While catching up on my semi-daily blog fix, I was ridiculously pleased to see that I was given the Beautiful Blogger Award (sort of?) from Labor of Wonder. In her post she switched things up a bit by mentioning her MUST reads, instead of doing the ‘tag, you’re it.’ thing.. so this newfound tradition continues with my absolute must read blogs! (No particular order)
1) Labor of Wonder: She is what I imagine I’d be like if I had gone the whole ‘marriage/family’ route. She’s a loving mother who cares about what goes in and on the bodies of her family. That’s totally what I wanna be when I grow up. lol
2) Girl in a Food Frenzy: She is going to culinary school and I am SO flipping jealous. More than that, she always has really tasty looking food, and amazing pictures!
3) Might Stain Your Shirt: He is hilarious, knowledgeable, and we’re generally on the same wavelength about most food related topics. You’ve gotta respect a man that has made his own ketchup!
4) Danny’s Kitchen: He has an interesting history that has really influenced his culinary point of view. He’s always posting really tasty recipes, and some fabulous videos. It’s great stuff that I try not to miss.
5) Filing Away Cupcakes: She manages to cook some really amazing stuff in spite of the fact she’s uber busy getting ready to take the bar. She’s clearly one impressive multi-tasker!
6) The Urge to Wander: She’s got a terrific travel blog that always manages to be visually appealing and also emotionally appealing. Her blog always makes me think about where I’m going and where I’ve come from.
Each of these blogs is fabulous and life enriching in its own way. I highly suggest that you check these out if you have not already.
So that covers the good feelings and also the deep thoughts, all in one. Yay for multi-tasking.
Now, the return to basics portion of today’s show!
Now, don’t get me wrong.. I find molecular gastronomy to be really interesting.. but at the same time.. it’s kind of losing its appeal. I like the idea of changing the states of food and playing around with textural contrasts.. but I think (with me being so busy) that I’d rather devote the little time that I have to being in the kitchen doing the basics.. (Making pasta, curing stuff, cheesemaking, .. and you know, actual cooking!!!)
This past weekend, I had far more fun with sushi prep than I did with the spherification. Partially I’m sure that was because it didn’t turn out well.. but I really miss being able to tinker, and season.. experiment.
Despite the fascinating nature of molecular gastronomy, most of what I’ve done so far is RIDICULOUSLY precise. 1/2 TSP of this.. 2/3 of a cup of that.. and bam you have this stuff.. which is cool, I guess.. but really most of the joy that I get from cooking comes from me having the liberty to experiment totally with flavors.. not within the rigid confines of *MUST BE 2/3 of a CUP!!*
So, with that being said.. I’m done with spherification.. on to foams. I feel like foam is not really expected to be the star of the show.. so much as the decoration for the awesome thing I’ve already made. I have a feeling I will enjoy that much more.
The Confluent Kitchen 
/blush
I think the wavelength is the same too.
I have a molecular gastronomy vs. organic food/raw or even primeval food script in my head. Our hero, Ben (that’s just a holder name for scripting purposes, but don’t rule it out) is in mid foam when an evil organicon starts busting on his agar. A sword fight takes place and then they both realize that they like copper pesticides and call a truce. Then the Hindus leap forth. The rest writes itself.
I feel like we are one Sandra Lee throwing whipped cream and bologna stuffed artichoke bombs away from your magnum opus. It’s going to be beautiful. PS – no sense in changing the name at this point.. 🙂
Heston Heston Heston – need I say more? I am most amused with what he does with his food! Saw an eopisde where he had chocolate & ginger ganache knives, forks and spoons, “pewterised” with silver dust, fondant icing napkins (wouldn’t mind wiping my mouth with that!) and light-able white chocolate candles oozing with caramel sauce. Can I have all of these at home please?
Congratulations on your award. Truly appreciate the shout out. And getting back to basics sounds good to me 🙂
Thanks! I hadn’t seen this but I’m really stoked that you’re enjoying the blog and happy snaps! I want to see more foams & spherification, yes please! 🙂
The spherification was .. how you say.. a failure? I am gonna fiddle with some foams. I am trying to figure out how I can make bacon foam. 🙂
Heston Blumenthal’s grape mandarin FOOD MEAT was aamnizg!! How he managed to balance the ingredients in a way that it would stay still and have the shine of a grape or mandarin….that when he revealed it was NOT a fruit, but actually made from food, I was literally looking back and forth from a mandarin I was eating a…t at the TV screen, just so shocked that it was not a plate of real fruit!Amazing..and furthermore, when Aaron attempted to make the grapes, it was a good try but real skill, research, trial and error and lots of time must have been used to perfect the masterpiece.He really inspires me to cook and to learn new techniques. I would really love to see this molecular cooking in real life, as I have not located a restaurant in Adelaide that I could see the magic behind molecular cooking.Thank you for this opportunity to win a chance to experience an unforgettable experience at Tokyo Food Trends!