The Watchful Cook

@thewatchfulcook

An immigrant in Turin, scribbling about food, Slow Food, art, homes, music, books. And cheese. Lots of cheese. No DMs unless agreed.

3.201 Folgt5.147 Follower3.516 Posts

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The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Jul 10

Nothing wrong with a grizzly bear!

Close up of the face of a large brown bear, his nose in the air (sniffing out his supper?) and a philosophical expression on his handsome face.

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· May 15

Or you have one of these beside your bed, on a timer…

Bialetti moka coffee maker, connected to electricity so you can fill it up the night before and hey presto, coffee without getting up!

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Mar 24

Just bliss. I have one of these at my bedside, don’t use it every day but definitely at weekends…

A stainless steel Bialetti espresso maker, enabled to be used independently of a hob via an electrical connection.

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Mar 10

This gentleman?

Picture of front cover of a book entitled Land is what we make it by Ernest Manners. Drawing of an undulating landscape with trees, hedgerows and a setting sun. Colour mainly ochre, brown and black

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Jan 21

And some even encouraged their sons to have similar styles…

Donald Trump’s mother in old age. Dyed blonde hair in an upswept, heavily lacquered style. Frowning face, deeply wrinkled with a bitter expression.

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Sep 26

First of the precious autumn treasure here in Turin.

Two whole porcini mushrooms with a bunch of flat leaf parsley, lying on a brown paper bag. Just a shame you can’t smell their earthy scent. 🍄‍🟫

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Jun 24

I have no idea how I can live through the next few days. I mean, I do but it’s not going to be pleasant. Send ice. Lots of ice.

Weather forecast for the next six days showing temperatures topping out at 38C for Turin, northern Italy.

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Apr 23

Will this do in the meantime?

Huge bed built up to nearly ceiling height on three sides with bookshelves lining it, inside and out. Internal lights on the side wall, red bedcover and cream pillows. It also has a “roof” so is immensely cosy and I want one!

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Apr 14

Sorry to hear you’re not up to a walk at the moment but here’s the first wisteria in our neighbourhood. Not great photo but any closer and I’d have been trespassing! 😘

Wisteria growing along a white wall with blue sky. Sadly can’t smell the gorgeous scent of wisteria!

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Mar 16

Looks pretty spot on to me…

Colour photo of a very narrow canal in Venice, between two buildings. Dark and not receiving much sunshine. Wall on the left is the typical red brick of the area and very unusually with round windows (9 are visible). Wall on the left is a mixture of the red brick, ochre stucco and with conventional, green shuttered windows. There is a small boat tied up on the right in the middle distance and beyond that, a small single span bridge. The campanile in Piazza San Marco is visible in the far distance, centre of the shot. Small amount of sky visible which seems either watery pale blue or grey, depending on whether not you are an optimist!

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Mar 11

I love the stories containing the Dragon of Kensington and where I live, there is an apartment building, officially named Casa Vittoria but everyone calls it Casa dei Draghi and here are the two dragons who guard the main entrance. Sharp eyed readers will see it’s very definitely Mr & Mrs Dragon!

A gothic style dragon, carved in an ochre coloured stone on the wall of a building and curved over the right hand side of the main door.

Another ochre stone dragon, this time guarding the left of the main door. This clearly Lady Dragon as she is equipped for suckling her young. The scales and claws of both dragons are clearly sculpted and I wouldn’t argue with either of them!

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Feb 15

A colour picture of Derek Jacobi playing the part of Cadfael, the medieval monk who also solved mysteries on the side. Standing with his left hand on a stone pillar and a very large book - presumably a Bible - in the crook of his right arm.

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Feb 14

Very well deserved! Take a bow...

Indian sloth bear standing on his hind legs and waving his right paw in the air. Can't decide if he is hailing a cab or about to take a bow, with a great flourish. Standing a rock, surrounded by grass and a few logs.

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Feb 3

My view on today…

Poster depicting a black cat wearing a brown kimono style wrap with a floral sash. Holding a red cup and with a cynical gaze. Poster says “less depresso”. Cat looks how I feel.

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Jan 31

Thank you for posting this. I can scarcely believe she is gone. Prayers for Gary.

A dormouse balanced on a branch of rosehips. Golden brown fur and big dark eyes. There are four scarlet rosehips which the dormouse looks as if she is about to eat.

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Jan 28

@caromthomas.bsky.social There is a glimmer of hope for sunshine and blue sky today! The Mole seen through the tracery of abundant trees at Palazzo Reale this morning.

The symbol of Turin, the Mole, seen through the bare branches of the many mature trees in the garden of Palazzo Reale. The sky is pale blue with wispy white and grey clouds and perhaps the promise of sunshine.

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Jan 13

He is rather lovely and has a skateboarding cousin and polar friends.

Three bear Christmas tree decorations, on the tree with tiny lights surrounding the, One bear is brown with a red collar and trying to skateboard on a blue board with red wheels. The other two are are polar bears, mum and cub in a brown sail boat. Mum is smiling but cub looks a bit doubtful!

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Jan 4

He has a skateboarding cousin, too!

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Dec 29

Another gorgeous Bear to add to my Christmas collection arrived yesterday, all the way from Old Fox’s hamlet where Christmas is kept so well.

A small wooden carved polar bear, crafted as a Christmas decoration and hung on a tree amongst golden lights and crystal baubles. He has a smile on his face.

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Dec 8

How lovely for the Little Girl to have her own tree. We are decorating our tree today and place of honour goes to the little brown bear sent from Bear and his sisters. ❤️🎄🐻

A little wooden brown bear, wearing a red collar and perched on a blue skateboard with red and white wheels. He looks to be concentrating quite hard on staying upright! He is nestled in a Christmas tree with tiny lights and golden baubles.

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Nov 23

I wonder if you mean this Bear Dance? I have a print of and just love it.

Oil painting from 19th century showing many bears dancing in a forest clearing. Other bears, in the background, are eating and drinking (some to the detriment of their behaviour). In the far distance, more bears arrive to join in the fun.

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Nov 23

With much love and grateful thanks to @annelouiseavery.bsky.social on her birthday. May her year ahead bring respite in your health and more people falling in love with your wonderful work.

A guache painting of a slender blonde Princess, dressed in white, with two handsome and devoted polar bears at her side. Dark sky, full of stars and snow underfoot (and under paw).

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Nov 22

St Cecilia’s day today; as a former choral singing enthusiast, she is a favourite of mine and I’ll mark it by binge listening to Composer of the Week @bbcradio3.bsky.social as it’s been Purcell this week. Will make even ironing easier!

Portrait of St Cecilia in the Byzantine style. A golden halo with robes of pale gold, chocolate brown and pale blue.

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Oct 19

It’s still porcini time here in northern Italy and whilst costing a body part, I couldn’t resist these yesterday. The risotto was sublime and I can make do with one kidney, can’t I?

Italian porcini mushrooms on a white plate decorated with strawberries.

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Oct 18

OK so it’s Friday but today is our fourth consecutive day of rain and although I am a Celt who loves the rain, this is now A Bit Much. This is plum and nutmeg cake although the plums sank a bit. ☔️☔️☔️

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Oct 17

Right, changes to block function over on the bird place is enough. Tried Threads but…Meta… Coming back here to give it another go and here’s my latest apple and cardamom cake to, er, show my wares. That came out wrong…

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Jan 5

Still on our return to “normal” food, supper last night was ragu’ with tagliatelle. Don’t like a very tomatoey (is that a word?) so my usual recipe is a mix of Anna de Conte and Giorgio Locatelli with their Lombardian take on the classic sauce.

Egg tagliatelle with a ragu’ sauce in a white china bowl. Green salad in a red bowl just visible behind.

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Jan 4

After Christmas food, sometimes you just want a simple old fashioned food and I present Welsh Rabbit. Yum.

Two slices of toasted Welsh Rabbit on a blue and white plate with sliced tomatoes and green olives as garnish.

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Dec 19

Anyone who knows me realises that cheese is one of my great loves and interests in life. Had a fabulous morning choosing my Christmas cheese board this morning and huge thanks to #LatteriaBera here in Turin for making it such an occasion. I’ll post more on the individual cheeses as I open them.

Six French and Italian cheeses with a panettone wrapped in gold paper trimmed with a huge golden rose.

The Watchful Cook@thewatchfulcook· Dec 18

This great little book jostled its way to the top of my TBR pile a week or so ago and I love it! I’ve always been a fan of Elizabeth Raffald and her 1769 book The Experience English Housekeeper but I hadn’t realised how much ahead of her time she was as a businesswoman. A quite incredible lady!