This week M+K sits across the table with Joan Ransley, Photographer + Food Writer. She talks with us about her approach to cooking, creativity and the joys of making sourdough.
1. My cooking inspiration…
The inspiration for my cooking comes from using fresh seasonal vegetables, herbs, pulses, grains, nuts, seeds, great oils, fresh seafood, good quality cheese, eggs and a store cupboard and freezer full of good quality ingredients. I like my food to be colourful, nutritious and very tasty. I have a PhD in Human nutrition so I am always mindful of packing in as many nutrients as I can into what I cook whilst keeping an eye on the sugar, refined carbohydrate and fat content of the food I create.
2. A meal that reminds me of home…
Really great breakfasts remind me of home. I came from a large family and none of us ever left the house to go to school or work without eating a good breakfast. At the weekend it was a cooked breakfast during the week it was cereal, toast, maybe an egg, and fruit juice. These days I never leave the house without eating a bowl of Bircher muesli topped with chopped banana and berries and a freshly made fruit smoothie. It sets me up for the day.
3. A life lesson cooking has taught me…
Cooking has taught me to complete any practical task as well as I can. It has also taught me to think more about people and how to make an experience nice for them. Cooking is a shared activity and it connects me with my family and friends. Also if you can cook you can eat well and stay healthy.
4. When I want to be creative I…
Cook something that has captured my interest. It might contain a new ingredient and challenge me to present a dish in a new way. I then think about how to style and photograph it.
5. The most transformational book I’ve read is…
Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway: How to Turn Your Fear and Indecision into Confidence and Action by Susan Jeffers I love this book because it helps us to understand how fear can hold us back from doing the things we really want to do. It helps you to manage fear and achieve the things in life that you want to.
6. The routines that keep me grounded are…
Each morning I go for a 40 minute run and a swim in the river near my house in Ilkley, West Yorkshire. In the winter I leave out the swim! I then come home, shower and eat a good breakfast. I am then ready for anything. I eat two to three nutritious meals a day and the closest I get to eating junk food is eating a bag of crisps on a railways station if I am hungry and the train has been delayed. Sleep is important to me and I rarely stay up late.
7. I recently learnt…
How to make sourdough bread and pumpernickel. I love that making sourdough takes time rather than effort and only uses three ingredients: flour, salt and water. Hands-on time is about 15 minutes (for weighing the ingredients out and kneading). Total time taken to make sourdough is 24 hours. Most of that time is taken by the bread proving and rising.
8. Favourite random act of kindness…
Leaving a loaf of freshly baked sourdough bread on the doorstep of one of my neighbours’ houses.
9. To make a difference in my community I…
You need to be friendly, get to know people around you, and then see what you can contribute. Everyone has gifts and time to give their community.
10. Right now, I’m grateful for…
The things I have. I have a home, friends and family and good work which is helping me to live well and share what I have with others that need it.
Joan Ransley is a photographer, writer and food stylist. Her first career was as a lecturer in Human Nutrition. She worked for many years at the University of Leeds both in teaching and research. She holds a MMedSci and PhD in human nutrition. More recently she has become passionate about taking compelling, natural images of food, people and landscapes. This has created wonderful opportunities for her to take photographs for books, magazines and advertising. She also writes about food and the people who grow and produce it. She is an accomplished cook and food stylist with experience of developing, testing and writing recipes. She is based in the beautiful town of Ilkley, West Yorkshire and works on location around the UK.
To connect visit:
Website: www.joanransley.co.uk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanransley/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joan.ransley
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoanRansley
