Hi folks!

New Year's Day seems a suitable moment to commence. And let us begin with Janus, after whom this month is named.

He was the Roman god of entrances, depicted with two faces (carved on many doorways,) one looking in, the other out. Or one looking back, the other forward. So you see he is very suited to name the month.

So, looking back, some seventy years ago almost to the day an Irish women's magazine published suggestions for weekly menus in its cookery column. The dishes listed for the first week of January are well worth a ponder in these very different times. I have not the article before me now, but I seem to recall that the only imported ingredients were tea, coffee, oranges, lemons, spices and possibly bananas. Everything else would have been locally grown and in season.
Await a more detailed look at this fascinating culinary snippet in a later post.

Looking forward, I propose, mainly, to rejoice in food! As I have always done, indeed. And no doubt my own agenda will become apparent. That is, um, several strands. One, good judgement in food is about 90% tastebuds, and maybe 10% context. There's also about 10% memory in there: I know this doesn't add up to 100 but food preferences are irrational and fiercely intractable.
I have excellent faith in my own tastebuds, and love to put them to the test, and learn.

I do know a lot about food, just as an amateur,you understand. No catering college or commercial kitchens in my life story, just a lifetime of family cooking, often on a short budget, always energised by contact with the national cuisines of other countries. I have a large collection of cookery books which I read for pleasure rather than practice!

Enough of this rambling...until next time. Bye!