Well that is something to look forward to. A
good (because like a Bouillabaisse it can be hideously hum drum in the wrong hands) Cassoulet is genuinely one of my "Last meal" dishes.
Your household definitely eats well.
Yes, we do eat pretty well (especially when I am home): I like good food, - so we buy mostly organic and above all, while the eggs, fruit and vegetables are usually bought from those who grew (or collected) them at the farmers' market, I am very particular about meat, I want meat from animals and birds that were well cared for and ethically treated and am prepared to pay for it (besides, it tastes much better).
Moreover, I like cooking, - and I like cooking with good quality equipment - I have Le Creuset cookware (and a Le Creuset professional chef's apron, - I'm brilliant at spilling stuff - almost twenty years old), Italian stainless steel saucepans (Lagostina), some handmade Italian copper saucepans, a set of Le Mauviel copper cookware - when I am not too stressed and have the time to relax. Some decent knives, Japanese and German; a proper table cloth (French, cotton), napkins (French and Swedish, cotton), table mats, (leather, from Saddleback in the US, though they sold them as something else) etc. Leather coasters from Saddleback. Proper elegant glassware. Do the bloody thing properly - I see it as a quality of life thing, even if, most evenings, it is simply the carer and myself.
And I am the sort of cook that likes cook books that invite greed, and when, upon reading them (Nigel Slater is the obvious one - I've been a fan of his for twenty years) you think to yourself, 1) this reads as though it will be very tasty, and 2) this reads as though I could do it without too much stress.
For the cassoulet, this will be based on one of Nigel's recipes; I have pancetta, Toulouse sausages, and duck thighs, and also have the white beans, and the other ingredients we will need.
If I may ask, where did the noodle dish originate? (I know, I know! An enquiring mind is a curse!
)
On account of my mother's dementia, we have had a live in carer (a wonderful Filipina) for the past five and a half years; she does lovely fish broths (though the one this week prepared under my direction was more a Scandinavian style dish) and noodle dishes.
