We All Fail Sometimes
not sure about you, but i fail everyday –
At least those small things which feel like tiny failures and then accumulate – but are actually just part of being human. Forgetting an umbrella, spending too much on groceries, over-salting the beans, undercooking a chicken, making a mistake at work, drinking too much on a weeknight. Sometimes it escalates, and I sit there prickling with emotion.
Of course, the usual response to something like this is to say, even if you think you’re failing – it only makes you stronger. Sure, I could say that, if I was like… a therapist. But obviously I’m not and I enjoy a good wallow and getting annoyed at myself and the occasional shower cry. That’s human. That’s ok. Sometimes I DO over-salt the beans and it DOES feel like a failure. Because when you’re cooking to bring some joy into your life, the sky is miserable, you’ve been stuck inside and you’ve got the winter blues, knowing you’ve made a bowl of great beans can really brighten your mood. So it sucks when you get it wrong.
I mean, I also fail at bigger life things – like not saving enough money to pay my tax bill (because I bought a MADE.com sofa instead. No regrets). Well, that’s the main one. It's going to be a lean few months.
But as the cliché goes, without the lows, the highs wouldn’t feel as sweet. Things like good feedback on a project (yeah, words of affirmation is my love language, tell me something sweet); nailing a winter salad (delicata squash for the win); not killing your plants (they’re still green!); getting the perfect Christmas gift for someone (I still missed the delivery twice); paying your phone bill on time (O2’s fave customer, surely). Et cetera.
As I write this, it’s raining and dark and I think that’s making me sound more gloomy than I deserve to be. Restaurants are back. Substantial meals will be eaten. I’ll neck a few Guinnesses. A few scotch eggs, of course. Maybe a negroni too. And that pot of beans that I didn’t over-salt. Soft scrambled eggs. Basmati rice cooked in homemade stock. I’ll return twenty jars to my mum at home and come back with kimchi for the rest of the year. All will be well.
Here’s to the failures that make the wins taste even better,
Cat
PS: as I write this post-script some two days later, the sun is shining, I've just cooked the most perfect boiled eggs, toasted my new fave wholemeal bread (s/o Allinson’s) and I’m listening to Night Moves dreaming of . So compared to those lows, this feels very, very good. Dipping in and out of them like a buttered piece of toast dunks into a 6 minute egg (the optimum boiling time, IMHO).
i think i love red cabbage
I never thought I'd say this, but I think I'm having a love affair with red cabbage. Not that I've ever had a problem with the vegetable, it's just not something I've ever thought twice about it. But after much debating one Saturday about what to cook (veggie cottage pie), we stopped by the supermarché and were immediately drawn to its purple hues.
The best thing about red cabbage is that it lasts forever and is wonderfully versatile. Think quick pickled with ACV, shredded raw with apple and fennel or cooked up with soy sauce and sesame seeds.
This is a recipe for those evenings after work when you've necked a couple of wines and therefore can't be bothered to cook an elaborate meal because you're a little bit pissed and you've got hunger pangs and just want to watch Small Axe on iPlayer. It does require you having already cooked up a pot of beans, but honestly it's something I recommend you do just so you have something in your fridge (alternatively chickpeas cooked down in some stock with a bit of lemon rind, rosemary, thyme, crushed garlic and chilli flakes works a treat too).
Grab a cup of basmati rice (the KING of rices – all nutty and more-ish), pop it in a non-stick pan with a little stock and enough water to cover it plus about 1cm. Pop the lid on and put the heat on high until it starts to boil, then turn it down to medium (but keep the lid on).
Heat up your beans (or chickepas) in a separate pan. Chop up some red cabbage (I usually cut it in half then place it face down, slicing thinly from right to left) and a couple of spring onions. Add to wider pan (either cast iron or non-stick) with 1/2 tbsp oil (I use sunflower), 1 tsp vinegar (white wine/ACV) and 1 tbsp soy sauce. Let it heat it up on a medium heat with a lid (or plate) on.
Check on your rice (usually takes about 15 mins). Just as it's about to finish up, add some tender stem broccoli on top then let pop the lid back on so the brocc steams on top of the rice and captures some of that nutty, stocky goodness. Once it's done add it to the cabbage and give it a toss.
Serve the cabbage and broccoli with a sprinkling of sesame seeds and if you've got them, some IKEA fried onions because the honestly make everything better. Sometimes I pop some frozen peas in the rice too, because peas are life. Add a drizzle of good olive oil to the beans and top with some dill or fennel fronds. Enjoy knowing that this probably only took you 25 minutes to cook and now you can lie in bed watching Made In Chelsea (guilty).
food stories.
– The perfect mix of food, music and writing collide in Leanne Shapton's Joni Mitchell inspired piece for WePresent
– As an avid Modern Love fan, I devoured this story about Rebecca Bohman's late night love affair with a Michelin-starred chef
– For fellow salt fiends, this is a great piece from The New York Times about where that wonderful French salt comes from (Île de Ré)
gifts for food lovers (or maybe just you?)
Support Black owned businesses, like Naked Clay Ceramics – buy any one of Carla’s amazing handle-glazed mugs which are perfectly sized for coffee (x four), tiny vases for wildflowers and bowls that will be holding all my Christmas nuts. Not a euphemism.
I’ll also be thumbing the pages of In Bibi’s Kitchen, a new cookbook by Hawa Hassan and Julia Turshen who share recipes from bibis (grandmothers) in eight African countries. Ultimate comfort food.
I would be happy with a Donabe Clay Pot or any number of Japanese knives from Notting Hill independent Native & Co.
My wonderful sculptor friend Lucy Page makes the most amazing bowls – orders are up for Christmas, but who said you can't give gifts in January? I'll talk about Heather Scott's wooden plates until I die, but also I recently got a spatula from her and it's revolutionised my scrambled eggs.
As soon as they launch, would recommend sending the recipe box of dreams from On The Table – think spatchcock chicken, hassleback potatoes with creamy stracciatella and Galician octopus and glossy pasta studded with crab. Or maybe treat yourself to a full set of tableware from Monoware?
leftovers.
Thanks to those of you who sent emails about vegetables and cans you don't know what to do with. I'm attempting to do these in a quick and simple way (not my usual MO).
Becky, I see your grapple with that tin of cannellini beans and raise you a white bean stew: pop your beans (juice and all) into a heavy-bottomed pan with a few cups of stock, 2 crushed garlic cloves, a pinch of chilli flakes, a sprig of rosemary and thyme, a pinch of salt and pepper and the rind of half a lemon. Pop the lid on and let it all come together for about 30 minutes. You could mash them up and pop them on toast, serve it alongside roast chicken or use it in this week's recipe. I've said it before and I'll say it again: beans forever.
Rach, what to do with your courgettes and kale? I'd eat up that kale raw and pop it in a salad, massage it with tahini and serve it with beans (see above), fresh curls of parmesan and toasted hazelnuts. My fave courgette recipe is to fry them in lots of oil with crush garlic really low and slow, then add them to yoghurt while they're still warm and pour pools of olive oil with lots of salt and pepper. Great with bread. Great with potatoes. Great with grains.
Victoria – let me say, raw fennel shaved in salads like you said you do is a massive thumbs up from me. A lot of people like fennel roasted and braised – I personally think it takes something away from the lovely crunch. If I'm not adding it raw to something green, I'm lightly sautéeing it in some oil with chilli flakes, fennel seeds (go with me here) and loads of lemon zest. Then add some grains (cooked pearl barley works really nicely) and fry it all up. Add a few more chickpeas (really on the bean train this week) and serve with aubergine that's been thinly sliced and roasted in what feels like too much oil (it isn't) and top with a tahini drizzle (tahini, water, lemon juice, salt, olive oil).
and if you like what I'm putting down?
Tell your friends! Tell your family! Tell your lovers!