Talk about food – or salmon for dinner

Posted on April 24, 2014 by Chloe Daniel

The purpose of food has become hazy. As I see it, this ‘purpose’ (too grand a word perhaps) is twofold: providing our bodies with the best possible fuel available; and, with its taste, smell, and appearance, providing us with a great sensual pleasure. For this haziness, our busy lives are partly at fault, as they leave us no time to prepare or even think about food. But the language of food marketing, full of false promises and hyperbole, should take some of the blame – and is, indeed, my main concern here. Continue reading →

Supermarkets again

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Chloe Daniel

We went away to the North German coast for a few days. It wasn’t a remote spot, though you might have thought it from the deserted beaches and windswept sand dunes. The surrounding infrastructure – discount supermarkets, cafes, restaurants – suggested summer saw busier days.

As is standard on holidays with small children, when we first arrived we went to the village’s only supermarket (a Netto) to stock up. Our list was modest: apples, bananas, cheese, butter, milk, bread, yoghurt, and jam. Mostly, we thought, we’d eat out.

Despite the simplicity of our culinary ambitions, Netto proved disappointing. Call me a snob, but I don’t believe not sure I have ever been in a supermarket with fewer things I might consider buying. Wherever we turned, we found junk. There are no other words for it. Continue reading →

Fresh from the greengrocers – an ode to purple sprouting broccoli

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Chloe Daniel

Would we eat better if cookery programmes were axed from the telly? Almost certainly. Inspiration for the few, oppression for the many: it’s my theory that they set absurdly unrealistic expectations of the meals we should serve up on the table each evening. Creamed this, glazed that, breaded, roasted, toasted, marinated; nothing short of a restaurant-style meal will do.

Most recipe books (written often by same said TV chefs) are just as bad. And, slave to their instructions, we scour the supermarket shelves for expensive and exotic goods. Quick fix 30-minute, nay 15-minute recipes books may pose as more straightforward, but in requiring their own host of unseasonable fare or flavour cheats – curry paste or, worse, ketchup – are merely a milder symptom of the same problem. Continue reading →

Money where your mouth is

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Chloe Daniel

Posh cosmetics are absurdly expensive, or so it seemed to me whilst browsing the department store shelves for a new moisturiser. But we still buy them: most bathroom cupboards are so well stocked with lotions and potions they could be apothecaries.

I suppose it’s understandable that when it comes to beauty no expense is spared. We all like to look our best (and youngest) and these products very convincingly promise they will help us do just that. But they don’t, not really. Good genes, happy lives, healthy diets and enough sleep are far more important (though I do continue to slavishly follow the expensive skincare routine I introduced on turning thirty – ah, sweet delusion). Continue reading →

The protest cabbage

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Chloe Daniel

I had gone to the supermarket to buy milk but soon found myself far from the dairy aisle, staring bewildered at the tubs, tubes, tins, packets, and bottles stacked meticulously – a visual stampede of farm workers, factory packers and carbon footprints.

Living in Berlin and mostly going to our nearby organic shop or local supermarket (much smaller than its UK counterpart), I hadn’t been in a really big UK supermarket for a while, possibly a year or more. Perhaps this meant I was more attuned not only to the scale of the operation but also to how little of the food in there I wanted to buy. In amongst those garish packets, schools voucher schemes, traffic light systems, and special discount offers, the real food was lost. My intense love of food shopping – that endless daydreaming of possible meals – vanished. This wasn’t fun, it was grotesque. Continue reading →

Of Slender Means

eating thoughtfully and effortlessly

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