Monday, April 27, 2015

It is not just about food

Baking the Bread by Anders Zorn

Hi there, I think we are starting to see the end of the tunnel in this month of poetry. Personally I will not make it, I started running too late. But I have a challenge for you that should be fun.

I want you to consider recipes, the ingredients and procedures we use when preparing that perfect dish. Actually I find a recipe quite poetic sometimes. There is such a promise in the list of ingredients and the procedures that give a desired result. A well written recipe is actually easy to remember by heart.

Consider for instance:

Rev. Smith's recipe for salads

(Sydney Smith 1771-1845)

To make this condiment your poet begs
The pounded yellow of two hard-boil'd eggs;
Two boiled potatoes, passed through kitchen seive,
Smoothness and softness to the salad give.
Let onion atoms lurk within the bowl,
And, half-suspected, animate the whole.
Of mordant mustard add but a single spoon,
Distrust the condiment that bites too soon;
But deem it not, thou man of herbs, a fault
To add a double quantity of salt;
Four times the spoon with oil of Lucca crown,
And twice with vinegar procur'd from town;
Lastly o'er the flavour'd compound toss
A magic soupçon of anchovy sauce.
Oh, green and glorious! Oh, herbaceous treat!
Twould tempt the dying anchorite to eat;
Back to the world he'd turn his fleeting soul,
And plunge his fingers in the salad-bowl!
Serenely full, the epicure would say,
Fate cannot harm me, I have dined today.


So today I want you to write a poem in the form of a recipe. It can either be something we can actually using for our favorite dinners, but why not a recipe for something more abstract such as love, spring or death.


12 comments:

brudberg said...

Hi there.. we are almost there.. I hope to read a number of excellent recipes later tonight.. (now I just have to figure out something myself). I had to put some Swedish touch to the artwork by including a painting by Anders Zorn of baking bread.

Anonymous said...

We all love a bit of Anders Zorn, and the aroma coming from the Toads kitchens are enticing today!

Ella said...

Bjorn,I do love to cook~
A lovely offering-thank you.

Susie Clevenger said...

Great idea! Not sure what I will cook up. A poetic recipe, I hope it will be better than my cooking skills. :)

Gillena Cox said...

i enjoying cooking, especially adding a bit of my own essence of creativity to any standard recipe

wow a fun prompt

much love...

Sanaa Rizvi said...

Hello everyone,

Sorry I m late.. its been a hell of a day. But wasn't going to miss out today! :D

Sharing my poem "Butter Delight."

Thank you Bjorn for this wonderful opportunity :D Hope you like it!

Lots of love,
Sanaa

Phil Slade said...

A great idea poetry and cooking. It really works. Now not to be rude but where's my food?

brudberg said...

I like what i have seen so far.. I will check out more in the morning.. what you have cooked up.

Buddah Moskowitz said...

Well, ok , here's a secret recipe. Probably like a lot of family secrets out there. - Mosk

Rosemary Nissen-Wade said...

Returning to Mrs Beeton.... (Do people still know who she was?)

Outlawyer said...

I do know Mrs. Beeton and her recipes and household tips! I'm not sure she was really so house-holdy! Anyway, I was drawn to write something that may be deemed off-topic, but it is what came to my quirky mind. Thanks, Bjorn. k.

Hannah said...

What a fun and inspiring challenge, Bjorn...thank you!