After a tea of sausages and tinned tomatoes he sat by the fire smoking a cigarette. (Alan Sillitoe, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning) Continue reading “A Working Man’s Tea”
Tag: novel
Food and Savagery
They tried holding the whole carcass on a stake over the fire, but the stake burnt more quickly than the pig roasted. In the end they skewered bits of meat on branches and held them in the flames: and even then almost as much boy was roasted as meat. (William Golding, Lord of the Flies) Continue reading “Food and Savagery”
Food and Adultery
The lover had ordered steak and onions, the girl hesitated for a moment to take the onions because her husband didn’t like the smell, the lover was hurt and angry because he realized what was behind her hesitation, which brought to his mind the inevitable embrace on her return home. (Graham Greene, The End of the Affair) Continue reading “Food and Adultery”
The Anxious Cook
Next morning they would go over the dishes – the soup, the salmon; the salmon, Mrs Walker knew, as usual underdone, for she always got nervous about the pudding and left it to Jenny; so it happened, the salmon was always underdone. (Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway)
However much I love cooking – or perhaps because I love it so much – I often get anxious when cooking, particularly when cooking for others. Will there be enough food? Will my guests like it? Will it be perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned? Will I impress as a cook? Continue reading “The Anxious Cook”