Nigella Wisdom

I liked Nigella Lawson before I came to the UK but after getting a bit of flavour from her general neighbourhood, I have to say that I love her good and proper now. I love her ideas about food and indulgence, her rich desserts and literary descriptions of why they are beautiful, how impulsive and impatient she gets to eat what she is making, her full figure that reflects her passion for good food. What I think I love most though is how she articulates and truly lives all that I feel about cooking, eating and enjoying good food.

A couple of my favourite quotes of hers:

"I absolutely love this dessert [I think it was a lemon pie she was doting over]. You know when it is finished when you shake it and it gives you a cheeky wiggle."

"What I'm doing here is seeking to offer protection from life, solely through the means of potato, butter and cream... there are times when only mashed potato will do."



There is nothing more comforting to me than an episode of Nigella Lawson. So many things in a daily routine can be unpleasant. Life can demand so much sometimes. But, as depraved as it may seem, really good food can make up a lot of the difference for me. Nigella understands this the same as I do. She understands that when I have to wake up to an alarm to get me ready for a day of housekeeping and rainy weather, it is the thought of a thick piece of toast smeared in an unholy amount of Nutella that gets me up without complaint. There are a handful of other things that get me out of bed (luckily one of them is a good hard swim/run that can help counteract such excess). Still, I feel unappologetic about enjoying good and, at times, unforgivably superfluous food.* I am surprised that it is the gaunt ndrew Bird who coined the phrase "I am all for moderation but sometimes it seems moderdation itself can be kind of extreme". My hat off to this British lady who taught me that the way to become a domestic goddess is to embrace the rich bounty this earth yields in all kinds of great baking, cooking, recipes, and of course eating. I can't think of a healthier way of life than this philosophy really.

My one lingering question though, and at times frustration, is how she finds such unique ingredients in a British supermarket? I have yet to find chocolate chips (only exorbitantly priced "chocolate buttons") or a tin of diced green chilis in a store here....

*Don't get me wrong, I relish a colourful salad with restrained amounts of dressing or a well roasted trio of veg. These are nice parts of my day as well. But, for my temperament, they can never make up for a missed "pudding".