Knock-the- door- down delicious!

Julie Andrews might have had a few favourite things as Maria in "The Sound of Music" and she even included a delicacy or two in there, but if I had to sing that song myself, it would pretty much be a list of food, food and more food (hence the problem with my closet, remember?)

I am not the world's best chef, but I love cooking nonetheless (homemade puff pastry still scare me and should be left to the professionals along with a few other techniques) . What I love more than cooking though, is the eating part. The smell of something that's freshly baked. A simple dish that's presented so exquisitely you're hesitant to eat it because you don't want to ruin the beauty of it. The memory of your grandmother's meals when you were little. Baking cupcakes with your Mom  - flour everywhere. The conversations around the table. That's what remains long after the meal is gone.

Almost every occasion in life is celebrated with and around food. Weddings, birthdays, Christmas and even funerals. Even recalling a trip or holiday is linked with what you had to eat while there. The bockwurst in Germany, tortillas in Mexico and pizza in Italy. I always hear people say: I had the best so-and-so when telling me of a place they've been. My sister plans her holidays around restaurants she's read about or seen on TV. She even has a journal which goes with her when she travels in which she documents the names of places she's eaten at, the things she ate etc.

I'm not one to follow a recipe religiously, but I need to read through a few and buy a cookbook from time to time to find new inspiration and then change it up as I start cooking, depending on what ingredients I have in the pantry at that moment. One tends to become stale in the kitchen when time is limited and the family liked something the previous time, so why not make it every week...

One of the staples and regulars in my kitchen is a dish I stumbled upon by pure experimentation - no recipe required here. There's a certain salad dressing I always buy at Costco. Since I ran out of my South African mayonnaise and chutney which I usually used for my chicken dish, I decided to pour this salad dressing over  it , put it in the oven for a long time, and see what happens. It's the tangy-ist sauce and fingerlickin' good too! My whole family now asks for a bottle of this sauce when I go visit them. See, it's not always necessary to follow a complicated recipe with 15 ingredients in order to qualify for a tasty meal, but sometimes the extra effort pays off.

Needless to say, right after I've seen the movie "Julie & Julia" I was so motivated to start something new and bought the original Julia Child's cookbook. You need both hands to handle this baby. My brother just loves my impression of Julia saying :"bon appetit!". But I won't do it outside the family circle - sorry! I do admit that after trying a few recipes from this book, I've gone back to less complicated ones with a lot of photo's. When I'm grown-up one day I'll try it again. It just makes no sense in spending hours on something when you're only two people around the table of which the one does not care whether the meal consists of a slice of toast and apricot jam...

There's a few chefs I follow on the Food Channel but they do tend to forget that half the ingredients are just not available where most people live. And they don't fool me in pretending all is as easy as they make it out te be. I know they have at least 5 assitants or more helping them out. And if you do the ingredient shopping and cleaning up afterwards FOR me I will also cook the way they do!! And the cooking times they give for their meals - trust me, no stove is that fast!! And chicken takes double the amount of time they make it out to be - as well as potatoes!!

To me there is no better comfort food than "pap en sous" (corn meal porridge - much like polenta - with a tomato and onion relish). And of course a big bowl of pasta. Or mashed potato! I'm so easy to please... For me it's all about the sauce/gravy. I'll even eat tripe/afval just for the curry sauce. With most stews/casseroles, I opt out of the meat which is the main ingredient in said dishes, and go straight for the sauce.

You know the joys a simple slice of freshly baked bread topped with butter, can bring. For some it's peanut butter and jelly, for others it's bread dipped in gravy, whatever floats your boat. I'll give up a steak in a heartbeat if there's anything remotely Mediterranean on the menu. You can propose to me with a platter of grilled peppers, aubergine, zucchini and caramellised onion. Or a bowl of steaming hot minestrone soup. I'll say "yes" in a New York minute even before you show me the ring...

There is no other room in the house that is quite as cozy and comforting as the kitchen. This is where the best conversations take place and where many a heartache is mended and problems solved -  coupled with a good bite to eat (but don't underestimate the benefits of a stiff drink - my uncle likes to tell us how my aunt fixes a "mean" whiskey - but I'm not naming names...).

Few things come in as handy as leftovers at midnight. This was a real problem in our house when my brother was in his teenage years. He would eat anything if it stood still long enough. My Mom would still think she has something on hand to feed us the next day, only to find that my brother cleared it all the night before. Their bones are hollow at that age and no amount of food can adequately fill them up long enough to last till the next meal.

I'm getting to a point where I'm starting to accept my new dress size only because I am just not determined enough to let go off my favourite things to eat. As long as I have the closet space I'll add that extra dollop of butter to the mashed potatoes and that tad of extra cream to the sauce. What the heck - life is short!!