Cooking a la Seaview

As much as I love my food (especially when prepared and cooked by someone else), cooking for others comes a wee bit more reluctantly. As a new mum many many years ago I did what most mums do and I started off with the best of intentions - breast is best, home made pureed vegetables when weaning etc etc - none of this prepared jar and dried food for my precious wee ones.

After a few years however, reality kicks in and when working full time on shift work, those pre-prepared oven ready meals and take-aways start to look mighty appealing especially when I was so tired arriving home from work I couldn't bear the thought of cooking a meal from scratch. And it doesn't help when I regularly forgot to get something out of the freezer before I left for work anyway!

Over time I found the skills I did have as a cook (and I was taught how to cook by my mum) were rapidly vapourising into the ether along with microwaved TV dinners. A sad sad state of affairs indeed.

This all changed however, when I met and married my husband John several years ago. John's background is in catering, he loves food and as he runs a B&B having the skills to cook is an absolute necessity. Needless to say my own depleted culinary skills were yanked up by the boot straps and I quicky learnt to distinguish one end of a pan from the other...........and oh yes, how to cook scrambled eggs so that they are light and fluffy and don't bounce like rubber round (and sometimes off) the plate. 

We have very different styles when it comes to cooking. John has a tendency to replicate the Swedish Chef's style (remember The Muppet Show) which he describes as creative and intuitive with a hefty dose of Scottish flair, ably assisted by a wee dram of the old amber nectar! My style on the other hand is very precise and measured with great attention to detail. I refer to it as cooking like Delia; John refers to it as being 'very English'!!

Needless to say the kitchen can at times be a hotbed of differing opinions but we do work incredibly well and produce some cracking meals. Although we live in a remote place and don't have access to mainland shops and other food outlets, it does mean you have to make do with what is in the fridge, cupboard, or larder. The use of fresh local products means you end up cooking with the best of ingredients and what a difference this makes when it comes to producing flavoursome healthy meals.

Now, the original point of me writing this post was to say that I was I have been making good use of my time today (due to the appaling weather outside) and I have been busy in the kitchen making Delia's Christmas Chutney. This year I have made a real effort to make as much of my Christmas food as I possibly can, including my very first Christmas cake and although buying the ingredients has at times been stressful (remember no Tescos here on the island), the time, effort and results have been very worthwhile.

I just hope there is something left to eat for Christmas!