Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Happy 100th Birthday Julia!

If you are a fan of Julia Child's you will know its her birthday today. An admirable woman and chef, who managed to inspire many women past, present and definitely in the future with her culinary skills.

A brief history of her timeline can be found here. One of my favourite movies is Julie and Julia. Based on the adaptation by Nora Ephron, of two bestselling memoirs: Powell’s Julie & Julia and My Life in France, by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme. It's combines the story of Julie who attempts to cook a recipe out of Julia Childs first cookbook 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking'. She cooks a recipe a day for 365 days and blogs about. It was life-changing for Julie to say the least; where she re-discovers herself and her passion. Along with the journey of Julia Child's life it makes for a very inspiring movie. I hope to read the books someday. Click on images for their sources.

Happy Birthday Julia!

Some of my favourite quotes from Julia Child...

1. "The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook."

2. "Cooking is like love; it should be entered into with abandon or not at all."

3. "If you're afraid of butter, use cream."

4. "The best way to execute French cooking is to get good and loaded and whack the hell out of a chicken. Bon appetit."

5. "I think every woman should have a blowtorch."

6. "Fat gives things flavor."

7. "Maybe the cat has fallen into the stew, or the lettuce has frozen, or the cake has collapsed. Eh bien, tant pis. Usually one's cooking is better than one thinks it is. And if the food is truly vile, then the cook must simply grit her teeth and bear it with a smile, and learn from her mistakes."

8. "I think one of the terrible things today is that people have this deathly fear of food: fear of eggs, say, or fear of butter. Most doctors feel that you can have a little bit of everything."

9. "I always give my bird a generous butter massage before I put it in the oven. Why? Because I think the chicken likes it -- and, more important, I like to give it."

10. "I think careful cooking is love, don't you? The loveliest thing you can cook for someone who's close to you is about as nice a Valentine as you can give."

11. "You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces -- just good food from fresh ingredients."

12. "Always remember: If you're alone in the kitchen and you drop the lamb, you can always just pick it up. Who's going to know?"

13. "I just hate health food."

14. "Learn how to cook -- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have fun."




Julia Child making chocolate mousse


Julia Child getting to grips with her ingredients
Julia Child's famous kitchen at the Smithsonian National Museum


Julie & Julia - a fabulous movie