Hello. I'm Ingrid and welcome to my blog, Your Culinary Genie, devoted to cooking international cuisine and original recipes with a vibrant and quirky flair.

 

I grew up with a mother who was a Home Economist, who taught me all about the practical aspects of kitchen design and how to shop on a budget – but while I always enjoyed food, my real passion for cooking and reading about it was only awakened when I left home and subsequently exposed to other influences.

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At University I cooked a dinner for eight at least once a month, many of them vegetarian and, in my second year, shared a flat with a vegan Buddhist who invited me to eat curry with him every Thursday for an entire year – 52 aromatic curries and never the same one twice! That, to me, was mind-blowing and signalled to me that there was much more to explore.

 

By year end I was intimately acquainted with the 60 herbs he had collected in his spice jars, and by the end of my studies, was doing advanced yoga and using a caleidoscope of herbs myself. The vegetarian food then in my repertoire was not only great to eat - it was super fresh because it came from a local shop run by our yoga teachers – but I found its price points merciful to my typically meagre student budget. I subsequently became vegetarian and tee-total and stayed that way for 14 years.

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After entering journalism, marrying my husband, Mark, and settling on the small caribean island of Tottenham, I revelled in the phenomenon of the new TV chefs stepping out - Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsey, Marco Pierre White, Raymond Blanc, Delia Smith, Sophie Grisgson and the Roux brothers among them – and in the metropolis around us. With Greek, Turkish, Italian, Indian, Carribean fish shops, bakeries, groceries and delis abounding, I was encouraged to broaden and deepen my culinary ideas. 

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Yet another factor was travel: I've lived in England, Germany, Thailand and France, and over the years my focus has expanded to include interests in food history, culinary trends, ingredients and new inventions, reflected in the articles here. While in Thailand I completed a major training course to become a qualified Grand Master Professional Thai chef, learning 220 dishes at the time, and adding more after that. I am currently deepening my knowledge of spice pastes, with a fascination for chillies and black peppers from around the world. My goal is to be able to make most of my own spice mixes to maximise control over what goes into them. Update: since writing this I have invested in a commerical grade spice blender and have started doing this now. 

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Scroll forward in time and I now write this from our glorious farmhouse kitchen in Charente, where I write and cook, and I do hope you will join me.

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Sign up to become a site member here , and when a new recipe, post or restaurant review goes 'live', you'll get a notice directly into your inbox.

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If you wish to know something more about where we live, check out the blog entry 'We found it', on this site, which includes pictures, plans and thoughts about our topical and future renovations. You can also book our newly renovated, romantic medieval holiday lodge for two at www.lindenlodgestays.com.
 

Thanks for dropping in and I hope you enjoy your visit!