Pseudo-isolation, week 14: I can’t even anymore

I’m so tired I can’t even be bothered to offer you a lengthy description for the week anymore!

“Non-essential” shops opened on Monday. Whether cardamom buns can be deemed non-essential is a different discussion, but I did get one on Monday. It was good!

A cardamom bun from Fabrique
A cardamom bun from Fabrique

What also happened around Monday is that “The Fitzrovia Partnership” have been sticking arrows to the pavements in Fitzrovia. Somehow they think that pedestrians are vehicles and need regulating.

Arrows in the pavement of Tottenham Court Road
Arrows on the pavement of Tottenham Court Road

Needless to say, I believe it is a really patronising initiative and I wish they spent their lobbying powers into opening the still closed and unusable more than a year after it was rebuilt cycle lane in Tottenham Court Road between Torrington Place and Howland Street.

Some highlights of what we cooked this week:

Bulgur wheat, cabbage and smoked tofu warm salad
Bulgur wheat, cabbage and smoked tofu warm salad
Cheese omelette, cabbage and ma-po tofu
Cheese omelette, cabbage and ma-po tofu
Spanish style summer tuna salad: potatoes, tomato, tuna, carrot, red pepper, capers, olives
Spanish style summer tuna salad: potatoes, tomato, tuna, carrot, red pepper, capers, olives
Home made flat breads (with rye and wheat flours)
Home made flat breads (with rye and wheat flours)
Home made flat bread, and two home made hummus with cucumber, red pepper and carrot slices, with olives
Home made flat bread, and two home made hummus with cucumber, red pepper and carrot slices, with olives

Although we gave ourselves Friday night “off” and had take away from our local favourite Kazu:

Take away sashimi and sushi from Kazu
Take away sashimi and sushi from Kazu

I also adapted a recipe from Anna Jones, using it as “inspiration” and ignoring her proportions and preparation method, because I can’t bear the idea of two teaspoons of dijon mustard and also I couldn’t be bothered turning the oven on just to roast chickpeas. We enjoyed the result:

Gem lettuce with fried chickpeas, sesame seeds, a soft boiled egg, and tahini sauce
Gem lettuce with fried chickpeas, sesame seeds, a soft boiled egg, and tahini sauce
Pancakes with some strawberries
Pancakes with some strawberries

I finally made a sourdough loaf I was happy with! And it is one of my 2kg mega loaves, with rye starter and white wheat flour:

A big sourdough bread loaf
A big sourdough bread loaf
A big sourdough bread loaf, sliced in two
A big sourdough bread loaf, sliced in two

We got two big, beautiful and incredibly aromatic Sorrento lemons, so Devvers repeated the lemon and polenta cake from seven weeks ago:

A lemon and polenta cake
A lemon and polenta cake
A slice of lemon and polenta cake with creme fraiche on the side
A slice of lemon and polenta cake with creme fraiche on the side

April’s cake was yummy, but these lemons were next level. This is a really, really good cake.

Let’s finish on a bit of a funny note: I was strolling around Bedford Square, wondering when will they finally open the new cycle lanes and etc in Gower Street, when I turned right and into the square proper. Then my eyes saw this “illustration” of how the restoration work in one of the houses might look like:

A computer-generated render of construction work in Bedford Square depicting some awkward figures sitting around a meeting table... and a ghost
A computer-generated render of construction work in Bedford Square depicting some awkward figures sitting around a meeting table… and a ghost

I don’t know what felt more odd about it:

  • the fact that the furniture’s modelling and lighting is quite high resolution but the figures look like Poser 3D models, circa 2002
  • or that they used 3D models instead of the typical mismatched 2D people cut outs where each person has a slightly different light angle, zoom and JPG artifacts and the scales and perspectives are all a bit wonky, but which we’re sort of used to by now
  • … or that there is A GHOST IN THE MEETING ROOM! 👻
The ghost of Bedford Square
The ghost of Bedford Square

Her head is translucent!!!!

By the way, I think the window panes and the brick wall next to the window are also messed up, now that I see the close-up 🤪

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