Great Food, All Day Long_ Cook Splendidly, Eat Smart - Maya Angelou [1]
And there are those who want to lose weight, so they choose to read books about dieting, swearing a fierce loyalty to the books’ recipes and suggestions. There are those who say they would cook if they had the time, or the skills, but since they don’t, they delight in reading what serious cooks are able to create. Only a few readers buy cookbooks to really cook the recipes. If this book finds its way into the hands of bold, adventurous people, courageous enough to actually get into the kitchen and rattle the pots and pans, I will be very happy.
I started working on this book over a year ago, and in that time I have eaten from all the recipes described here. I treated myself to delicious dishes, some from my childhood and others I had encountered in travels around the world. I studied cookbooks diligently and was particularly influenced by the writers who loved food, who were gourmets but not gourmands. M. F. K. Fisher, Elizabeth David, Jessica Harris, Margaret Visser, and Jacques Pepin are among the cooks and writers whose work encouraged me.
I read that if a diner ate only a small portion of food, and waited twenty minutes, she would be surprised to find that the small amount she had consumed satisfied her hunger—that is, if the food was really savory, really tasty. Because I live alone, I knew it would be easy for me to follow that advice on portion control. If I chose to roast a chicken, I could plan to eat at least four meals from it. I am sure that if I had to sit at a table with my family, I would find it more challenging to eat only a little—though not impossible. The cook in the family can prepare a sumptuous meal for the family’s enjoyment and still employ portion control, knowing that it’s okay to return two or three hours later and, without guilt, have a little more.
I found that when I ate a few barbecued ribs and a serving of a few vegetables, I could set the rest aside and return to it later. Likewise, a piece of buttered toast and two soft-boiled eggs would successfully break my fast and fuel me for my morning’s labor, or were light enough to be consumed at night without fear of indigestion and nightmares. I only noticed that I was losing weight when my clothes began to appear noticeably too large.
I put the two together and deduced that portion control was the secret to my weight loss.
Some years ago I found my health in danger because I was overweight. My doctors warned me that I was dangerously close to diabetes, hypertension, and high blood pressure. I tried any number of diets, some silly and some lugubriously serious. Nothing worked for very long. But since I enjoy food, am a good cook, and am well into my upper age group, I decided there must be a way to take the pounds off and keep them off. I made some changes and lost thirty-five pounds. I diminished my portions, and ate more frequently. The title of this book, Great Food, All Day Long, came from that exercise. I eat less, but more often, and the foods I create are wondrously flavorsome.
Most people on our planet live without cereal or even any knowledge that there are foods meant solely to be eaten during mornings and others for lunch and yet others for dinner. People the world over eat in the morning some of the leftovers of what they had at dinner the night before.
As I prepared to write this book, I thought of dishes that would be as good at 8:30 p.m. as they were at 8:30 a.m. I have not suggested cereal or eggs as the only breakfast foods. With my recipes you can have fried rice for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. All recipes offered in this book can be prepared and eaten all day long, beginning with a glorious chili. You can have couscous with chicken drumsticks any time of the day or night. The food should taste so good that you will be satisfied with a small portion. If you are diligent about portions, then you can snack with smaller amounts all day long.
I have not tried to cut calories by creating fat- and sugar-free dishes, although I have been careful in not overdoing those foods. I use butter, olive