How do you dream up new topics for your diary? I don’t, really. I just wait. This month, inspiration came when I was peeling potatoes. I set out at once to meet you down the lane.
Friends, Linda and Sue, were enjoying their usual midday snack at Soul Stop. “Do you enjoy cooking?” I asked Linda. “I used to, but not so much now. Just enough to keep well. You can tell I’m from the East End, can’t you?” (I certainly could!) “When I had my three children, I loved dishing up the traditional recipes: piping hot pie and mash and bread pudding for afters.” Sue joined in: “My old oven is only used for storage now. I use an air fryer for everything. It’s so much quicker and cheaper and easier than using the electric cooker.”
I was delighted by Peter’s frankness: “I certainly enjoy cooking, when it works. I’ve been known to make some stupid mistakes. I tried out my breadmaker but forgot to put in, of all things, the flour! I try to eat ‘real meals’: real veg, carrots, greens, beans. The guidance from my late wife is not forgotten. When cooking a dish with minced beef and rice, I remember to fry off the onions thoroughly first. I even experiment a bit. I found ‘onion granules in a jar.’ Good time-savers. I haven’t had much luck with chops. I seem to overcook them but they’d never go to waste. Sometimes, I give in and fall back on Charlie Bingham. As for desserts, I’m a sucker for ice cream. Recently, I spotted a small pot of ‘natural fruits’ in the supermarket. They go beautifully with the ice cream. I even followed a recipe from YouTube for ‘a cake for one.’ I was very impressed and sent some feedback to the company and had a lovely reply. From America!”
Clare answered with a definite: “Yes, I do enjoy cooking. When my children were young, I was rushing about, fitting in meals with school hours and all the routines of life with teenagers. Now, I cook with a new friend. A new boyfriend, in fact. He’s very anti pre-made, avoiding high-sugar content. Cooking from scratch; more of a creative process. Of course, being fond of each other does help! We favour Mediterranean-climate dishes, garlic chicken, pan-fried, then roasted in the oven. I’ve never been able to cook steaks but I’m learning. He cuts off any fats and uses that for the frying process. There’s no rush. We eat ‘as and when’. Could be four o’clock. Could be nine.”
Andrew set the scene: “My wife and I are both working full-time and we’ve got three kids, so we share the load. I may be cooking the Christmas lunch or it may be a banana loaf or an apple cake, two of my specialities. When people say they can’t cook, what it really means is they’re too lazy to stay in the kitchen. You’ve got to get engaged, to pay attention to details and timings. You must keep an eye on a joint of beef: do you want rare, medium or well done? I’d really like to master baking, to grasp the importance of correct proportions of ingredients.” Andrew’s wife emerged from Sainsbury’s, confirmed without hesitation his impressively well-ordered cooking methods, but admitted: “I just put a casserole in the oven and assume it’ll be fine.”
In Churchfields park, two 18-year-olds sitting in the shade. They promised to help me get up again if I joined them on the grass. Cooking? Zara favoured: “Quick and easy. Fish and chips in the air fryer. Sometimes, an Indochinese dish, chilli chicken, fried with plenty of chopped peppers and onions and coated with sweet chilli sauce.” Claudia is the youngest of six daughters and doesn’t do enough cooking. (Understandably, I thought.) “But I do like simple, tasty dishes: pasta, for example, cooked and then fried with plenty of garlic and a tin of tuna fish. Another favourite is chicken satay and rice, fried with grated carrots and cheese with an egg or two dropped on top and deliciously mixed in with all the other ingredients.” They kept their promise, helped me up and waved me away across the park. Thank you and good luck, girls, with your A Level results!
It was on one of those boiling hot heatwave days that I sat down for a chat with Graham. “I live alone. I don’t spend much time on cooking. More perhaps in the winter when I enjoy baked potatoes with baked beans and grated cheese, or perhaps pasta with chicken or meatballs. I don’t go in for roast dinners except sometimes I’ll drop in to a Toby Carvery. In the summer, it’s usually salad with prawns or tuna or salmon. Or rice with Thai sweet chilli. Work-wise, I’m in the process of moving from investment banking in the City to childcare here in South Woodford.” (I probably looked surprised). “Not so strange a transition really: from office politics to distressed mums. No doubt I’ll be adapting my cooking accordingly.”
Polly came straight to the point: “I’m a home cook. I cook for my family every night. One old favourite in the winter: spaghetti bolognese. Lots of salads in the summer: Greek salad with feta cheese and olives and cherry tomatoes with a squeeze of lemon. Caesar salad too, with that delicious classic sauce.” Polly passed the baton to her daughter, Milly. “It’s fun! And you’re in control. I make a Mexican dish, a chicken fajita, a wrap, with rice, natural yoghurt, peppers and cucumbers. Sometimes, I find a recipe on TikTok: a Turkish garlic pasta with yoghurt and paprika and butter sauce, or a super recipe for chocolate brownies.” Polly was back: “I love seeing both my daughters busy in the kitchen, becoming more independent.”
When I’m peeling potatoes, I’m enjoying the thought of opening the door to the friends who will be sharing the meal with us.
To contact DD with your thoughts or feedback, email dd@swvg.co.uk
