Diary Of Becoming a Farmer. A Realisation
The Story of a young mans efforts to become a farmer without the aid of inheritance!
After the events of the last six months, supporting each other we returned to work. Both my wife and I immersed ourselves into our work to hide from the pain of the past. It was unsurprising that it took a further two years before our next child was conceived. We were assured as much as they could, that everything would be ok this time. Even so worries continued that nature would be kinder this time.
We had begun to pay more attention to the food we were eating and more importantly where it was coming from.
I have always enjoyed cooking ever since I moved out from home and to London. My mother would never let me into the kitchen when I lived at home. She still struggles to keep me out, but now she doesn't always succeed.
Consequently when I left home I had never cooked a meal. However being an engineer I could follow instructions. So armed with a chinese cookery book, given to me by my sister, I headed to London. Thus started a love affair with food.
I find it very satisfying to make something. Anything, I'm just a show off. It gives me great pride to say "I made that!"
And so it was with food. When I met the present good lady wife, I invited her back to my place for dinner. So the chinese cook book came in very handy. You know what they say about the way to a mans heart. Guys, it works just as well with the ladies. We both enjoy food and in particular trying different cuisine. I find cooking both easy and a joy.
Love them or loath them, I have to say that TV Chefs gave me the inspiration to try different styles of cooking and the confidence to use different techniques.
Chefs do, on the whole, promote British Food and Agriculture. Rick Stein in particular with his food heroes series. It did give me great ideas to look for specific produce. Chefs want the best, freshest produce. That's when it tastes the best. Which invariably means local produce.
I've never been one for ready meals. I can generally knock something up faster than a microwave meal takes to cook. I'm certainly faster than the local take-away by the time they deliver it.
I'm afraid though, Delia has lost her way recently. I've got her original book, a thick tome, with every type of recipe imaginable. Between that and Pru Leith's cookery bible I've learn't to make most things. Delia's last series though was the equivalent of the "let's be avin ya" incident at Carrow Road, when she started ranting at all those poor Norwich City fans. As if they hadn't enough to be sorry for.........
What was the point of teaching people to cook [series] if you are going to say; "remember how we cooked those great tasting dishes, well forget all that. Just crack open a tin of this highly processed food with heaps of preservatives, so it can sit in your cupboard for weeks. It's also got your Recommeded Daily Allowance of salt to put back the flavour lost during processing." It goes back to my previous blog in this series, about education being the key.
Now look what you've done, you've got me ranting again. Sorry I digress.
During this pregnancy my wife had extra scans and tests at the hospital. Everyone assured us that everything looked ok. Still, that didn't stop nine months of worry.