Jam Today: A Diary of Cooking With What You've Got

by Tod Davies

We are what we eat. But even more, we are how we eat: how we discover our own desires and those of our loved ones, how we source the foods that fulfill those desires, how we prepare them, how we serve them. All of these seemingly small, daily decisions are the basis of everything we do, showing us who we truly are, what we need to change, what we need to aim for in the future. Food is the story we tell our bodies every day, and how our bodies and souls react to that story is the story of where we are going to go next. Food is important, thinking about it as well as consuming it—important and importantly fun, both at the same time. That’s what the Jam Today series is all about—being creative in the kitchen as a step to bringing more creativity to the world around us.

From Jam Today:
Here are my secrets for cooking without recipes. Know what you want to eat. Keep it simple. Enjoy yourself.

Come to think of it, those are my secrets for having a good life, too.

Today the kitchen, tomorrow the world.

Genres: Food, Cookbooks, Cooking, Foodie, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2009

About the author

Tod Davies is the author of Snotty Saves the Day and Lily the Silent, both from The History of Arcadia series, and the cooking memoirs Jam Today: A Diary of Cooking With What You’ve Got and Jam Today Too: The Revolution Will Not Be Catered. Unsurprisingly, her attitude toward literature is the same as her attitude toward cooking—it’s all about working with what you have to find new ways of looking and new ways of being, and in doing so, to rediscover the best of our humanity. Davies lives with her husband Alex, and their two dogs, in the alpine valley of Colestin, Oregon, and at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, in Boulder, Colorado.

Reviews

[Brian Griffith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cookbook I actually read, like the whole thing. I just like the cook's attitude. She makes enjoying the moment a mission from the great witch. When she made these dishes, there was no time to take a picture of the food before enjoying it with her family. The stories of procuring, improvising and feasting are like a bunch of "Omnivore's Dilemma" mini-dramas.

[Manintheboat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useless book.
The people who have things like fontina, watercress, chard, and mushrooms in the fridge already know how to cook with what they've got. The rest of America has cheez whiz, a can of soup, and half a loaf of white bread.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I flipped through this one but didn't really read it. I like the concept of cooking with what you've got. But I think it's basically a published blog - and with no illustrations :(

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subtitle "A Diary of cooking with what you've got" echoes my own philosophy in the kitchen: throwing together what I have on hand in a way that sounds good to me. And also trying to waste as little food as possible. I like that Tod reads cookbooks and recipes for inspiration and then adopts to her own tastes and ingredients on hand.

My copy is autographed by the author, whom I met at a book event at the Ashland Library soon after I moved to Oregon.

[Cyndi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure if I'll cook any of the "recipes" but I liked being invited into her world. The reminder to simply cook with what's available is a welcome one too.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book through Goodreads. Very interesting ideas and lots of things to try. Recommend.

[Ricki Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

“…melt some butter in a skillet and cook the carrots, with a little salt, until they’re not raw anymore…” That’s about as exact as things get in Jam Today, a Diary of Cooking With What You’ve Got. Author Tod Davies invites us into her world. It’s a cozy world in the mountains of Oregon, where she writes…and, as chronicled here, cooks: for friends, for her dogs, and most especially for her “Beloved Vegetarian Husband.” This she does without a hint of rancor (she is an omnivore) and without depriving herself of any of the joys of the table.

One is apt to come away thinking that cooking delicious meals is more attitude than recipe and that it extends into every crevice of one’s life and world view. I was especially taken with a section involving the purchase of one marble-sized Oregon truffle: the care and attention lavished upon its ripening; the sensitivity to its developing attributes; and finally, the three meals evolving from this one small nugget of flavor. Yes, she admits to one misstep by adding too much parsley to a pasta dish and overpowering the shaved quarter-truffle’s subtlety (I was reassured to find her judgment fallible).

Davies clearly loves everything about food and has absorbed quantities of cookbooks and recipes to arrive at the easy-going, seat-of-the-pants approach you will find in these pages. My great-grandmother was a sublime cook. Her “oh, a handful of flour and a pinch of salt” responses to those seeking to emulate her results were highly frustrating. Ms Davies is more forthcoming than that, but even if you fail to be converted to her way of doing things, I think you will enjoy her company.

The book is available on Amazon, and if you would like to sample some of her food and food writing, you can do so on her blog.

Bon Apetit!

[Anton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not really a cookbook. I don't think it's even a book that will teach you to cook with whatever you have in your kitchen, because let's be honest, a lot of people won't have roast duck leftovers and Gorgonzola in their fridge, or a garden where they can go pick some lettuce. That said, it's really just what it says it is -- it's a diary of cooking. It's really quite lovely, written in a somewhat James Beard-esque manner, with love of food and cooking evident in every paragraph.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am amazed at how much this book has helped me become a better and calmer cook. Davies advocates using what you have to make your meals. How creative is that! And it is astonishing how much easier it seems to prepare supper when the pressure is off to reproduce something from a gourmet cookbook.

[Junita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great lingering essays on food and cooking and eating delicious meals alone.

Shelf Awareness said it better than I could:
http://news.shelf-awareness.com/nview...

[Laurie]

http://thisiswhatwearereading.blogspo...

[Heather]

The BEST mac'n cheese receipt in the WORLD, and the encouragement to cook for myself, by myself and CELEBRATE it.

[Lisa Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read. Davies really encourages and inspires with her ideas of throwing together what you've got in the fridge to make delicious meal.

[Leon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yummy memoir... with great tips, recipes.