Delicious UK - (11)November 2020

18 deliciousmagazine.co.uk

food for thought.

SurelythisChristmascallsouttobeparticularly

indulgent, even if it’s quieter than usual?

senseofcertaintyaboutwhatourlives

wouldbeandwhattheywouldlooklike.

ButI, likemanypeopleI imagine,find

comfortinrituals,intradition,evenas

I acknowledgethatthesetraditionsevolve

andchange.I amverymucha the-more-

the-merriertypewhenit comesto

celebrating,andit hasbeenmyenormous

goodfortunetomarkeverythingfrom

PassovertoEidandNowruz with my

neighbours and friends.

TRYTHESCANDIMETHOD

Thisyear,I’mgoingtostretchevery

sinew,everymemoryofseasonal

pleasures and rituals past, to mark the

lateautumnseason,albeitwithoutthe

usualcelebrationsandgatherings.

Ofcourse,I willgoheavyonthehygge.

It’sfashionablenowtorollyoureyesat

thisrecentlymuch-commodifiedconcept

ofenjoyingsimplepleasures.Butlet’sjust

notshallwe,fora minute?Wearealltoo

tired tobesovogueishlyennuyéand,to

behonest,it feelsa littleout of

stepwiththetimes.

It’simportanttoshrugoff

anynotionthatyouneeda

certaincashmereblanket

ora candlethatcosts

asmuchasa coat,for

a start.There’snothing

hyggeaboutthatatall.

At its roots, it’s a

waytheDanescreatedtogetthrough

thelong,dark,drearywinters,andto

conquertheunrelentingsamenessof

shortdaysandcoldnights.It simply

requirescreatingsmalldailyrituals

ofpleasure,ofenjoyingthepresent

andnurturingcontentment.

Forme,that’senjoyingmyfavourite

Ethiopiancoffee(Yirgacheffe)each

morningfroma sunshineyellow

Wedgwoodmugmyhusbandboughtfor

meattheChelseaFlowerShowtwoyears

ago,readingoneofthemanynovels

I boughtduringlockdown,takinga bath

inthemorninginsteadofa quickshower,

sitting on the sofa daydreaming, with my

dogswarmingmyfeet,orneedlepointing

ina cosychairbya sunnywindow.

Yourlistwilllookdifferenttomine,but

youshoulddefinitelyhavea list.Infact,

writeonenow,justscribbleit downand

don’tthinktoohardaboutit.Trytodo

atleastonethingfromyourlisteach

day and let’s all see how we get on.

BIGUPTHELITTLETHINGS

ThisGuyFawkesNight,I willstillmake

parkinandenjoyit withour(maximum

four)neighbours,evenwithouttheusual

bonfiresandfireworks.Wehaveshared

sucha lotoverthesepastmonths,from

groceryorderstolettuceseedlingsand

geraniumcuttings,sharingparkinfeels

likea suitablepunctuationpoint to mark

theturnoftheseasons.

I willsloshevenmorebrandythan

usualintothepuddingsandcakeson

Stir-upSunday– 22Novemberthisyear

• asgoodnessknowswealldeserveit,
  andsurelythisChristmascallsoutto
  beparticularlyindulgent, even if it’s
  quieterthanusual?
  I willseizea brightdayto
  clearupthegardena bit
  andmakea noteof
  thevegetablesand
  herbsthatdid
  wellthisyear,
  andlook
  sternlyat
  thosethat
  might be

allowedonelastchancetothrivenext

year.I willplantbulbs,becausethere’s

nothingI’mmoregratefulforwhenspring

rollsaround,soit’swortha back-breaking

afternoon,trowelinhand, in the watery

Novembersunshine.

I willtakeupa project,tomakeupfor

nolecturesandtalks.Havingspentfar

toomuchtimewithmysourdoughstarter

thisyear,I thinkit’stimeforbothofusto

startseeingotherpeople,andperhaps

totakeupa newchallenge.

Lookingatthenewbooks,I ammost

drawntoThePieRoombyCalumFranklin,

thehot-waterpastrykingofHolborn

DiningRoomswhofeaturedinthe

lastissueofdelicious.Hispiesare

profoundlybeautifulandglossy,andwe

couldalldowitha bitofthatrightnow,

pluscarbs.Andinanendeavourtoeat

asmuchautumnproduceasI cangetin

myface,I’mtemptedbyItaly:TheWorld

VegetarianbyChristineSmallwood,who

promisesinthisvolumesuchperfect

autumnalcomfortfoodsasmushroom

gnocchiandpastainwalnutsauce –

dishes worth staying in for.

TAKEYOURTIME

I thinkwhatI’velearnedmostthisyear

is patience,whichisn’tsomethingthat

comesnaturallytome.I’malwaysracing

ontothenextthing,thenextpieceof

work,thenextbook,thenext dinner,

thenextholidayorevent.

Yearsago,duringquitea stressfultime,

I wrotea messagetomyselfona Post-it

andstuckit onmynoticeboard.It said,

“Dowhatyou’redoing,”anentreatyto

myselftofocusononethingata time

andnotgetdistractedoroverwhelmed.

Eventually,thestickybackingdriedup

andit flutteredtothefloorlikeanautumn

leafwithoutmelearningthatlesson.

It took,well,allthis,toget

metounderstandthereis

a profoundbeautyand

comfortintheeveryday,

ingrowingwhereyouare

planted,andflourishinginyour

own,homemade,ground.

I hopethatinthislastpart

oftheyearwecanalldo

thatasgentlyaswe

possiblycan,andwith

asmuchjoyandparkin

as we can muster. ILLUSTRATIONS: ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES