Developing my Culinary Skills

My blog posts are generally about races or specific runs that I've done, but as Coronavirus has brought most of the world to an effective standstill, cancelling all races and causing differing degrees of lockdown, there isn't much that I can write about along those lines. 

I am in a slightly different situation to many other people in that I'm not "locked down" at home....in fact I could hardly be further away from my house in Dumfries, as I was in Australia when everything really kicked off....and with a rapidity that took most of us by surprise. I had come over here for a holiday of a few weeks to take in the 6 Foot Track Marathon (well 45K) race and visit family and friends, but my flight home was then cancelled and so I am still here. 

Chicken curry, dhal,
feta & veggie pie, feta/veg cases

Initially I was splitting my time between family on the Central Coast and friends in Sydney, but as the rules quickly tightened up, it became apparent that that was no longer possible. Although my relatives are very fit, they are in their 70s, and government guidelines were that they should be socially isolated....and as I have a different surname to them and nothing to prove we are related, I did not want to risk them getting fined for me staying there, or to increase the chance of introducing/spreading any infection. This meant that I relocated to Sydney full time, staying with a friend in his top floor flat.

I am used to living alone in a decent sized house with a garden, so this was already a big change for me, but when he had to work from home and his children homeschool, life became even more interesting in a small space. There is only so much Netflix you can watch sitting on your bed, and trying to keep your brain active with medical podcasts/online learning isn't easy when your phone screen is rather small (no, I didn't bring my laptop with me, as I was just coming here for a few weeks' holiday). 

Salmon, dill & pepper, zrazy,
spinach/feta pie, halloumi skewres

Luckily, we have not been confined indoors so I have managed to get out on a few runs and occasionally on my bike (before an accident put paid to exercise for a wee while), and even managed a couple of sea swims.....before it got too cold and the risk of hypothermia too great! The saving grace for me has been that cafes have remained open for takeaways, so I could go out every day for coffee and cake (I've now discovered how delicious....and addictive....almond croissants are!!) and have them sitting on a wall in the sun, and there has been no restriction in going to the supermarkets (as long as you were spaced out in the aisles and and the checkouts, and used the hand sanitiser when entering/leaving the premises). 

Meatballs, salmon/egg "muffins",
frittata, beetroot/egg parcels 

There was initially some random panic purchasing of toilet roll, hand sanitiser and soap.....but not much that affected my latest challenge....to improve my cooking skills. Ok, so occasionally I would find no frozen spinach, or no loaf pans, but generally supplies were good. The kitchen became my domain as I challenged myself to come up with lots of new dishes, cooking them from scratch, and trying to cater to all tastes - both creating treats to encourage the kids to do their schoolwork, and cooking for someone that doesn't eat carbs. 

It has been stressful at times (like when you all walk through the door and one of the kids wants to know if dinner is ready there and then, or when they suddenly demand meatballs which you've never made in your life) but it has also been empowering to realise that I can cook and make some of these dishes if I set my mind to it. I have even started sharing some of successful recipes....especially the one when I used crushed rice crispies instead of flour (in sympathy with British friends who couldn't get flour in the shops) to make cookies.....so although some of the pictures might not do the food justice I thought I'd share some of them!

Savoury-wise my curries seem the most popular (both chicken and pumpkin), but I've also made meatballs from scratch, ragu (and hence both lasagne and spag bol), zrazy, leek & ham au gratin, chilli, tuna & chickpea patties, tomato & chill couscous, salmon with re peppers and lentils, dhal, black bean and salmon salad, frittata, chicken parmegiana, beetroot and feta parcels, smoked salmon and egg "muffins", spinach and feta pie, pizzas, vegetable pie, garlic bread, halloumi skewers and various variations on the above.

Choc crispies, banana bread,
choc chip cookies, carrot cake

Sweet-wise the kids (including the one who "doesn't have a sweet tooth") keep asking me to make more banana bread (their version as I also make a low carb version for that specific dietary request), more gooey chocolate chip cookies, more carrot cake and more carrot cookies. The only thing I can make that I get to eat more of than them is when I put dates in my scones rather than chocolate chips (note to self...make more things with dates in). Cakes are another treat to make (especially as I still love "licking the bowl" after cooking no matter how old I am) so new ones are pear/walnut/cardamom cake and lemon drizzle cake. 

Carrot cookies, lemon drizzle cake,
pear/cardamom cake, low-carb banana bread

I already knew some differences in names of food stuffs, so I roast "capsicums" rather than red peppers, but there has also been a gradual learning experience, eg Rice Crispies are called Rice Bubbles so the "chocolate crispies" I made were called "chocolate crackles". Some names changes are not actually real name changes but secret ways of getting things eaten, eg if you refer to courgette/zucchini as cucumber is is eaten with no complaints as "cucumber is nice, zucchini is nasty"!! The only problem for me is that when I can finally work again, I think I'll miss having so much time to create culinary masterpieces (luckily I can call them that as you cannot taste things on a blog!!)!!