So, a new year full of the best intentions. Ordinarily the intentions of Polly and I would revolve around enjoying life to the full, pottering about in the garden, doing up the house, getting away and travelling and planning what to eat that day.
But our plans have been sent awry by the virus and this has forced upon me a period of introspection. Lockdown 1 was OK; the weather was set fair and warm and we kept calm and carried on pretty well. Lockdown 2 was short. Now however it is dark and cold and miserable. I am missing my friends and family and the simple joy of an impromptu beer in the pub, maybe accompanied by a sausage roll. Reading the paper is a grim experience with seemingly no positives to report, save England’s (and Joe Root’s in particular) form in Sri Lanka.
So how to lift the fog of gloom around me?
I’ve always enjoyed cooking. Both my grandmothers were sensational cooks, my Mum too. There was nothing better than mini rugby on a Sunday morning followed by a roast chicken or leg of lamb for lunch. My early memories include making Wellington Squares (millionaire’s shortbread in modern parlance) and helping to peel the veg for Sunday lunch. Delia Smith and Madhur Jaffrey were my guides and making Sticky Chocolate Log and Malai Wali Murghi were recipes I got stuck into and enjoyed. Others enjoyed them too and that made me happy.
Mum and Dad were very confident I wasn’t going to starve at university.
Polly is a kindred spirit. She is an amazing and intuitive cook. Her Mum is an amazing and intuitive cook. Every conversation with my mother-in-law will include a discussion of what is being cooked today, what is being cooked at the weekend and had I seen the recipe in the newspaper supplement?
Barbecue has always been a style of cooking I’ve loved. It has associations of sunny weather, camping, friends, laughter, beers and fun. We got a Big Green Egg a few years ago and it has become something of an obsession; I read, research, watch YouTube, think, ponder and obsess over new kit. The process of lighting a fire and then cooking something with it is amazing. The results are usually delicious. There is a kind of intangible quality to any food cooked over charcoal or wood and it is in this alchemy that I see a glimmer of light.
So, first stop, this blog. Second, to dip a toe in the murky waters of Instagram and Twitter (both @livefirejournal) and maybe YouTube. Third, a resolution to document the food and recipes I cook over live fire, try a few things and give my thoughts on them. Like all good intentions, I mean to cook and update the reader regularly but let’s see how I get on in the first place.
Sam
Live Fire Journal 