A phrase more than a new word for me. But, as read in the Instagram account of Jennifer Garner (US celebrity) of all places. She's been making some cooking video posts and this was a French phrase she used in one of them. I looked it up and found:

The preparations to cook, having the ingredients ready, such as cuts of meat, relishes, sauces, par-cooked items, spices, freshly chopped vegetables, and other components that are required for the menu and recipes ingredients measured out, washed, chopped and placed in individual bowls; and equipment such as spatulas and blenders prepared, and oven preheated.

My Mother taught us to cook this way. It makes things much simpler. No finding out you are missing an ingredient at the last minute, for one thing. I use the same idea in process of elimination way as I cook so things are put away and I don't have everything to clean up at the end.

My Grandmother was a tea drinker. She liked old teapots, fancy teapots and vintage teapots but then she would put them on the stove to warm up her tea and, in the end, each pot would end up cracked from the heat. So, she ended up with a lot of broken teapots. She could have used a teapot cozy. I know she had at least one. My Mother would knit them for her.

I don't drink a lot of tea but I love the look of the teapots and teapot cosies (or cozies, however you spell it). They have a romantic image. Some of them are so pretty and girlish that you almost want to become an avid tea drinker.

What are your tea drinking traditions?

I don't love tea. It's not so much a part of the traditions and history of Canada as it is in Britain and Japan. But, we do have tea parties, simple and down-sized though they are by comparison. I like Earl Grey tea and I love the smell of Lipton's caramel tea (which they don't seem to sell any longer). My Mother likes to get jasmine tea when we go to a Chinese/ Oriental themed restaurant. I like the ginger tea, the odd time they offer it.

Tea has some part of everyone's family history it seems to me. Even if we don't make and drink tea on a daily basis, it's there. A gift from your Grandmother, an impulse purchase you made yourself, or just something you keep around for company who don't want coffee or hot chocolate.

Kind of nice, when you make tea for someone, to be able to pull out a nice teapot and have the finishing touch of a pretty tea cosy to top it.

I found so many wonderful tea cosies when I began looking for them, I couldn't decide which I would like most. I'm not a knitter so patterns for knitted tea cosies are a bit out for me. Unless I get someone to make it. But, it's never really, truly your very own tea cosy if you paid for it. There's something special about the tea cosy (like any craft project you make yourself). For one thing, you're the only one who knows about that glaring error which you somehow managed to conceal with a bit of extra thread or yarn...

One of my favourite tea cosies was knitted (plain knitting luckily) underneath and the top was decorated with exotic looking crochet flowers. You can find the instructions for it in the links below.

JustJen's Flower Garden Tea Cosy

They did have their own unique way. Loads of butter and not being too fussy about how pristine everything was. Just like real people versus the over friendly and sterile stuff on most cooking shows now.

What can two fat ladies do? In this world where women are valued when they are young and skinny – what possible interest could two fat ladies from the UK have and how could they have published cookbooks and star in their own popular cooking show (1996 to 1999)?

Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright were the Two Fat Ladies

I loved the Two Fat Ladies because there dared to do things I would like to do. But, they dared to do them on TV, with people watching and they laughed too.

You can paralyze yourself with fear, make it hard just to get out of bed each morning. Out of bed it’s time to start thinking about how you look and how other people will see you. People with bad teeth won’t smile. People with bad hair wear a hat or shave it off. People who are fat can’t hide so well. Instead we think about how fat we look and we don’t smile, or talk much to other people. In short, many people are so self-conscious they do all they can to escape notice, stay in the background and go about doing what they must, living their own lives like ghosts. Living faded, in the background.

The Two Fat Ladies stepped out of the background and laughed about it.

They cooked with cream, butter, red meat and booze and they were not worried about dipping their fingers in or cooking in pristine conditions. They were biker babes riding a Triumph Thunderbird motorbike driven by Jennifer with Clarissa in the sidecar. The Two Fat Ladies were themselves and they let the rest of us see them that way too. I was proud of them and happy for them.

RIP Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright - You are missed.

I bought myself pot holders from the department store. I loved the colours, that's why I picked them. But, the colours faded after a couple of washings. Disappointing. It would be smarter to just make my own I decided.

I liked the pot holders made with upcycled/ repurposed jeans. Doubled over, they would be nice and thick for picking up hot pots and pans. But, I still think they need a layer in between for keeping out more heat, plus, keeping them dry rather than letting water soak through. If you have ever picked up a hot pan with a wet pot holder you will know why a pot holder must be dry. Fully dry, not even just a bit damp. I feel pain just remembering.

So, when you are making pot holders, be aware of the wet/ dry issue. Consider fabrics or yarn which keeps dry and does not melt in contact with heat. A safer thing would be to have a middle fabric in your pot holder which would prevent both sides getting wet at all.

Of course, you don't want a pot holder made of anything too thin. Another element with crochet or knit pot holders are having gaps in the pattern which you could poke a finger through while picking up a hot pan. If you use a lacey knit or crochet pattern give the pot holder a backing which will keep your hands safe from burns.

Another nice thing about pot holders is how washable they are. It's pretty easy for them to get something slopped on them. My pot holders double as a something I can always sit the hot pan on once I pull it out of the oven. If I don't get something on them from the pan while taking it out of the oven, by the time dinner is done someone else will have dripped and dribbled something on them while serving themselves. This is why I stopped using anything not easily washable as a pot rest (do they have a real name of their own?).

If you had to think of your favourite kitchen appliance (not the big ones like an oven, fridge or dishwasher) which would you choose? Thinking about just this question I realized how very dull and boring my selection of kitchen appliances is. Other than a selection of coffee makers, I don't have any kitchen appliance more exciting than my toaster, blender and the hand mixer. Sad isn't it?

So, this post is going to be about the kitchen appliances I would like to have. Not for practical reasons, unless I can work a few in, but just because it would be nice to be one of those people with a glamorous kitchen and all the shiny appliances to go with it. I could have several of them lined up along the counter. Red, if possible.

The first choice is just plain all wrong for someone trying to lose weight and already an admitted ice cream addict. What could be more impractical than an ice cream making machine? It is a lovely shade of red though. Automatic too. Just pour in the ingredients and turn on the right knobs at the right time. There you go... fresh ice cream in your choice of flavour. It even makes sorbet and I bet it does that fancy Italian ice cream too. I've seen them make that one on the Food Network and I could almost taste it through the television.

After the ice cream maker my next choice would be a crock pot. You may think this is a good choice, something which could seem necessary rather than extravagant. But, in fact, it's mainly laziness. If I had a crock pot I could bring stuff out of the freezer, add something saucy to it and let it defrost/ cook all day long while I do something else, like make ice cream.

Beyond that, an electric knife and scissor sharpener would bring new life to my kitchen knives and sewing scissors. But, that's kind of practical for this list. A cotton candy machine, there's something to add glamour to my counter and not likely need to be cleaned after use. Not that I don't like cotton candy, but it I had my choice between cotton candy and ice cream...