A Capsule Collection Of Dishes

Change is good. But is it always the arbiter of personal growth?

Food For Thought.

What’s the opposite of the word ‘change’? In one corner you have inactivity, stagnancy, inertia, all antonyms with slightly negative connotations. I prefer sustains, prevails, persists and my favourite: lingers.

The reason the idea of ‘changing’ has become a sticking point is that we’ve become attached to the belief that change will make things better. That change is interchangeable with improvement. But isn’t change – as a noun, as a concept – just a way of doing things a little differently?

We’re conditioned to want to change. To constantly improve upon things (this must be the reason I spent two hours updating my laptop OS last night – the novelty of a freshly designed menu bar). Change is the foundation of optimisation. A familiar notion that fuels hyper-productivity. We compare the minutiae of our lives in such microscopic detail, that the thought of staying the same – of not becoming more like that person or living that life – feels anathema to our very reason for living.

Of course, big change is necessary on a global scale, from environmental causes to social equality. But on a personal level, do we need to be so obsessed with changing? What if we just persisted? Stayed the same? Lingered in our own lives for a bit?

I used to spend my life looking for ways to upgrade every part of my life, whether that was the way I dressed or the meals I cooked. Perhaps when I was in my 20s, sudden, drastic moves were necessary as a way of forcing me to reckon with myself. A move to Cornwall. A salaried job. Quitting my job. Moving into a shed. Moving to India, then Sri Lanka, then California, then Central America. Then back to the shed. Then back to Central America. To become a yoga teacher. Then back to Cornwall. Then to London (where I’ve remained for the past three years).

Those were necessary changes that definitely contributed to my slightly more adult sense of calm that I feel now. Now, I prefer the idea of slow growth. Of little adjustments rather than huge changes. I cook the same meals because they’re a comfort to me. I tweak my roast chicken recipes. I fine-tune the amount of time it takes to cook rice. I switch up the kind of eggs I have in the morning, or where I buy my bread, or where I enjoy those jammy, orange-hued yolks. Because I’d rather have a capsule collection of dishes, than a superstore of ingredients. Some call it a play-it-safe mentality – but for me, I see myself growing more in that comfort zone.

Change is good. When it’s necessary. But often, I think we change for the sake of changing. We believe that personal growth can only come from these giant leaps. When really it’s the small steps that count the most. Tweak. Adjust. Linger. Maybe you’ll start to notice a shift.

Recipes-not-recipes™️

PSA: It’s Officially Winter Salad + Rice Bowl Season

I’m officially declaring 2022 as the year of the salad. Not the limp side pieces that make you feel utterly depressed. The jewel toned crunchy seductresses tarted up in a slick dressing. Maybe topped with cardamom granola à la Stoney Street (see above). Definitely with cheese generously showered on top (ricotta salata is the new parm). Thinly sliced raw fennel or cabbage as an alt-salad leaf? 100%. Clementines as a miso dressing like Koya does? Of course. Why wouldn’t you. The options are endless. Roast a pumpkin on Sunday (Crown! Prince! Squash!) – lots of olive oil, salt and chilli flakes, covered with foil for about 45 minutes until super tender. Whip some ricotta with lemon zest, olive oil, salt and lots of chopped herbs (chives/basil/oregano), spoon and spread it onto the bottom of the plate. Dress some leaves with a mustard honey dressing (1 part mustard, 1 part honey, 2 parts white wine vinegar, 3 parts olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice then salts + peps – keep it in a jar for next time). Maybe warm up some jarred beans with some chopped cavalo nero. Plate pumpkin on the ricotta, then the leaves, then the beans, then some garlicky sourdough croutons blitzed up, maybe a showering of parm.

An alternative recipe-not-recipe because there were a few questions about this 👆🏽 orange + green colour scheme situation, which was entirely accidental. You’re going to want to cook some white rice (my tips: soak for a few hours, rinse, then use a 1 to 1.1 ration (e.g. 1 cup of rice to 1.1 cups of water; then add a little salt, some sesame oil and some snipped up spring onions; cook in a pot with the lid on, low-medium heat – I use a donabe – for about 20/25 mins, then let it rest for another 15). While that’s cooking, shave some carrot and cukes using a peeler (or just slice them super thin) then quick pickle them in a couple of tablespoons of white wine/rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, salt, lemon juice and some soy sauce, until the rice is ready to serve. Add sesame seeds for some crunch. Fry a nice and large egg (Cacklebeans! Burford Browns! For that orange-hued yolk) in a non-stick pan in lots of olive oil. I popped a lid on so it kind of steamed the top. Slice half an avo (but not your hand). Arrange artfully in a large bowl. The rice needs a nice dousing of soy sauce, sesame oil and seeds with some extra snips of green onion. Pickled cukes and carrots go on one side, then avo with some salt, then the fried egg. I drizzled a load of White Mausu black bean rayu on top for a little chilli kick. It’s honestly a perfect Tuesday night bowl (Shopé, if you’re reading this, it’s a true #lonerbowl recipe).

Leftovers.

1. A little interview with me for Monoware on setting the table, food nostalgia and my most coveted ordinary object in the kitchen.

2. The playful precision in Sophia Roe’s plating is so soothing – here’s a roasted carrot number that’s been living rent free in my mind all week

3. Will be making Ottolenghi’s deconstructed sausage lasagne and contemplating Chinese New Years celebrations thanks to Amy Poon’s recipes

4. Admittedly I’m a sucker for extremely millennial DTC branding (only when the product is actually good). Just patiently waiting for Inka food container sets to drop in the UK.

5. The aforementioned winter leaf salad from Koya

6. Very excited to try some modern West African cooking at Chishuru in Brixton Village

7. Helen Lewis wrote about this FT ‘Let’s Do Lunch’ piece in her newsletter – it’s very good and has a great plot twist.

8. I went to The Fife Arms for The Modern House’s sister brand Inigo – what a treat – and feasted on beef wellington, lots of tatties and much whiskey as a result. Here’s a link to my review.

9. Last night I watched The Alpinist, a really interesting documentary following a Canadian mountain climber called Marc-André Leclerc (another one with a plot twist).

10. How Nothingness Became Everything We Wanted from The New York Times. A little depressing, but kind of true.