the home cook

My Mum has always been a cook. She loves cooking and I have so many of my childhood memories of her entangled around cooking. She is not much of a baker but has instilled a love of cooking and baking with fresh ingredients to me. She has taught me the basics like how to make a rou .How to reduce a sauce , but she has also taught me when to cheat when your time is short or you could not be arsed.

I'm a baker. I have always loved to bake. I like tried and tested recipes as well as new unusual ones. I like my recipe books to have character and to have lived in the kitchen. This book below is my Mum's Ina Paarman origional cookbook. she is a South African Home economics teacher who started a cooking school , published a cookbook and is now I assume a Millionairess with ranges of seasning and sauces.

This is her original cookbook bought by my mum when she used to go to Ina's classes. Ina has signed it for her. I always wanted to go to those classes when I was little. Its a battered, stained book full of the history of meals cooked and cakes baked. I love those stains.
I recently got the hummingbird bakery cookbook . Its a divine little bakery in notting hill selling very famous cupcakes to all the stars like Gwyneth Paltrow and Me. their most famous being their Red Velvet cupcakes , made famous in New york.
I made this banana cake which was just lovely and so easy and i got my first little stain on the page. I was so pleased....