I've been reading slumpy posts, while slumping myself. Marathon not a sprint, my arse. You don't take two months for a marathon. Ugh. It's more like one of those long endurance things like round the world sailing, when you have the same basic space and companions (or not) for months and months. I've always wondered why people opt for that. I have come to no enlightenment.
Slumping in the kitchen is understandable, of course. As we've said here many times, 21 meals a week is a hell of a lot more than most of us plan, and the lack of spontaneous joy is a bit wearing. And some days a big production cookery number isn't *at all* what you fancy doing.
I've been a bit that way this week, and the things I've been enjoying have been little sidey things, quick to make, tasty and extra. None of these comes from Ed Smith's On the Side, which is the only recipe book I know about sides, but it's him that made me think about this.
First: whipped feta. One of the easiest of dips, and stretches one pack of feta for several meals. Literally just mix feta with yoghurt - I used about 100ml of plain yoghurt to a feta block, but I could have doubled it if I'd needed to stretch a lot. This time with lemon zest and a squeeze of juice, but I've done it before with toasted coriander seeds. Dip with veg and/or bread. Or both, as illustrated:
Then, meat and potatoes - I had pork chops in the freezer and small potatoes to boil and it's all fine, but it's not interesting. And given that dinner is about the most likely source of interesting in my life at the moment, meh.
So, sauce. It was going to be a mojo verde, but I have spare yoghurt and the helpful 'random sauces' page in Diana Henry's Simple had a green herb yoghurt immediately above. This is a splodge of the two: parsley, coriander, little bit of mint, garlic, yoghurt, lemon, vinegar for safety, ground cumin, ground coriander. Whizz till liquid. It's tasty with potatoes as well as meat, and would take a decent amount of messing with proportions.
And veg: courgettes in my standard chunk and braise fashion (10 mins, in cubes, splash of water, splash of oil), add parsley near the end, and then just mix in a handful of chopped cherry tomatoes and a lemon squeeze while it's still warm [try not to exhaust your lemon at this point, you'll have to put vinegar in your sauce]. Not much of a hack, but more cheering than just the green gloop.
Just cheering enough on this warm, warm, polleny day. Now for some fruit.
Slumping in the kitchen is understandable, of course. As we've said here many times, 21 meals a week is a hell of a lot more than most of us plan, and the lack of spontaneous joy is a bit wearing. And some days a big production cookery number isn't *at all* what you fancy doing.
I've been a bit that way this week, and the things I've been enjoying have been little sidey things, quick to make, tasty and extra. None of these comes from Ed Smith's On the Side, which is the only recipe book I know about sides, but it's him that made me think about this.
First: whipped feta. One of the easiest of dips, and stretches one pack of feta for several meals. Literally just mix feta with yoghurt - I used about 100ml of plain yoghurt to a feta block, but I could have doubled it if I'd needed to stretch a lot. This time with lemon zest and a squeeze of juice, but I've done it before with toasted coriander seeds. Dip with veg and/or bread. Or both, as illustrated:
Then, meat and potatoes - I had pork chops in the freezer and small potatoes to boil and it's all fine, but it's not interesting. And given that dinner is about the most likely source of interesting in my life at the moment, meh.
So, sauce. It was going to be a mojo verde, but I have spare yoghurt and the helpful 'random sauces' page in Diana Henry's Simple had a green herb yoghurt immediately above. This is a splodge of the two: parsley, coriander, little bit of mint, garlic, yoghurt, lemon, vinegar for safety, ground cumin, ground coriander. Whizz till liquid. It's tasty with potatoes as well as meat, and would take a decent amount of messing with proportions.
And veg: courgettes in my standard chunk and braise fashion (10 mins, in cubes, splash of water, splash of oil), add parsley near the end, and then just mix in a handful of chopped cherry tomatoes and a lemon squeeze while it's still warm [try not to exhaust your lemon at this point, you'll have to put vinegar in your sauce]. Not much of a hack, but more cheering than just the green gloop.
Just cheering enough on this warm, warm, polleny day. Now for some fruit.
I like having meals which are lots of different little dishes/sides put together, so I like this approach. Husband prefers a 'proper' meal, or I'd do it more often...
ReplyDeleteI love nibbly meals, but they are such a faff for one. So sauce for plain stuff plus a vaguely interesting side is about my level.
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