mother always made. My mum always makes trays of stunning club sandwiches. A girlfriend of mine remembers her mum always making brandy snaps. I tend to make mince dishes that can be eaten instantly or easily frozen for later. It seems to be best to stick to simple favourites that can be whipped up with ingredients on hand.
Scones are perfect for this: 55g of butter from the fridge quickly chopped into 225g of self-raising flour mixed with 150ml of milk and a pinch of salt are ready in 25 minutes when baked at a stinking hot 220 degrees Celsius. Herbs and cheese in the dough turn them savoury, whereas a spoonful of sugar sets them up to be eaten sweet. I particularly like mine sweet, cut with a fluted round cutter and glazed with a little beaten egg yolk. Wrap up in a clean teatowel while still warm, add a big hunk of soft butter and a jar of jam. Drive swiftly and and restrain yourself from eating any on the journey.
Sometimes what I have to hand is in the garden rather than the store cupboard. A tree full of lemons makes for perfect lemon pie. With a few eggs, a dash of cream and some pastry dug out from the back of the freezer, I can throw together this delicious tart au citron. Skipping the pastrymaking keeps things easy but be sure to look for pastry that is free of preservatives and lists butter as an ingredient. Lemon tart is a firm favourite, perfect for any occasion when baked with love.