Greetings. As the days get lighter and the weeds start springing I find myself in an early mid-year review, wondering what the hell has happened to the last six (twelve?) months. Whilst I could certainly regale you with endless fascinating and inspirational tales of what I’ve been up to, it feels time to look to the future, and not just because the recent past and present have been decidedly lacking in the aforementioned fascinating and inspirational content.
So what is it, then? What’s cool? What are you eating? What’s hot, hip and happening (not this girl, obvs)?
Here’s a look ahead to what’s going to be big in Boomboom Towers for Summer ’25.
Protein.
I know, I know, I know, it’s so boring right? BUT- an awful lot of folks are touting higher protein consumption at the moment and it’s not just heartless weightloss shill types who target women over forty (as if we don’t have enough BS to deal with on a day to day basis). Anyway, screw those guys, even if they are sort of right. Protein is essential for a functioning human body, plus conveniently filling and less calorie dense for those who may be trying to reduce their current human body*. Protein is higher on my radar these days since becoming one of those smug why yes, I was in the gym whilst you were still sleeping this morning a-holes. I’ve been lifting heavy things and I like what it is doing for my own individual functioning human body. Decent protein consumption is key for muscle growth so I have been seeking ways to do this without endless supplements and expensive protein bars that really hurt my teeth (anyone else??). I’m hoping to soon have a couple of lentil bread (no, really, it’s ALMOST fabulous) recipes to share soon and will be plugging plenty of little protein boosts on the regular.
*Please note, author does not think you need to go on a diet, and actually thinks you’re beautiful and valid and should just do you*.
**Author also assumes you don’t vote Reform.
Martinis
Obviously, Martinis aren’t new, but my ability to make a half decent one at home is. Opening a bottle of wine comes with a level of commitment and sometimes one just wants a small, tasty drink at the end of the day/at the start of the day drinking sesh. They also allow me to role play in my head as Jeri from Succession.
What’s a martini? Honestly, there’s so many better answers to this than I can give you so if you’re in need of full instruction I heartily recommend The Cocktail Edit by Alice Lascelles for truly foolproof methods and recipes. I spend most of my time around a gin Dirty Martini or a Martinez these days, with welcome strays into the cocktail neighbourhood for a classic Cosmo or various Manhattan takes from time to time too.
Frugality
Yes, yes, the cost of living crisis goes on in middle England and as per my previous points I now have a vermouth habit to support.
OK fine, my budget does not revolve entirely around my bar stock but I am doing my best to reduce spend where I can to make sure I can still afford luxuries like heating and not going to jail for council tax debt.
Sorry to say my biggest spending cut isn’t easy to replicate at home- as this has been a direct result of the big co-op I used to drive past every night closing for a four month refit. I am mildly horrified how often I stopped there for a top up shop or a little something to make dinner easier. On average we appear to have saved about £100 a month since they closed in January. For the lawyers- I am absolutely not suggesting you sabotage your local supermarket of choice. Maybe just activate the blinkers when you go in there and don’t come out with twenty quid’s worth of impulse buys when you only actually need a pack of ibuprofen.
As well as actual cash spends I am doing my best to remove unnecessary consumption overall to support sustainability of this planet and the nurturing of my inner Marie Kondo (if you know me personally, you just snorted. If you don’t know me personally, please rest assured that this is a joke). Small efforts count- choose less plastic, don’t waste food, reduce your animal produce intake, grow your own herbs and learn to love a (high protein) tinned legume once in a while.
Go From Scratch
I am not about to start telling you to go all trad wife on the baked goods, mainly because I have an innate inability to knead anything to a satisfactory standard. Call it weak fingers and a short attention span. However, I have recently been having a bit of a word with myself for skipping on the effort- but only, I hasten to add, where it’s either not that much effort, or entirely self indulgent. Number one is salad dressings, which tend to be full of guff when shop bought and adding to that plastic mountain briefly addressed earlier. A decent salad dressing takes very little time to make, uses up those endless bottles of varying shades of vinegar in the cupboard, and makes lettuce taste better. My go-tos are the ‘base salad dressing’ found in Skinny Weeks & Weekend Feasts by girl crush Gizzi Erskine. I’m not telling you how to make it, buy the book, it’s immense. Or when truly in doubt for green leaves I revert to a glug of half decent olive oil (which I can afford now the big co-op is shut) and some sea salt. Divine!
Cooking at home is something I enjoy (you’re shocked by this, I know) but a lot of the time it just doesn’t seem worth it to lose time and cash to cooking for hours on end. Surprise- it doesn’t have to take hours and this is something I am relearning lately.
From the point of sheer hedonism, a batch of decent biscuits or a deeply cheesy quiche, straight out of the oven, is pure joy, and more productive use of your time than doomscrolling the Incel threat or stalking various celebrity super trials.
In less indulgent terms, an hour on a Sunday to make a huge ‘everything’ salad makes lunchtime at work cheaper (and arguably healthier), and is one less bloody thing to think about, which is truly valuable to me at the moment. Of course doing a bit more prep at home helps to push those protein levels, save a bit of cash by doing it myself and half an hour in the kitchen is of course the ideal time for a wee cocktail. All boxes ticked. Huzzah!
That’s probably enough from me for now but, just quickly, I should also commit to a bit more time in these virtual pages in the future, because more going on in my foodosphere gives me more to babble on to you about. So if you’re reading here, thank you, and I promise you more content than you have been used to of late. But not right now, because I’m off to make a load of Lily Vanilli brownie biscuits because it’s bank holiday Monday and I deserve them.
Food. Boom. 