I started to write this before the lockdown, before the pandemic, the panic buying, the upsurge of home bakers and new home cooks, clearing the shelves, invading the internet, sweeping the supermarkets more effectively than Rylan has ever witnessed. Some of the shopping and cooking dynamics have changed, society has changed, daily life has changed; for good, for bad, forever? Who knows?
But even so, most of this still applies, so in many ways, life goes on as normal and we have to cling to familiarity where we can.
Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard was notable for being bare. For most of us, this is not something we have to face, but for those on low incomes, living in poverty, it is a daily reality.
Food banks offer temporary respite, but it is shameful that in a country comfortably within the world's top ten economies that there should be a need for these.
It should be the right of everyone to eat well; food should be more than staving off hunger, it should nourish the soul as well as the body. Jack Monroe, who has experienced poverty and hunger, has written some stunning books which set a new benchmark for the "cooking on a budget" theme. There is no pride in poverty, but there ought to be dignity.
If you have enough to eat, be grateful, be generous, challenge and question those in power. The Trussell Trust website will point you in the right direction.
But for the rest of us, the notion of having nothing to eat is the culinary equivalent to claiming we have nothing to wear; standing in front of the kitchen cupboards is like facing the black hole, rimmed with indecision and a complete lack of initiative and imagination, that sits between you and the overstuffed wardrobe.
What we really mean is that our minds cannot translate the shelves of ingredients into the coherence of a meal. Personally, I love the challenge of a fridge forage and a pantry purge, scooping up anything to hand and creating something from a seemingly disparate and desperate collection of bits and bobs. Even so, "wait and see", is a handy answer when the reaction to a casual enquiry about the day's dinner results in brain freezing panic.
Perhaps the prevalence of these culinary mental blocks one of the reasons why Ready Steady Cook is so popular. So popular, in fact, that it returned to our screens recently, fronted by the irrespressible Rylan Clark-Neal, two mentions in one post! - with new chefs, including our friend Romy Gill.
And another source of inspiration is Nigel Slater - in particular we love his Greenfeast books, which list the recipes by no more than 3 principal ingredients.
And if you are struggling with what you have in the cupboard, you can head over to Gemma Wade on Instagram who is full of ideas and advice.
Or write to us at sales@nethgerton-foundry.co.uk and we will see what we can come up with.
Stay safe, keep well, stay positive.
Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2020 ©
