My fall back food is always Macaroni & Cheese. I always have pasta, cheese, flour and milk in the house so when I am at a loss for what to eat (or just need to be indulged), this is where I turn.
I am a coffee snob. I have several coffees from several countries on the go for my percolator, but I always keep a standard breakfast blend for when I’m feeling creative. Whether it be cracked cardamom pods for a Turkish coffee or some cinnamon during the winter, I go into a panic when I’m low on coffee.
I recently decluttered my Kitchen. I was so sick of having to fumble around looking for my favourite peeler or a decent scissors. I donated or gave away anything I hadn’t used in 6 months. I feel a lot calmer and clearer in my Kitchen now.
I make my own vegetarian mince with chestnut mushrooms. I just blitz up a pack of mushrooms until they resemble a rubbly mince (below) and then keep it in the fridge. This then will give me the meaty basis for tacos, a chili or a Bolognese.
I’m very particular with how I layer things on toast. More habit than recipe. I can’t mix up the salt and pepper, for some reason. So for instance, if I was to have cream cheese and avocado on a bagel, I will only put pepper on the cheese and then salt on the avocado. No idea why. That’s just the way it is.
I have a weird obsession with Wonder Woman items. As I discussed the other month with Bionic Iconic, I love the Wonder Woman brand (despite having never read the comic or seen the TV show!) but I have a plethora of it’s merchandise, from notebooks and aprons to coasters and pens. My favourite mug is my Wonder Woman mug.
I have a Waste Bowl every time I cook. This means before I cook, I put an empty bowl next to my chopping area and anytime I need to throw away something (carrot peeling, onion skin, packaging etc) I throw it in the bowl and at the end of cooking, throw all of it in the bin. This saves me from having to go back and forth to the bin as I cook.
I make no secret of the fact I snack while I cook. I usually snack on digestive biscuits but lately I’ve been taken to Salt & Pepper Crackers with peanut butter on it. In addition to a beer that has to be so cold your head will crack.
I haven’t bought a shop-made hummus for 3 years. Why bother when you can literally make your own in like… 5 minutes? And you can vary it every time you catch a craving. I made one recently with chickpeas, sundried tomatoes, sesame oil and a little garlic and it was delicious.
I don’t peel my potatoes when I mash them. It’s because I’m lazy. It still tastes great. I call it ‘Dirty Mash’, though.
A tortilla is a Kitchen lifesaver. I will never be without tortillas. They have saved my life on countless occasions whether this be gently oiling them and baking them on a low heat for 15 minutes to make tortilla chips, or throwing last night’s leftovers on it to make a wrap – they are the heroes of the food world.
My favourite Kitchen chore is chopping. Peeling is my least favourite, but I do get a weird mindful satisfaction from slicing vegetables. It’s a meditative state. I find it very calming.
I have a strict ‘If I can’t see it, I don’t use it’ policy. This is why I only keep pans, mugs and cutlery in my cupboards and keep my ingredients on one visible unit. I don’t like to stash away ingredients because I’m ridiculously forgetful and don’t want to come across a moth eaten bag of garlic someday. I want everything where I can see so that it can be used. It also helps me visualise my cooking as well as stop me from excess buying.
MIKEY AND THE KITCHEN. 