Perspective

 Well, I think it's fair to say the "staying at home worried about a virus is hard" narrative has been quite disrupted, hasn't it? I feel almost embarrassed to be posting, given all the Bigger Things going on out there. But although (touch wood, spit three times, hold thumbs) the pandemic seems to be in a quietening phase, and quite a few touches of normal, times are still not normal. At least, I bloody hope this isn't normal. And it's still a difficult and worrying time, and there's even less than we can do about things now. Apart from hooshing money at causes that look worthwhile (#ConfinedCocktails revealed this less-than-selfless way to give to Ukrainian charities and to get cocktails back, which seems worth a go).

We're at very nearly two years of Confined. I've done my third go-round of an annual lecture to archive students that in March 2020 was the first event I ever did online (I think it was a bit later in the month then, but still). It was meant to be in person this time, but the Tube strike and various illnesses got in the way, as indeed various illnesses have got in the way of several things recently. Maybe that's normality? I have forgotten. 

Anyway. I cooked some stuff. Last month's extremely broad Middle Eastern/Med cookery will give way in March to French cooking which (touch wood, spit three times, hold thumbs) I will top off by going to Paris before the month ends. Je mangerai sans doute surtout dans ma chambre, comme less picque-nicques-hoteliers de l'antan, but even supermarket trips are more fun in Foreign. But for now, there's sumac and pom molasses in everything. 

Sticky pomegranate sumac chicken, one of those easy thighs/marinade/oven for a bit recipes I very often put on my list, and find easy to bump for something either fancier (I love a challenge!) or much more basic (marinading? Pffft). But it's a good dinner for a well-regulated day.

With roasted spuds because some days you have spare spuds. I'm not sure why I took the photo, but they look nice enough.

For meat week I managed to schedule two remarkably similar dishes - this one rare lamb nexk with pomegranate-balsamic dressing from Persiana. (The second is the very satisfying steak-bread-onion one pot thing from Honey & Co, which is perfect for treating yourself and perhaps one other with minimal effort.)

Yes, I made a splodge. This is smooshed carrots from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen...

...served with yoghurt and some kind of coriander dressing that I made up because I couldn't be bothered to do the proper one involving a blender. It's been that kind of week. (Month. Year.)

And I topped it off with another Ottolenghi - leek and beef "meatballs" that are a) hideous and b) definitely burgers. They do involve pleasingly steaming leeks till soft and then blitzing them, when they turn to mulch wonderfully fast.

 

You cook them in some stock, and it makes them look even more hideous. Imagine trying to eat these in pita bread with yoghurt, and you will understand why I didn't take any more photos.

Anyway. It's been a fairly good month's cooking, albeit rather tired and squished among other things. It's not the most important thing in the world, but it's occasionally keeping me interested. And posting here is a reminder that it's okay to know there are bigger things in the world, but that doesn't mean everything at home is magically fixed. Let us live in much more tedious times. Please.