towards a style of cooking

From the Gourmet tv series Foodies on China:

In the song dynasty the second emperor asked one of his officials

 "what is the finest food in the world" 

and the official replied, "there is no answer.

Good food is not only what is served to an emperor, it can be made in the poorest of homes. If it tastes delicious and gives you joy, then it is good food." 

chinese food historian and writer Jiang Liyang

the food critic and historian who told this story went on to say that there are particular features of chinese cuisine:

color, fragrance, flavor, shape, texture, sound (either of cooking or biting), the matching of serving vessel and table ware and the name of the dish and cuisine.

Chefs have their own style when it comes to food, that they are known by. I would have to say that I have not cooked enough to know what my style is, but what I like to eat right now is smoked, rich tasting, spicy bold things with layers of flavor. But this is not everyone's taste and most certainly is not the taste of most Germans. Because for hundreds of years they have eaten pork and sauerkraut and bread and cream and cheese and muesli. Not that those are bad things, but espresso, for example, and winter squash are relatively new things on the scene here in Germany. Like, in our generation. So, I think that the food I cook at the restaurant needs to be more safe and comforty and, um, boring. Because I keep hearing that things are too spicy, or strong, or something. Although, I think they are good. But anyway, I think I should keep the experimenting to my own kitchen. Instead, I need to dig out the faves from where I used to cook and go through the cycle again, adapting to German palettes. Learning about the features of German cuisine and adapting them to my own way of cooking.

Apropos*, I am having friends over on thursday night and I am going to make Chickpea patties with beetroot tzatziki, sesame roasted potatoes, avocado and grapefruit salad, and some fabulous dessert- either flourless chocolate cake (chocolate, sugar and eggs. period), or hazelnut chocolate cookies (200g chocolate for 9 large cookies), or  something else equally devastating. I promise to include all recipes.

And at work, I will make things like chicken with lemon and thyme, which is also really good, and pizzas, and carrot soup, and potato gratin. But not Ethiopian spiced lentils or curries or chickpea patties with beetroot tzatziki (thank you Nigel). Because I can't help myself when it comes to chiles.

Now I am off to start the apple branch basket...I promise to include a picture of whatever it turns out to be, no matter how weird I think it looks.

* On the merriamwebster free online dictionary they have a list of words rhyming with the one you have looked up. I couldn't remember the correct spelling of apropos (forgot the s) and then saw this list, which I include for your enjoyment. acid snow, afterglow, aikido, alpenglow, art deco, art nouveau, audio, Baguio, Bamako, barrio, bay window,Bergamo, bibelot, Bilbao... 
Whatever is a  bilbao, you ask? That will have to wait for another post...