Kitchen catch up

I had great plans for finding the silver lining in the grim culinary situation of not having a kitchen, by cheerily posting all my endeavours to eat well for the duration of my building work.  I soon realised that a summary would suffice, so here it is:

• Lidl does the best, cheap ready meals. The red Thai curry stood up the best and, just as I was getting thoroughly fed up with chicken in every meal, they started making a vegetarian bean chilli.
• Pots of fruit in juice, and small tins of sweetcorn became store cupboard essentials for preventing scurvy.
• Coffee in bags does. Not. Cut. It.
• Only a very good friend would think to post a big box of kabuto noodles, in every flavour.  Praise be for HG.

The building work was delayed from starting for some months and, thinking I would need something to cheer me if it was further delayed over the Spring, I booked onto a course called 'Self care with food and herbs'.  One evening each wintry month I headed to West London to meet the most wonderful group of people and our inspiring teacher.  We drank infusions, made a decoction, smelt, tasted, squeezed, looked and ate. We made tinctures, balms, sprays, talked about sleep disorders, digestive soothers and walked around the garden, munching ground elder.

Though I was in a kind of shut-down mode with my kitchen packed away, these sessions made me come out of hibernation.  My lunchtime meals changed to include the best I could manage in a work-kitchen: my favourite was beluga lentils, with smoked mackerel, lovely bitter, red chicory, beetroot and handfuls of any other salad veg that was easy to store, wash and chop.  Though it just sounds delicious, and filling, the ingredients are carefully chosen to have stimulating bitters, pulses for gut health, lots of oils and dark colours.  I don't want to get all Helmsley on yo' ass but it was a very good time to be reminded to look after myself.  And I got through winter without so much as a cold!

This has been my trusty 'kitchen' for about 20 weeks:




The building work is mostly complete - and even the ill-fated, Velfacking windows are finally here - so today I am taking delivery of an oven and fridge.  Week 20 and very soon I might be able to make a meal again!