Too disgusting not to post...

As a wise woman once said, sometimes things are too disgusting not to post, and this, my friends, is one of them.


It looks entirely innocous doesn't it? Well, it wasn't. It was pure filth.

Let me explain - a while back, I bought a ready made pot of microwaveable vegetable congee, because I'd always wondered what it tasted like. I kept it for over a year, and long past its sell-by date, but couldn't bring myself to either bin it or eat it.

Until the day came, when I had to. I popped the top, heated it up, added the dinky sachets of sesame oil and seaweed that came with it and then dived in. It was a party in mouth. That sort of party where 20 people get invited and 200 people turn up, and leave cigarette burns on the floor and vomit in the plant pots and the police get called. NOT NICE.

It was weirdly slimy while at the same time having no taste to speak of. It was pretty much like eating a bowl of snot.

Moral of the story - if you haven't eaten something after a year, you probable shouldn't ever try.

To try and get that nasty image of congee out of your mind, try something more like this:

Yeah, that's better, right? I went to see Interstellar at the cinema in Brixton recently (summary of that visit: lots to love, lots of dodgy science to grind your teeth over). Why I like going to Brixton: it's a nice cinema, and you can pop over the road and get a big fat cake from Ms Cupcake and a can of beer from the local off licence, and enjoy the both with the film, in the dark.

Pictured above is a heavenly slice of peanut butter rice krispie cake roughly the size of my fist. I loved it, and I'm happy to know the recipe's in Ms Cupcake's cookbook, so I'll be making these at home too. Yay.

In slightly less sugary news, I saw a vegetable delivery box scheme on offer at one of the voucher sites and decided to give it a go. You know the type of thing - some thoughtful guys drops off a big fat lot of organic veg outside your door every week. You never know what you're going to get, but it's interesting whatever it is.

My first foray brought this to my doorstep:


You can't really see what's going on there, but there's savoy cabbage, radicchio, sweet potato, leeks, potatoes, kale and possibly some other stuff.

I wouldn't consider myself a fan of sweet potatoes (apart from in brownies) or radicchio, but I like the fact that these boxes turn up and I'm forced to reassess my grumbly attitude to both.

I love cabbage in all its forms though, but thought it deserved a new treatment in my kitchen. Behold, a great big potato, chick pea, and savoy cabbage curry that hit my plate recently.



Cabbage does tend to look like it's crawled out of a swamp, but I don't care, it was good. Plus, I've found that Whole Foods stock vegan naan breads - result!

This box was from a while ago, and my voucher's been used up. Still, I'm keeping on with the box scheme, because I love the weirdy beardy interesting stuff that turns every week and the fun stuff it does to my weekly meals.

All box scheme folks, any tips for me?

Comments

  1. Egad! That vegetable congee looks and sounds awful! Worst. Party. Ever. I will keep your sad tale in mind if I'm ever tempted to eat something past its prime from my cupboard.

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  2. Ooh we get a box of veggies every two weeks, and we love it! We've discovered so many great new vegetables. It's not always easy finding a way to eat them (kohlrabi really freaked us out at first!), but you just keep on keepin until you find ways to enjoy it all. It's so cost effective, and fresh. I'm in love with our CSA :)

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  3. If I got a vegetable box, I would be the most boring person ever to ask for advice... Whenever I don't know what to do with extra fresh produce, the default response is always "soup!" Everything becomes soup or stew around here, especially in the colder winter months.

    Glad I'm not the only one for an affinity for cabbage. I don't care what it looks like because it sounds delicious!

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  4. I've tried a service called "Door to Door Organics" which touts locally produced organic veg and fruits.... I did it for a few months, enjoyed trying different produce but the price just didn't jive for me. I figured I can always look at their site (they post what is in that month's box) for inspiration, and save some coin.

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  5. I never knew congee came in a can. I usually just make it at home, it's pretty and easy and way tastier. Although I do have unopened jars from forever that I'm afraid to open and reluctant to just throw away. But after your experience, I should just toss them... :-)
    The box delivery sounds like an awesome way to try out new veggies.

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  6. I visited Ms Cupcake not long after we moved to London and really want to go back! It's just that little bit far from me to be convenient but seeing your picture may entice me soon. We were going to see Interstellar (in theory just my husband's kind of film) but now Mr B has decided it's not cinema worthy so we're focusing on the Imitation Game instead.

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  7. Your end dish looks fantastic, but I still love your bowl of snot the most. Not that it compares, but I just recently threw out a can of lychees I didn't have the nerve to donate to the local soup kitchen. Because, lychees.

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  8. Never tried a box scheme (or congee) I'm afraid but I have made those Ms Cupcake crispy cakes. They are the thing I've made most from her book and are really easy and always a bit hit.

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  9. Oh dear - does that mean I need to throw out the marshmallow making packet that has been in my cupboard for ages! Though I think sugar never dies. Never tasted congee, and I have only been in a food coop many many years ago that just didn't quite work for us - we actually picked up the vegie box by climbing through someone's window so it wasn't quite a delivery scheme. I think there are some dishes such as a good vegie curry or a stir fry that are happy to welcome any veg and it is good to keep those sort of recipes up your sleeve for vegie boxes even though I know in principle you should savour new vegies.

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  10. I used to get Riverford boxes while I was at university. It was fun and pushed me to be creative but I like to plan my meals and it was a bit tricky doing so with the scheme.
    I'm ashamed to admit that I've never been to Brixton - and I live in London!

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