A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body.–Benjamin Franklin
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Simon Says: February 3, 2011
by Simon de Swaan and Argentine Cookery
Half of all Argentine desserts would disappear if dulce de leche [caramel spread] did not exist. When abroad, Argentine people who have no dulce de leche, suffer the syndrome of abstinence and all those who go abroad, take dulce de leche in their luggage. Dulce de leche is the national obsession.–Argentine Cookery, Monica Hoss de le Comte, 2000
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Simon Says: February 2, 2011
by Simon de Swaan and Jonell Galloway
To gulp a mouthful of soft, warm red wine, and then to lean forward and slice a fragrant chip of meat from the brown, bubbling carcass in front of you, dunk it in the fierce sauce of vinegar, garlic, and red pepper, and then stuff it, nut-sweet and juicy, into your mouth, seemed one of the most satisfying actions of my life.–Gerald Durrell, The Whispering Land, 1961
Gerald Durrell, brother of the noted author Lawrence Durrell, was foremost a zoologist interested in protecting wildlife. His brother Lawrence once suggested that he write books in order to earn money to support his numerous wildlife causes, which motivated him to write The Overloaded Ark, followed by The Bafut Beagles and Three Singles to Adventure. All were successful enough to allow him to continue writing up until his death in 1995, all for the sole means of supporting his animal protection causes, chiefly through the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.
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Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, February 1, 2011
by Jonell Galloway and Simon de Swaan
There is no love sincerer than the love of food.–George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin, Ireland, on July 26, 1856, and died on November 2, 1950. Although of the landed Irish gentry, his father failed at both being a civil servant and working as a grain merchant. The family lived in genteel poverty, and Shaw’s education was irregular, also due to his dislike of any organized training, and ended at the age of 16. Shaw did however develop a broad knowledge of music, art, and literature, thanks to his mother’s strong cultural influence and many visits to the National Gallery of Ireland.
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Simon Says: January 30, 2011. Eating is a Multi-sensory Experience
by Jonell Galloway
Eating is a Multi-sensory Experience
from “Word of Mouth Blog,” The Guardian
We eat with all our senses and we are shorting ourselves if we’re not aware of the multi-sensory aspect of the eating experience. If something “looks” good, we have a tendency to think it “is” good. Of course we all know that can be true, or it can lead to disappointment if quality ingredients and craftsmanship have not gone into the final product. Just like with people, looks are not all that counts. What’s inside really does count.
This article from The Guardian of London explores this.
“We know that our enjoyment of food is about more than how it tastes…On the contrary, much research suggests that it is in fact our eyes leading the way, our tongues merely follow. ‘People’s perception is typically dominated by what their eyes see,’ writes Charles Spence, Oxford professor of experimental psychology.”
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Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, January 29, 2011
by Simon de Swaan
The mountain sheep are sweeter
But the valley sheep are fatter.
We therefore deemed it meeter
To carry off the latter.
Thomas Love Peacock (1786-1866), excerpt from The War Song of Dinas Vawr (1823)
Thomas Love Peacock was born in Dorset, England in 1785 or 1786, depending on the source. He was a novelist, poet and playwright and mixed with the Romantic poets, although most of his work was satirical. He also worked for the British East India Company. He was also influenced by Percy Bisshye Shelley, who he met early in life. Peacock died in his library at Halliford-on-Thames in 1866, after refusing to leave his precious books to burn.
Photo inspired by Thomas Love Peacock’s poem “Ocean Gateway,” taken by the Wandering Angel.
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Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, January 27, 2011
by Simon de Swaan
Age is something that doesn’t matter, unless you are a cheese.–Luis Buñuel (1900-1983)
Luis Buñel was born in 1900 in Spain. While studying at the University of Madrid, he met Salvador Dali and Federico Garcia Lorca. He later went to Paris and served as an assistant to experimental filmmaker Jean Epstein, then went on to become a major Surrealist filmmaker in his own right, first in Hollywood, and later in Mexico. He was known for having good food and drink on his sets.
Photo courtesy of El Mundo de Laura.
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Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, January 26, 2011
by Simon de Swaan
No coffee can be good in the mouth that does not first send a sweet offering of odor to the nostrils.—Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)
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Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, January 25, 2011
The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind than the discovery of a new star.–Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), Physiologie du Goût (1826)
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Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, January 24, 2011
We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are.—Adelle Davis
Adelle Davis was one of America’s best known nutritionists and helped lay the foundation of twentieth-century nutritional concepts. She dedicated most of her career to working with physicians on diet-related issues. Today, the Adelle Davis Foundation supports programs for educational and developmental activities relating to nutrition.
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