Murmuration

Now that my kitchen is more or less back to normal (the tray turned up), I can cook properly again.

I cooked some dried red kidney beans and some dried chickpeas separately at the same time in the Instant Pot.

What do you mean that makes no sense? Oh, I see. Ok; imagine a round cake-tin-shaped metal container. Imagine another one stacked on top that acts as the bottom one’s lid. Imagine a flat lid on top of the top one. Imagine the whole lot being clamped shut by a metal wire frame. This contraption allows you to cook more than one thing at a time in a pressure cooker.

For example, I put the red kidney beans (with herbs and water) in one container and the chickpeas (with spices and water) in the other. I clamped them shut and put them in the Instant Pot (with water). Then I set it to cook beans for a while at high pressure.

If you use a pressure cooker to rehydrate dried pulses and legumes, you don’t need to soak them for hours then boil them for ten minutes or more to destroy the toxins; pressure-cooking is enough. (I’ve done it before without ill effect.)

I prepared a casserole with veg, barley and the red kidney beans and bunged it in the microwave to save electricity. The internet said it would take 2–3 minutes. I wasn’t convinced. Upon the beeping, I tested a couple of potatoes with a pointy knife (the one that’s used primarily to open those so-called peel-off film lids); still firm. I put it in for another five and decided it was done enough. It’ll be reheated anyway when we come to eat it, especially as the plan is to add dumplings.

I whipped up a marinade from a tandoori paste in a jar mixed with plain yoghurt. I coated some not-chicken with the marinade and left it in the fridge to marinate.

My normal carrots (organic, which I buy for environmental reasons, not for snobby/elitist reasons), were out of stock the other day when I went shopping, so I got a bag of Perfectly Imperfect carrots instead. The bag was massive, and I wondered what I’d do with all those carrots. Then I realised something: if life gives you carrots, make soup.

I got out the soup machine and started a-peelin’ and a-choppin’.

I had a bowl of it for dinner/lunch with some fluffy white bread. Very nice – tasted of carrots – if a little thick.

Later, a friend picked me up and we went for a walk with a takeaway coffee down the river. The weather was perfect for it: clear skies and bright sunshine, cool but not cold, no wind at all. That’s my favourite weather, and I like to take a walk in it. We had a lovely chat – with a lot of cat-talk – and walk.

The sun started setting beautifully, and a murmuration murmurated over the river banks, mesmerising us. It was dark by the time my friend dropped me off at home.

I made a curry using a tube of medium paste. I used my newly bought pilau rice spice to make pilau rice. I was amazed at how much they said to use: one tablespoon per serving. When it was cooked, it looked burnt; but I tasted it; it didn’t taste burnt, so it must have been the spices making it look burnt.

I served the rice and the curry with the tandoori not-chicken that I’d grilled in the microwave – the instructions on the jar said to grill it – and some of Geeta’s pickles and chutneys and some raita – cunningly disguised as tzatziki – with mini poppadoms.