Let's not lose the connection we made with food during the pandemic
Banana bread is for life, not just for lockdown
At the beginning of lockdown one, I had all the right intentions. I wanted to learn new skills while recreating the dishes from my favourite restaurants that had been forced to shutter. I settled on Padella’s pici cacio e pepe, a seemingly simple recipe containing little other than flour, black pepper and parmesan. Sure, flour was as scarce as loo roll and my dough-shaping skills were akin to my childhood Play-Doh talents, but I was determined. It would be simple, therapeutic and delicious.
My pici came out like lumpy snakes and the sauce congealed in the pan, but it didn’t matter: it tasted like the original dish at Padella and served its purpose of helping me learn a new skill while having a bit of a laugh (do you have *any idea* how long it takes to grind a single tablespoon of black pepper?).
Fast forward two years, and I found I’d lost the connection I’d made with food – the freedom to try out new recipes without fear of failure; the buzz of the eerie weekly shop and that weird feeling of not knowing whether you’d find the right ingredients.
From mid-2021, normal life seemed to resume at even faster a pace than before lockdown, with parties and launches and work events and trying to catch up with every friend or family member I hadn’t seen in forever.
As I juggled full-time work with a busy social life, I found myself resorting to fresh pasta kits from Lina Stores, frozen plant-based dinners from Allplants and my old favourite, pasta with pesto (are you sensing a theme?) Sure, these meals were all delicious, but I wasn’t quite finding time to cook new recipes and I was stressed to my eyeballs. It was as if I’d learned nothing.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m overjoyed that restaurants are open again. My job involves writing about food, for starters. But towards the end of last year, I longed to be back in lockdown so I could cancel the plans and commitments that were making me feel so overwhelmed. Oh, to be back at home with little to do of an evening but nurture a sourdough starter.
Then, last month, I got Covid. It was only a matter of time, given I’d managed to avoid it for an entire two years, and fortunately it only made me mildly ill. Forced to isolate with my boyfriend for 10 days, I returned to the mushroom ramen recipe I’d first made in late 2020 during lockdown three.
From a brilliant book by Tove Nilsson recommended by my soup-worshipping best friend, it involves throwing shiitake into a pot with seaweed and a few other bits. It’s simple once you have the right ingredients, many of which I still had in the cupboard from the first time. I made soy sauce-pickled eggs with the dreamiest yolks, and I pickled the leftover mushrooms, which I now grab from the fridge when I’m too impatient to wait for my dinner to cook.
As with the pici dish, my ramen was far from perfect, but the act of making it, and then eating my own cooking together with loved ones, was as good as any restaurant experience. I’m not saying I’ll be making ramen from scratch on a school night when I’m juggling several freelance projects and a social life, but it was worth forgoing an episode of the latest Harlan Coben to get stuck into a really rewarding recipe.
So just as we ought to check in with ourselves and make sure we’re not losing the hopes and dreams we pledged we’d finally go for when lockdown hit, let’s not lose the connection we made with food at that worrying but weirdly revelatory time of our lives. Whether you’re Team Sourdough or Team Banana Bread, I’m sure there’s a recipe you can reconnect with.
Is there a dish you learned in lockdown that you’re planning to recreate? Let me know.
New podcast: Life in Food
Part of the reason I’ve been so busy is that I’m launching a brand new podcast at the same time as publishing my debut novel – because there’s nothing like a bit of pressure, right? (Note to self: refer to above essay…)
Life in Food with Laura Price is a weekly podcast where I share inspiring stories in bite-sized pieces. Each week, I talk to a different guest about how food has helped them through some of their biggest challenges. With a different theme each week, we delve into everything from Food and Love to Food and Family, Food and Friendship and even Food and Grief. You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
My first episode stars the brilliant Kris Hallenga, CEO and founder of breast cancer education charity CoppaFeel! and author of the Sunday Times bestselling memoir Glittering a Turd. You may have heard of Kris – I’ve even written about how she has lived with incurable breast cancer for 13 years and is a total legend – but what you may not know is that she also runs a cake and coffee business with her twin sister.
In the episode, we talk about everything from cancer nutrition and body positivity to how much she loves the word ‘schlagsahne’ (that’s whipped cream in German, to you and me) and why there’ll definitely be cake at her funeral. We also chat about food and guilt, which is something so many of us can relate to, cancer or no cancer. Be sure to stay til the end for the quick-fire questions round.
As you can hear in the trailer, the first season features incredible guests like Australian podcaster Jessie Stephens on Food and Heartbreak, Wahala author Nikki May on Food and Friendship and 50 Best chef Dominique Crenn on Food and Love.
To hear a new episode of the podcast every Wednesday, please subscribe!
The Crumbs
A rundown of the simple things I’m enjoying right now.
What I’ve been reading:
— Glittering a Turd by Kris Hallenga. I read this last summer but interviewing Kris reminded me what a brilliant read it was. Yes, it’s about one woman’s life with cancer, but it’s honestly one of the most uplifting, funny books I’ve ever read, and I’d recommend it to anyone. You can pre-order the *stunning* new paperback, out 4th Aug.
— Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason. This novel about a woman suffering from mental illness very much deserves its place on the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2022 longlist. Also on the longlist is The Paper Palace, which I can’t wait to read. (Both were recommended to me by my author pal Hannah Tovey, who heard about them from the brilliant Chrissy Ryan of BookBar. Clearly these women have excellent taste).
— Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee. This was actually published in 2007 but I heard about its special anniversary edition through BookBar’s brilliant book club. I’d recommend it for anyone who loved A Little Life – it’s an epic tale about the life of Casey Han, the daughter of Korean immigrants living in New York.
Some things I’ve been watching:
— Speaking of reviving old joys, I’m rewatching Breaking Bad a decade after I first binge-watched it. I’ve always said it’s the greatest show of all time, but my boyfriend hadn’t seen it so I persuaded him to give it a go when we got Covid. That was a few weeks ago, and we’re now on season four…
If you had to re-watch one of your favourite shows, what would it be?
Stuff I’ve been eating:
— Sri Lankan cod curry and roti bread dipped in egg yolk hoppers at Paradise in Soho. I ate pretty much everything on the menu at this lovely little spot in Soho run by chef Dom Fernando, and I can confirm it was all 100% delicious.
— The full banquet menu at The Chilli Pickle in Brighton, where I went last month on a weekend trip to see the live version of My Dad Wrote a Porno. Outstanding.
— Crisps. I am addicted to crisps. Here are my current top five:
Sensations – Chicken and thyme
Pipers – Wild thyme and rosemary
Monster Munch – Pickled onion
Hula Hoops – Barbecue beef
Coop Irresistible – Sea salt and Chardonnay white vinegar
Drop everything immediately and please tell me your favourite crisps.
Three weeks to go!
Did I mention I have a book out? Single Bald Female is published in just under a month and 12-year-old me is beside herself. I started this book in January 2016 from my tiny bedroom in a shared flat in Bermondsey, and it’s taken me almost six years to get to this point. Here’s a piece I wrote for writing.ie about the path to publication.
Pre-orders are *really really really* important to new authors because they help publishers and retailers to know that it’s worth selling and promoting. You can order the book now from Waterstones, Amazon, Bookshop.org or ask your local independent bookshop to order it in for you.
The reviews of the German translation of the novel have been so wonderful, with so many five stars, and people commenting on how much they loved a) my chapter headings and b) my characters, Jess and Annabel. I'm in awe of the translator, Sybille Uplegger, who has managed to translate not just my writing style but also the essence of the book. I can tell from the reviews that she's done an amazing job and people just ‘get’ it. Now I can only hope UK readers love it as much. The countdown is on…
Pre-order Single Bald Female, out 14th April.