Michaels’ Fondest Foodie Memory

My fondest memory is that of an energetic and vibrant lady, hands knuckle deep in dough, a flour dusted apron, and fingers like a seasoned magician. As kids we had the pleasure of having our Grandmother stay with us for a good few years before she died. An enigmatic force of common sense, mind full to capacity of every necessary recipe imaginable.

A particular favourite of hers was her mother’s Brown Bread. Each morning without fail, the oven would be full to capacity with little loaf tins, timed to deliver piping hot rich malty offerings. Simple in its entirety, but most memorable not just for the bread itself, but because it was the very first recipe I learned from her.

To this day it never ceases to amaze me how she managed to measure the exact amounts of ingredients without the use of scales or measures. I’m certainly at a loss, and am pernickety to the point of insanity. I have to have the right quantity to begin with. I would collapse with shock if I were to take 2 handfuls of different dry ingredients and bind together with an unspecified amount of liquid. It just cannot be done.

It could however be magically arranged, and with a pinch of knowledge and experience, baked to a specific time that only she seemed to know.

It is simple I know. I should be writing about what ‘food’ means to me. But stripped bare, this is what food in its entirety does mean to me. Food that is handled with care, baked with passion and served with love. Ok, clichéd I know, but I cannot express how much I enjoyed that time spent with her.

I carry this perception with me today. If there is care and attention devoted to every facet of a meal, regardless of its simplicity, I am duty bound to enjoy it. Automatically brings me back to those days in that kitchen, slightly cooled loaves on wire racks, rich in buttermilk and wheat-germ, sliced inch thick and generously buttered. A kiss on the cheek, a hug and a squeeze, my legs dangling carelessly beneath the kitchen table left to enjoy what will always remain my fondest foodie memory.

Michael Wall