Well who can believe it, 2016 is over. It feels like I’ve said it so often this year, but seriously where has the last twelve months gone. Tempus fugit, as my husband is fond of quoting.
So, what is this blog about. It is quite simply my way of paying homage, to a person for whom I have never met, but, who has, through two of the best shows on television, “Man v Food” and “Man v Food Nation” inspired me, in part, during 2016 to:
- Start my own blog;
- Create my own chilli sauce, and;
- Try smoking, of the food variety.
At least I achieved one out of three, not great but better than none at all. Hopefully by this time next year, I will have made a start on accomplishing the other two. Initial progress has been made, I at least know where to buy the smoker equipment.
What have these shows taught me? Well a couple of things really.
The first being that much of the joy of food is derived from the creation and preparation and then sharing with others the fruits of your labours. This, for me is what cooking and creating is all about.
Secondly, you don’t have to be a professionally trained chef, to make wonderful food. Many of the places featured, have been in the same family for years and are based on recipes passed, down through the years, from one family member to another. I love that some of my favourite recipes have come from both my mum and my mother-in-law, which they in turn learned from family members.
We recently discovered another Adam Richman show on SBS, “Secret Eats with Adam Richman”. The second episode, set in Hi Chi Minh City, provided inspiration for one aspect of our New Year’s Eve dinner, “pork wrapped in lemongrass”. I was so pleased with my (first) attempt, both in carving the lemongrass stalks and the flavour imparted into the pork.
The other dinner option, was home-made “lamb with spinach”. This choice harked back to the days of old (sans children) where I always used to make Indian meals from scratch on the weekend. I have been saying to the guys at work that I need to get back into this habit and what better time to recommence than when seeing in a new year. Start as you mean to continue!
I love my kids to bits, but they do make me laugh. What was their take on this dish? “It’s ok, Mum, but not the best thing you’ve ever made”. They did like the pork though. Win some, you lose some, I guess!
On par with the food, was the aroma throughout the house 
– a combination of fresh garlic, ginger, coriander and lime.
If only I could have bottled it!
What a perfect way to see out one year and herald in the new one!
Then came New Year’s Day, with a combination of school book covering, painting, walking Brooklyn and a marathon of “Man v Food” and “Man v Food Nation”. Not sure the day could have got any better!
I watch those shows with both a sense of awe and bewilderment, at not only the size of the portions, but also the flavour combinations and the fact that almost everything is either smoked and barbecued or deep fried.
Given that I am hoping to lose some weight this year, I am going to ignore the deep frying and focus my efforts on learning and developing smoking techniques.
So thank you Adam Richman, for ensuring that I saw the old year out and the new year in with inspiration and an ongoing fervour for cooking and creating and to then share this love with others.
Happy New Year!!