What are the essentials of your life? In terms of things that is. Objects you absolutely need to have with you. Actually that's an exaggeration as I'm not planning some survival experience a la Bear Grylls in San Francisco. In fact in some ways life should be a little more civilized than here in rural Wales where manure, chicken poo and wellies feature regularly.
The thing is that we're not shipping anything. We're taking suitcases and arriving and making our new home from scratch or in fact Ikea which rather handily also exists on the other side of the Atlantic. But I can't bear not having any cookery books with me. Partly because they are my favourite books and partly because I know the American ones will be all cups and therefore a bugger to use.
Anyway I've managed to edit my collection - 70 books and rising - to three. It was ten but they were all huge and heavy. So now it's three and only one is huge and heavy. The winners in the competition for which cookery books get to cross the Atlantic are in no particular order:
Elizabeth David's French Provincial Cookery - because you have to have one David and this is the best and most used and wonderful to read. Oh and smallish in paperback.
Darina Allen's Ballymaloe Cookery Course - not because it is my favourite. It is great but I use others more. But it's comprehensive and educational so should come up with something most days.
and
Edouard de Pomiane's Cooking in Ten Minutes - because it is new to me, tiny, funny and my uncle who is reigning champion cook in our family of cooks loves it.
Sorry to all the other entrants. I shall miss you and will no doubt buy lots of future companions.
2 comments:
Cups aren't hard to use... even the pats of butter come with handy measuring guides on the paper telling you how much is a cup or half a cup etc!
It does take a bit of getting used to, but for example,
Yorkshire Puddings:
1 egg
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
dash of salt
Just buy some measuring cups once you're there... and some measuring spoons. Either that or you'll have to buy scales over there, which won't be sold everywhere... but in San Fran you'll find everything. And there's always the internet!
I do like recipes in cups, I confess. Quite a few of my cookbooks are from North America, and once I got a set of cups, it was all downhill. Or, er, uphill. Positive, either way. I'll stop now, shall I?
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