Lockdown
Strange times. A month ago, life seemed so ordinary, then literally within in days, a nervous cough and everyone turns and stares. My morning commute became a ghost train then almost overnight, the daily 2 hour journey morphed into a pyjama clad descent down my own stairs, working from home the new office. It took a few days to slow down from the frenetic fast pace of modern life but two weeks in and new habits are forming. The TV news talks of armageddon but unperturbed by the sense of doom, Spring slips in unseen. Seeds uncurl, flowers bloom, insects wake from their slumber and birds fill the mornings with their song.
As the virus spreads leaving the house is strongly discouraged, if not yet totally forbidden. Shops have been stripped bare of essentials, flour and eggs are more rare than gold. Even online shopping is impossible, every delivery slot taken for months. My plans for a vegetable plot in the garden were fortuitous, we'll have supplies to keep us going if the lockdown gets worse.
The broad beans I planted in February are now sturdy plants, itching to burst from their loo roll containers. Joining them in front of the window are trays of pea seedlings, their shoots will be an early salad and numerous recycled paper pots sown with sweet pea and sunflowers. Sadly, the pandemic delayed my delivery of soil for the raised beds, so my eager babies may need to be a little patient yet before they venture outside.
Despite the anxiety and worry, perhaps it is good to have time to think, to take stock and make do with what we have. When we come out the other side I hope it will be a kinder and less complacent world.
With supplies limited I've been even more careful in using up what we have. A box of way past their best homegrown parsnips became a feast with a bit of imagination. Proof that nothing isn't improved by spices and a frying pan. With eggs so scarce, I used a vegan style 'egg', a spoonful of long forgotten psyllium husks with water which worked surprisingly well. A recipe to use when panic buying has emptied the shelves.
4-5 parsnips, cored and grated
1 large carrot, grated
handful of leftover cooked potatoes (optional)
1 shallot, sliced
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 green chilli, chopped
1 tsp kalonji seeds
1 tbsp ground flax seed/psyllium husk
good pinch of salt
vegetable oil for frying
Mix the flax seed/psyllium husk in a few tablespoons of water into a loose paste and set aside. Mix together all the other ingredients. Check the flax seed/psyllium husk mix, it should be gloopy and glue like, then mix into the other ingredients and leave for another minute or two. Heat the oil in a large pan, then take small handfuls of the veg mix and squeeze into a ball and flatten slightly before placing in the pan. You should get 4-6 fritters. Leave for a few minutes before turning, then repeat. Perfect squashed into pitta breads with salad and mayo or chilli sauce. Easy to reheat in the oven or freeze too.
As the virus spreads leaving the house is strongly discouraged, if not yet totally forbidden. Shops have been stripped bare of essentials, flour and eggs are more rare than gold. Even online shopping is impossible, every delivery slot taken for months. My plans for a vegetable plot in the garden were fortuitous, we'll have supplies to keep us going if the lockdown gets worse.
The broad beans I planted in February are now sturdy plants, itching to burst from their loo roll containers. Joining them in front of the window are trays of pea seedlings, their shoots will be an early salad and numerous recycled paper pots sown with sweet pea and sunflowers. Sadly, the pandemic delayed my delivery of soil for the raised beds, so my eager babies may need to be a little patient yet before they venture outside.
Despite the anxiety and worry, perhaps it is good to have time to think, to take stock and make do with what we have. When we come out the other side I hope it will be a kinder and less complacent world.
“There is more to life than increasing its speed.”Mahatma Gandhi
With supplies limited I've been even more careful in using up what we have. A box of way past their best homegrown parsnips became a feast with a bit of imagination. Proof that nothing isn't improved by spices and a frying pan. With eggs so scarce, I used a vegan style 'egg', a spoonful of long forgotten psyllium husks with water which worked surprisingly well. A recipe to use when panic buying has emptied the shelves.
Vegan egg-free root vegetable fritters (serves 2 with leftovers)
4-5 parsnips, cored and grated
1 large carrot, grated
handful of leftover cooked potatoes (optional)
1 shallot, sliced
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 green chilli, chopped
1 tsp kalonji seeds
1 tbsp ground flax seed/psyllium husk
good pinch of salt
vegetable oil for frying
Mix the flax seed/psyllium husk in a few tablespoons of water into a loose paste and set aside. Mix together all the other ingredients. Check the flax seed/psyllium husk mix, it should be gloopy and glue like, then mix into the other ingredients and leave for another minute or two. Heat the oil in a large pan, then take small handfuls of the veg mix and squeeze into a ball and flatten slightly before placing in the pan. You should get 4-6 fritters. Leave for a few minutes before turning, then repeat. Perfect squashed into pitta breads with salad and mayo or chilli sauce. Easy to reheat in the oven or freeze too.
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