I’ve always had a fascination with the octopus, a kind of beauty horror combination, so it’s no wonder they make regular appearances in my dreams. Their ability to camouflage, solve problems, and just how utterly alien they are fascinates me. People seem obsessed with the idea of discovering extraterrestrials, but honestly, they don’t need to look any further than our mostly undiscovered oceans.
This particular dream felt like a first encounter with an alien life form, that tentative “are you going to eat me?” energy coming from both sides of the door. Which somehow loops neatly into today’s blog prompt, What are my favourite things to cook? And it’s definitely not octopus.
What’s your favorite thing to cook?
It’s anything we’ve grown ourselves on our small farm. Roasting homegrown potatoes. Making bruschetta from our tomatoes and basil. We’re not quite up to baking our own bread yet. Fried halloumi, the cheese I’ve made from our very own goat’s milk. An omelette of home duck and chicken eggs. There’s a deep, grounded satisfaction that comes from eating something you’ve grown yourself, and it tastes better than anything you’ll pull off a supermarket shelf.
That food often sits in warehouses or on shelves for weeks, even months, before we buy it and take it home. In that time, nutrients fade and flavours dull. And honestly, I think that’s the direction I want to take with my art as well. Homemade, handcrafted, fresh.
At one stage, I bought into the convenience of the print on demand world. But I think the future, at least the future I want, is handmade, homegrown, and rooted in real time, in a modern world obsessed with instant everything.
Kids Book Illustrator Andy C Marshall 