The Neglected KitchenAid

This morning, after I had my usual breakfast of porridge with dried cranberries and runny-honey, I was suddenly overtaken by the urge to bake something sweet. I started going through my kitchen cupboards to see what I could make, when out of the corner of my eye, I spotted my dust-covered KitchenAid standing mixer.

About a year ago I decided to treat myself to a Christmas present and ordered the mixer on the Internet. I still remember how giddy I was with excitement, I could not wait for it to arrive. When I got it, I could hardly control myself and ripped open the packaging. I marvelled at the gleaming white machine that stood in front of me, and immediately started going through my recipe books for ideas of things to make with it. For weeks afterwards I was still on cloud nine as I mixed, creamed, kneaded and baked batch after batch of cakes, cookies and breads. Unfortunately as with all things in life, the initial excitement wore off and I started using it less and less.

However, this morning after reminiscing about those first few weeks together I suddenly felt inspired to take it out of the cupboard and make my favourite cut-out cookies. I got out the eggs, butter, sugar and flour and started creaming, mixing and enjoying myself again. As the kitchen filled with the smell of the baking cookies, I could hardly keep the smile off my face. Once they were cooled and iced, and I sat down with a cup of coffee to enjoy the results of the morning's efforts, I felt like I had just caught up with a long lost friend. Who says you need a new gadget to make you happy?

In the Beginning

Food. Everybody needs it to survive, and a lot of us eat it purely for that reason. But there are a few of us for which food has become a passion and even an obsession. By this I don't mean that I sit and think about eating all day long, but rather that I create dishes in my head, imagine what they would look like, smell like, taste like... I'll read every food magazine that I can lay my hands on, pour over thick cooking volumes, watch hours of cooking shows, and spend days in my kitchen cooking, baking, creating.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't always had this obsession. I remember my teenage years, when I used to throw a drama queen hissy fit if my mother would even dare to ask me to help with preparing a simple salad. The kitchen to me was an oppressive prison, I didn't want anything to do with it.

At the tender age of 19 I left my parents' home in South Africa, got on a Boeing 747, and moved to London, UK. Suddenly I had to fend for myself, and most shockingly of all, cook for myself!!! Not only that, but my first job here in the UK was working in the busy kitchen of a country pub with a temperamental Portuguese chef! Not to worry, the irony was not lost on me or my family. I spent hours in that hot little kitchen, prepping veg, making batters, plating puddings, cakes and desserts and washing up. Oh, how I remember the washing up... Somehow, I thrived in that little kitchen, I learned a lot about myself and about food and found that cooking could actually be a pleasure!

After two months of working myself to the ground at the pub, I realised that the English country side, was not the most happening place for a 19 year old to spend their time. So I packed my bags and got on the bus, back to the metropolis of London.

I haven't worked in a professional kitchen since then, and who knows if I ever will. But one thing that has stuck from that experience is my ever increasing love for good food and the pleasure I get from feeding people. I want to share this passion with you, giving you glimpses into my kitchen and my food, and I hope to inspire you to not only eat to survive but to enrich your life as a whole.
Enjoy!!!!!