'The Good Life
The Cinderella subject
Pamela Vandyke Price
As a topic, gastronomy is tough. It has to be: British puritanism, shuddering from the gratification of an appetite as simple as that of hunger, rejects it on television (' No call for . . radio (recipes are Right, mere eating and drinking is Wrong), and those who are supposed to be maintaining. its interests in Brussels are indignant when the EEC queries the yellowing of the British sponge) 'People like it like that') and the piquancy of the British pickle (as Raymond Postgate rightly observed, malt vinegar is good for stripping furniture — what may it not do to the inner mucous membranes?).
But I had certainly not expected to find gastronomic enclaves on the bookstalls of airports. Like all journalists, I have to look at a bookstall, even if I am already late for plane or train and the language of the country is written'down in 'squared-off groupings of fronds, to be read backwards, sideways and upside down. Merely seeing publications on sale makes me at least vaguely reassured that I am still justifying my existence. There are, however, certain topics which present themselves at airports which do not seem essential reading just at that moment: those ' Be dynamic in galvanising your computer' business texts — would sight of same inspire real confidence in colleagues if one were winging to some show-down with a tycoon? Those 'Yoga and your stocks and shares ' manuals — hasn't one left it a bit late? As for the 'Make your sex life more complicated than ever ' illustrated handbooks, are they sedative reading for those sojourns in faceless hotels, so that, after exhausting oneself on a couple of diagrams, one thinks how lucky it is that one hasn't got money, time or even the loved one to hand? Possibly all reading matter in the purgatorial circles of airports, where the air has been constructed in a laboratory and the loo is acres across a glassy sea of plastic, is deliberately planned so as to indicate to those who survive that they should try to retain an affec
ion for the simplicities of life, such as breathing., doing_ a job effi
ciently, eating and drinking in a satisfying way, making love and keeping themselves clean.
Certainly I cannot see the relevance of 'Advanced cake decora tion,' 'Gorgeous garnishing,' and 'Sixty ways with a sausage,' or some such titles, which, glutinous with 'gourmet food' glossy co lour plates, were on sale both in London and Frankfurt airports recently. If one were going to a place: purchase of such volumes would imply distrust of its food; or arriving from, it seems optimistic to suppose that one would rush to the kitchen in creative mood, pip ing bag and culinary colouring matter to hand, before weighing up the bills or running a bath.
One of the unfortunate results of the advances made in food
photography has been the increase in food -advertising, with the public now beginning to believe that .a straightforward joint, fruit salad ' or soup ought to look 'just like a picture.' Alas, beauty in food is like beauty in face — it may sometimes photograph well, but it may very often remain in the human eye (or on the tastebuds) of the beholder or diner. Of course food should look enticing — but it should taste even better than it looks. One of the good things about the rise in food prices may possibly be that cooks spend less — in terms of time and extra ingredients, as well as money — on making family meals look like ' something in a magazine.'
, From the Mixer and Blender Cookery Book, by Alison Denny (Faber, 0.50), here is an unusual pate recipe, which isn't expensive, tastes delicious and needs no additional garnishing, although the author suggests some. It is practical for a picnic if not turned out of its dish, for canapes, or as a cold first course.
Grapefruit and Tuna Pate: Wash one grapefruit, grate the rind and squeeze out the juice, roughly chop a small onion. Put this, with a 7 oz. can of tuna, in a blender with the fish oil, plus one raw egg, salt, pepper (and I added a few drops of Angostura Aromatic Bitters and lemon juice). Make a purée of all this, then combine it with 3oz. of fresh white breadcrumbs (it is a little more substantial and also good with wholemeal crumbs), put into a buttered 1 lb loaf tin or several buttered ramekins, bake in a moderate oven for 40-45 minutes, allow to cool. Serve garnished with twists of thinly-sliced grapefruit if liked, or simply top with a twist of lemon or gherkins or halved olives. (You could make the purée without a blender by, using a fine cutter on a mincer or simply chopping up the fish and onion thoroughly.)
Previous page
