What I'm up to this week ...

Today our guest writer Silvana de Soissons is the editor of The Foodie Bugle, a food magazine, which I write for.  Silvana writes the most fascinating articles about food, local producers, food history and interest.  The Foodie Bugle is her magazine, and I am sure you will agree it is an absolutely sublime place to hang out.  Follow Silvana on twitter here and The Foodie Bugle here.

Guest Blog Post by Silvana de Soissons of The Foodie Bugle at www.thefoodiebugle.com

Inspiration

This week I am inspired by the many different things that are happening all around me. In my garden peonies are in bud, bluebells are in flower, herbs are in foliage, fruit trees are in blossom and the birds are singing so loudly you cannot hear your self think. This is food for the soul: it allows me to stop and think how important it is to be still, to look, to listen and to be in tune with the biggest and best creator of them all: Mother Nature. I am also inspired by the fact that there are so many talented people working in and around the food and drink industry at the moment. I meet so many clever, hard working, ingenious and industrious artisans, producers, farmers and growers who struggle, against all the odds, to get their product on the market, on the shelves and on the Menus. Ordinary people, who do extraordinary things inspire me.

 

Reading

This week I am reading “The Food of Spain” by Claudia Roden, published by Bloomsbury. It is absolutely impossible to put down, it grips you like a novel, you want to turn the pages and find out what happens next. Spain is a fascinating country and Claudia has researched its history, topography, wars, language and food anthropology. The book is filled with really authentic recipes from Spain’s home cookery, the cookery of the peasant class. The book is beautifully photographed by Jason Lowe and there are amazing tile drawings made by a talented artist called Tina Hannay. I was most privileged to be able to go to Claudia’s house in North London last week and have lunch with her. I was there for four hours, talking about her life and work. She is now 75 years old and as brilliant, as intelligent and as alert as ever. Having won every single food writing prize, medal and award, she is not stopping. She has two more important projects on the go. Now there is inspiration!

This week I am listening to

Sibelius. I have come late to classical music, having a husband who has listened to Radio 3 for about 40 years. I find the music of Sibelius, particularly the Finlandia and Karelia Suite – Intermezzo and Alla marcia, so rallying and uplifting. If I have a difficult day, I go into the kitchen to make pasta, bread or a cake and I put on my Sibelius CD. Immediately I am transported to the dramatic scenery of Finland, to Finnish folk music and art, to the late 19^th Century.

This week I am pondering

I am pondering how to change my work. I would like to spend more time researching and learning about the history of food and how we can learn from how our ancestors farmed, lived, cooked and ate. I would like to read and study more and I am pondering about getting advice to help me improve my writing skills and become a better writer. I am pondering where to go for help, because I am foreign and getting into the Masonic Lodge that is British food writing is very complex and challenging. I am pondering that I am now 46 years old, and yet I still have a great hunger for learning and self-development. Education is not just for the young!

 

This week I am eating and cooking

I am eating and cooking the season in its moment: English asparagus, watercress, shallots, purple sprouting broccoli and fresh spring greens. I am making lots of warming soups because the weather is so cold and miserable. I drink a big glass of warm water with a lemon squeezed into it to keep colds and flu at bay, and I am also eating a lot of coloured fruit and vegetables to try to stay healthy. All my good intentions turn to greed and hunger in the evening, however, when I do like a cocktail {or two}, pistachio nuts, creamy risotto, cheese and pudding.

This week I am thankful for

I am thankful for all mercies, big and small: for good health, for food and a roof over my head, for family and support. Every day I read the newspaper and see the bewildering amount of poverty, cruelty, grief, disease and hunger that exists round the world. I feel powerless and moved in equal measure. I am very grateful for everything I have and that which I have not I know I do not need.

 

This week I am visiting

Wales! I love Wales – it is what England used to be before it was ruined by motorways, houses and airports. I am heading for the deepest, darkest west coast and there I am going to interview a cheese maker and see a number of different local producers. I am going to enjoy the sea, the scenery, the fresh catch of the day and Welsh friendliness and hospitality. It’s like a different world there, where the clock ticks slower, the singing is louder and the air is purer.