Welcome to My Delicious Moments
There are people who cook simply because, after all, you have to eat. And then there are people for whom food has always meant a little bit more.
I definitely belong to the second group.
When I think about where my love of food comes from, my thoughts quickly turn to the kitchens of my childhood. In my family, we cooked a lot and enjoyed doing so. For my mum, my granny and my aunt, the kitchen was never just a place where food was prepared. It was a meeting place, the heart of the home and a place where life happened.
There was chopping, baking, tasting and chatting. Something was simmering away on the stove, whilst somewhere nearby, vegetables from the own garden were waiting to be prepared. It was these very everyday scenes that were perhaps all the more impactful.
Because even back then, I learnt that food can be more than just what ends up on a plate.
It can be a sense of comfort. A memory. Curiosity. Craftsmanship. And above all: a moment shared together.
An early love of cookery books
Even as a child, I used to browse through my mother’s cookery books. Back then, however, I was mainly drawn to the ones with the most beautiful pictures. I would daydream my way through pages full of cakes, tarts and steaming pots of soup, making my very own plans about what I absolutely wanted to bake or cook one day.
It became clear by Christmas at the latest that this enthusiasm wasn’t just about pretty pictures. At the age of six, I baked my first Christmas biscuits entirely on my own.
Whether they would have met today’s standards for shape and taste back then is probably doubtful. In any case, my enthusiasm for it was genuine – and it has stayed with me.
To this day, I can lose myself in cookery books. And I probably own a few more of them than one could reasonably be expected to have. Sometimes I have a very specific recipe in mind and feel completely convinced that I’ve seen it somewhere. Then the search begins. One book after another comes off the shelf, old cookery magazines are leafed through, and saved recipes are searched through. And at some point, after a considerable amount of time and an impressive amount of chaos, I find myself wondering whether this recipe ever actually existed.
Perhaps that’s why 'My Delicious Moments' is also a sort of response to this: my own digital cookbook. A collection of recipes and ideas that I don’t want to let get lost amongst all those pages again.
On Italy, gardens and a curiosity about flavour
Trips to Italy during my childhood shaped my idea of good food in a special way. Mediterranean cuisine showed me, almost without me realising it, just how much character can be found in a few, high-quality ingredients. Tomatoes, olive oil, herbs, pasta, citrus fruits, Parmesan – things that seem simple at first glance, yet can embody an entire landscape, a climate and a culture.
This enthusiasm for good produce has stayed with me.
I’ve always been extremely curious when it comes to food. I’ll try almost anything and am rarely put off by ingredients I’m not yet familiar with. Cuisines from new countries, unusual combinations, traditional techniques or ingredients I haven’t used before – much of this immediately sparks a desire in me to find out more.
Perhaps that’s why cooking is always a form of discovery for me.
Inspiration can strike anywhere: whilst travelling, at a market, whilst dining in a good restaurant, whilst reading a cookbook or a magazine, on a cooking programme, or somewhere in the vast expanse of the internet.
Sometimes it’s an ingredient that gives me an idea. Sometimes a dish I’ve eaten somewhere. Sometimes a picture.
And sometimes it’s simply the question: What could I make with this?
Cooking as a craft and a creative outlet
I love the whole spectrum that cooking has to offer. Some days, it might be a quick sandwich that, thanks to a good sauce, pickled vegetables or an unexpected combination, suddenly becomes much more exciting than it needs to be.
On other days, cooking can be a little project. Then I make my own pasta, let the dough rest, try out new techniques or spend hours on French patisserie. I like the precision, the patience and the challenge that such recipes bring. And I also like the feeling of eventually, after several attempts, reaching exactly that point where individual ingredients come together to create something that was previously just an idea.
For me, there’s no contradiction in this at all.
Because it’s not about every recipe having to be quick, easy or straightforward.
It’s about how much time and attention we want to give to a dish and the moment itself.
Sometimes it’s ten minutes. Sometimes a whole afternoon.
Both can be a pleasure.
My second great love: creativity
It’s probably no coincidence that food is so closely linked to creativity for me.
I’ve always been fascinated by things where an idea is transformed into something beautiful. Upcycling furniture, craft projects, painting, photography or video editing – I can lose myself in projects like these.
Food brings many of these elements together.
There’s the initial idea. Choosing the ingredients. Chopping, shaping, stirring and experimenting. Plating up.
Playing with colours and textures.
And finally, photography.
For me, photographing a dish isn’t just about documenting a recipe. I want to bring out the character of a dish. To capture the moment when something comes fresh out of the oven. The crispy crust of a loaf of bread, the glossy surface of a sauce, the delicate layers of a pastry, or simply the colours of a plate full of seasonal ingredients.
Perhaps a picture can never replace the taste, but maybe it can whet your appetite to experience it for yourself.
Why My Delicious Moments exists
Of course, there are already an incredible number of wonderful food blogs out there. People who cook, bake, take photographs, write and share their knowledge with great passion.
I therefore have no intention of claiming that My Delicious Moments needs to invent something completely new. Rather, I’d like to add my own perspective.
My joy in food. My curiosity. My enthusiasm for good ingredients and beautiful photographs. My love of cookbooks, of recipes that require skilful craftsmanship as well as of little culinary ideas that can bring surprisingly great joy with very little effort.
Above all, however, I want to bring back something that’s easily lost in everyday life:
Time for enjoyment.
Our daily lives are packed. Appointments, work, commitments, the news, to-do lists. Mealtimes can quickly become something that happens in between two other things.
Something to be dealt with as quickly as possible.
Yet the very opposite can be so lovely. Taking the time to slowly caramelise an onion. Feeling the dough in your hands. Looking out for the loveliest vegetables at the market. Picking herbs from your own garden. Trying out a recipe that might not turn out perfectly the first time. Baking a cake, even though you could, in theory, just buy one.
Or simply slicing up a good loaf of bread, putting something on top and sitting down for a moment.
Cooking doesn’t always have to be about self-improvement; it can be a joy.
Good ingredients, mindful enjoyment
A theme that will run through My Delicious Moments is an appreciation of food.
For me, enjoyment starts with the ingredients.
Not necessarily with expensive or exclusive products, but with food that has character. With seasonal vegetables, fresh herbs, good olive oil, a piece of cheese, ripe fruit, or a product whose origin and production you know.
Perhaps one day this will include having my own little garden again. A few tomatoes, herbs, lettuce or courgettes that don’t come from the supermarket shelf, but from the soil right on my doorstep.
I like the idea of gaining a deeper understanding of where our food comes from and how much work, time and resources go into it.
That’s also why concepts like ‘nose-to-tail ’ appeal to me: using as much of a food as possible, rather than just taking the supposedly most valuable parts. Not as a strict rule, but as an expression of respect and curiosity.
At the same time, I never want to become dogmatic about any of this.
After all, I too have days when cooking simply doesn’t fit into my daily routine. On those days, frozen meals, home-preserved food or a well-stocked larder aren’t a failure, but a wonderful little help.
For me, mindful enjoyment doesn’t mean having to make everything myself.
It means being more aware of what we eat and why it brings us joy.
Perhaps that is precisely the idea behind the name of this blog.
It’s not just the grand dishes you’ve spent hours preparing; it’s also the little moments:
The first asparagus of spring.
Tomatoes that taste of summer and sunshine.
The scent of butter and cinnamon wafting slowly from the oven through the kitchen.
Homemade pasta on a Sunday.
A tart that, after several attempts, finally looks just as you imagined it would.
An improvised sandwich that turned out surprisingly well.
A jar of home-preserved fruit in the middle of winter.
A table lovingly laid, where you end up staying longer than planned.
People you love to cook for.
And sometimes simply the moment when, after a long day, you take that first bite and think: That’s exactly what it’s all about.
These are the moments I want to capture here.
An invitation to the table
That’s why My Delicious Moments is a food blog, a digital cookbook and a creative playground all in one.
Here, I want to collect recipes I love, try out things that catch my curiosity, celebrate seasonal ingredients, share dishes inspired by my travels, and record all the little culinary discoveries I come across.
Some recipes will be quick to make.
Others will require time, patience and perhaps a bit of practice.
Some will be traditional, whilst others will stem from a desire to try something new.
Because it’s precisely this diversity that I love about food.
Cooking can be a craft. A challenge. An experiment. A memory. Creativity.
And sometimes simply the loveliest way to make an ordinary Tuesday just that little bit more special.
If My Delicious Moments inspires you to try something new yourself, to look out for a seasonal ingredient at the market, to dig out an old cookbook, to invite friends round for a meal, or simply to make time to enjoy a plate of your favourite dish, then this blog has arrived exactly where I want it to be.
At the table.
Because good food doesn’t just fill us up.
It can bring us together, surprise us, create memories and take us away from the daily grind for a brief moment.
And it’s precisely these moments that I want to collect here.
Welcome to My Delicious Moments.
Delicious Moments in my grandmothers kitchen
