Thursday, May 14, 2009

marginalia

"I am willing to try anything more than once." -Robert Farrar Capon in his book The Supper of the Lamb

"It was God who invented dirt, onions and turnip greens; God who invented human beings, with their strange compulsion to cook food; God who at the end of each day of creation, pronounced a resounding "Good!" over his own concoctions. And it is God's unrelenting love of all the stuff of this world that keeps it in being at every moment. So, if we are fascinated, even intoxicated, by matter, it is no surprise: we are made in the image of the Ultimate Materialist." -ibid.

"Technique must be acquired, and, with technique, a love of the very processes of cooking. No artist can work simply for results; he must also like the work of getting them." -ibid.

"Man's real work is to look at the things of the world and to love them for what they are. That is, after all, what God does, and man was not made in God's image for nothing." -ibid.

~~~
ibid.- in the same source (used to save space in textual references to a quoted work that has been mentioned in a previous reference)

tumescent- pompous or pretentious; tumid

cauterize- burn the skin or flesh of (a wound) with a heated instrument or caustic substance, typically to stop bleeding or prevent the wound from becoming infected

redolent- strongly reminiscent or suggestive of (something); fragrant or sweet smelling

solipsism- the view or theory that the self is all the can be known to exist

auspicious- conducive to success; characterized by success

maderization- a form of oxidation that gives white wine a brownish color and caramelized flavor like that of Madeira

ferial- denoting an ordinary weekday, as opposed to one appointed for a festival or fast

aphorism- a pithy observation that contains a general truth; a concise statement of a scientific principle, typically by an ancient classical author

spook- n. a ghost; a spy
- v. to frighten or unnerve

3 comments:

Kathleen D. said...

I love those quotes, Caity! I'm glad you're enjoying Capon. As you can see, I finally signed up to write on your blog, instead of just sitting in the shadows. Great frog pictures, by the way! =)
~Kathleen

caitygirl said...

I'm glad you can comment now; I really like knowing that people are actually reading what I post enjoying it too! Yes, Capon is so interesting...I've never thought of preparing food as a way of life, nor spending an hour observing an onion =). It is definitely on my "favorites" and "want to purchase" lists!

Kathleen D. said...

It is definitely worth the purchase! I haven't spent an hour dissecting an onion either, but the last time I made gravy, I marveled at the magic.