March | 2023
Lentils, coconut, kimchi, caraway — it's a new edition of spring cleaning the cupboards!
Spring has been edging in backwards. After a remarkably bright, sunny winter, a cloud cover settled in. Ensconced. Immovable. Temperatures hovered and dropped, dampness seeped through every layer. It snowed! A wet, dripping admonition to stay inside and keep the heating on. There was little impulse to sweep cobwebs and throw open windows. But bulbs and trees are blossoming. Crocuses and daffodils, mimosa, camellia — budding magnolia. In the shadiest part of our garden, nettles proliferate. When the sun pierces through, the earth warms, we can feel spring unfurling.
It’s time once again to purge dusty staples in the kitchen. You can find last year’s list here, and these are the things I’ve unearthed now, that need to be used asap.
SEEDS – pumpkin, sunflower, flax, chia, sesame, …
The outlet for all of the seeds had, for a while, been my weekly Truly Easy Seeded Sourdough loaf. But the sourdough starter has been in hibernation for many months now, and the seeds remain unused. So though it is (very nearly) spring, and may be the moment to raise the starter from its slumber, for the time being I have returned to another old habit: Bircher muesli. I tout it as a virtuous breakfast but it perdures because it is also delicious! (Or is it the other way around?)
LENTILS
There is a glass jar full of brown lentils on my shelf, I am not sure since when. Nigel Slater’s Yogurt, wheat, lentil and spinach soup is the meal I’ve been craving on those grey, soggy, not-yet-spring-but-isn’t-it-bound-to-come-soon days. Or for the illusion of sunshine — and no less comforting a dish — I choose mejadra.
CARAWAY
I bookmarked Rachel Roddy’s column of Irina Georgescu’s Apple caraway cake immediately anyway, and as it turns out, I have a jar of caraway seeds that would like to be used up! What I really need is Irina’s book, Tava.
KIMCHI
We always have a jar of kimchi in the fridge, and there is no need of a special incentive to use it up, but I wondered why I’ve not made kimchijeon before. On her website ‘for Korean food lovers,’ Maangchi describes it as something for ‘… a rainy day on the weekend, when a Korean family wants something special and cozy to eat’. Perfect timing?! Her method is full of tips and details.
NUTS
Often lingering since Christmas, there are always many, many nuts. Linda Duffin aka Mrs Portly’s Devilled nuts are exactly what I needed.
SHREDDED COCONUT
There was an unopened bag of shredded coconut, ‘best before’ last summer, but still fragrant when opened. Should I make Anzac biscuits weeks ahead of official Anzac day in April? Or have I just been sidetracked, while looking for ‘coconut recipes’ in some of my favourite sources, into making tapioca pudding with coconut milk — not very useful for using up my shredded coconut, but perfect for the overlooked half bag of tapioca pearls!
WILD GARLIC and THREE-CORNERED LEEK
Speaking of cobwebs, real and metaphorical, the first foraged greens have appeared and I recommend picking or buying them any time they are available, with or without a plan in mind. They provide such a welcome kick after months of potatoes, carrots, and cabbages. Last week I received three-cornered leek from my favourite provider of vegetables, and this week there is a bunch of wild garlic. It could be lightly sautéed and added to burgers or scrambled eggs, folded into a quiche or draped atop a croque monsieur. Made into pesto. The jolt of allium signals it, spring really is coming!
And for anyone still harbouring a doubt, The Boy Who Didn’t Believe in Spring, just discovered thanks to Childrens Books Club, will dispel any last disbelief. Love it!