I have excellent intentions for this confined kitchen club blog. I love to cook, I like to share recipes, and I believe there's a joy in talking about what you love. In dark times, any joy that's going is okay by me. At worst, we can all share the national passion for turnips in beetroot sauce that may have to overtake us.
And I will get there.
But today is not a great day. It turned out to be my last morning in the office (I like my office). I have spent much of the afternoon trying to work out a home workspace that won't send my chair plummeting down the stairs or give a great view of my toilet when I videoconference (I live in a small flat, and I do *not* spend a lot of time there. Until now, ahahaha.)
And I was SUPPOSED TO BE IN LISBON BY NOW.
I cancelled that holiday just a few days ago, after a couple of weeks of wondering whether I'd make it. Yeah, nope. Obviously. Who goes on holiday during a pandemic? But you hold on to an idea of normality surprisingly long.
All of which is a vair roundabout apology for my first foodblog post being an M&S curry. Viz:
I did cook my own rice (with cardamom, natch). I burnt it a tiny bit, which I haven't done in years. That coriander is on its last legs. It is a general disaster area.
The thing about confined kitchen club is, you can have a load of fun cooking, and I hope we will. But we're doing this because the world has gone absolutely arse over teakettle in a couple of weeks. Sometimes, we're going to burn the rice. Sometimes, the coriander will be unavailable. Sometimes, you need a goddam chicken tikka masala that someone else cooked for you.
I've sworn not to drink every night of the crisis. Weekends only.
(Definitely not Monday to Wednesday, anyway.)
We'll see. But I'm sticking to that for tonight. So I raise a delicious glass of London tap water to us, to future club members, to everyone whose life has turned a bit shit lately, and to the lovely people of Lisbon, who I have never met. Felicidades!
PS The curry was fine. You know how supermarket curries are.
And I will get there.
But today is not a great day. It turned out to be my last morning in the office (I like my office). I have spent much of the afternoon trying to work out a home workspace that won't send my chair plummeting down the stairs or give a great view of my toilet when I videoconference (I live in a small flat, and I do *not* spend a lot of time there. Until now, ahahaha.)
And I was SUPPOSED TO BE IN LISBON BY NOW.
I cancelled that holiday just a few days ago, after a couple of weeks of wondering whether I'd make it. Yeah, nope. Obviously. Who goes on holiday during a pandemic? But you hold on to an idea of normality surprisingly long.
All of which is a vair roundabout apology for my first foodblog post being an M&S curry. Viz:
 | |
| Yes, that's prawn dumplings with chicken tikka. It's a crime against cookery blogs. |
I did cook my own rice (with cardamom, natch). I burnt it a tiny bit, which I haven't done in years. That coriander is on its last legs. It is a general disaster area.
The thing about confined kitchen club is, you can have a load of fun cooking, and I hope we will. But we're doing this because the world has gone absolutely arse over teakettle in a couple of weeks. Sometimes, we're going to burn the rice. Sometimes, the coriander will be unavailable. Sometimes, you need a goddam chicken tikka masala that someone else cooked for you.
 | |||
| Prawn siu mai, out of the microwave, with chilli sauce and "naturally wilted" coriander. Note the clotheshorse in the background. It's a design statement, not a household in chaos. Honest. |
I've sworn not to drink every night of the crisis. Weekends only.
(Definitely not Monday to Wednesday, anyway.)
We'll see. But I'm sticking to that for tonight. So I raise a delicious glass of London tap water to us, to future club members, to everyone whose life has turned a bit shit lately, and to the lovely people of Lisbon, who I have never met. Felicidades!
PS The curry was fine. You know how supermarket curries are.
Some nights, you just want someone else to cook... if that's M&S, fair enough...
ReplyDeleteThis is just like the old days: I just wrote out some better ideas for if it's just turnips and beets left, and Blogger Ate The Comment. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteCurry is a great comfort food.
ReplyDeleteAh M&S, how I miss thee! I know it's a cliche for an expat to say they miss M&S, but it's a cliche for a reason - we don't have anything like it over here. A Marks curry on a Friday night when I couldn't be bothered to cook was a regular signal to start the weekend. :)
ReplyDelete