Week 19: Sichuan Peppercorns

Masterchef is back, so that’s something to do a few evenings a week (also good to see Grace Dent in the first quarter-final, we love her). I’m so ready for some easing of lockdown restrictions this time around, I’m bored of routine but lacking the inspiration to make any changes so we sit and alternate between evenings of watching TV or playing Two Point Hospital.

I reached my target weight after about a year of vaguely trying to lose a bit. My natural inclination is to eat far too much food, especially when I’m bored, so I’m pleased with myself. I’m unsure whether it’s sustainable once I can reintroduce pub trips and buying lunch out but I feel more comfortable in my own skin for now (I was an extremely skinny youth) so that’s nice.

East by Meera Sodha continues to be one of the best things we’ve bought over lockdown, every recipe we try is delicious. This week it was mouth-numbing noodles with chilli oil and red cabbage (which it turns out you can also find online). This book has helped so much in trying to reduce our meat consumption. I’m a fan of the numbing/tingling effect of Sichuan peppercorns, does anyone know any other good recipes?

I’m thinking about buying a flat. I’ve never been very good at saving but the lockdowns have hampered my inclination to spend all my money on eating, drinking, and going on holiday. It feels like a very weird and scary thing to do. I grew up in a council house (where my mum still lives) and my ideal would be that the vast majority of housing is social but, considering the actual world we live in, it’d be really nice not to be handing so much of my income to a landlord.

Knowing that I might buy a place and move, I’ve been trying to rethink how much stuff I own. I downloaded Olio because a friend loves it, and started giving some of the stuff that is useful but either unsellable or a pain to try and post. We also finally got around to finding the nearest clothes bank and dropped off the charity bags that have been sitting in our wardrobe for over a year. For the stuff I might want to sell, how do people do this nowadays?

We got some physical photos printed because we don’t have anything like that around the flat (except for Christmas party photo booth pictures). It feels quite nice and nostalgic flicking through actual bits of paper. This is one of my favourites of me and my siblings. I miss them.