My life has been irreparably changed by 2011 - leaving my permanent job and going freelance in June was one of the calmer incidents. However, one thing remained constant, and I hope that will continue in 2012 and every year after that: the love and support of family and friends.
Cheesy, innit? Prosaic? Sickly sweet and sentimental? Or taken for granted?
This post is dedicated to those with whom I have shared meals and who have cooked for me - a lesson in how food may be excellent on its own, but how it is infinitely improved by the conversation that accompanies it.
A curry in Whitechapel. I had just returned from a hideous work trip - a post-rehearsal lunch with friends was a reassuring antidote:
Wine and a pint of sausage rolls for two at the BFI. Alcohol and pastry soothes all heart pains.
A trio of 'things on top of dough', made by someone who doesn't let anyone in the kitchen when she's cooking. However, her concentration results in:
Pizza and garlic bread
Asparagus tart
Mushroom tart/pizza/galette
Imagine my delight, then, when she invited me to her flat to cook TOGETHER in her kitchen. It seems that I have passed the test - it's only taken me ten years. But look at what a decade can produce:
Beetroot and garlic tart
Salad - with edible flowers
And the end to virtually every meal we have shared...
Crumble. Doesn't matter what's underneath, as long as there's crumble on top.
So as the New Year settles in, taking us all with it, I also want to celebrate Thanksgiving. It may be cheesy etc., but it is also necessary to do every once in a while. Maybe I should do it in person as well as in a blog post. Still, then you wouldn't have been able to see the pictures, would you?
Thank you everybody.
