365 Days of Nigella
374 recipes cooked; £6,100 (and rising) raised for FareShareUK; 1 Forever Family forged (2 dads, 3 kids, 2 dogs).
365 Days of Nigella has been devised, by me, to provide a much-needed escape from the worries of living with anxiety and the complexities they can bring to daily life. It’s a 365-day Nigella cookalong that will diversify our household palate and, at the same time, grant me the avenue to express my passion for food and write about the memories it can evoke. One of the best therapies for anxiety is to recall our feelings of love, positivity, serenity, and pleasure, and, for me, these are often - if not always – associated with food and cooking. And, of course, eating.
I define one day as one entry into this blog: it may comprise of multiple recipes, or a single recipe, but will feature my witterings of the day - at the time of posting. I aim to post every other day (3-4 times per week), so this journey will go on for considerably longer than a year - a realisation that makes me very happy indeed. The reason for not posting every day is that we do not waste food in this house and we will need the days between each cookalong to gladly enjoy leftovers.
A few pleasantries before we begin: I am not running for first place in a photo competition, and I am quite guilty of rather ignorantly throwing about punctuation, and for this (and my writing) I apologise. However, I don’t deny that there is great satisfaction to be had in capturing a dish in all its beauty. I don’t have any fancy equipment; just a phone, small windows, and a bread board and cheese board for a backdrop.
Above all, however, it’s a bit of fun and I would love for you to join me. Cooking is a joyous way to spread love and happiness and I hope you enjoy it as much as I am sure I will enjoy creating, writing and eating my way through this journey.
Day 129: an anniversary cake
We planted our blackcurrant bush just for this - and now summers will forever be synonymous with it. Day 129 is Nigella’s Liquorice and Blackcurrant Chocolate Cake.
Day 128: a summer quartet
The dressing is sharp, salty, sweet and spicy: the essential quartet for a re-energising summer eat. Day 128 is Nigella’s Prawn and Black Rice Salad with Vietnamese Dressing.
Day 127: THIS is ambrosia
Cool ambrosial delight: Day 127 is Nigella’s Lemon Rice Pudding.
Day 126: studded with summery sweetness
Studded with the summery sweetness of sugary peas and tender new potatoes. Day 126 is Nigella’s Potato and Pea Frittata.
Day 125: fire-flecked saltiness
Fire-flecked salty feta and cooling fresh mint wrapped in juicy slabs of smoky aubergine. Day 125 is Nigella’s Griddled Aubergines with Feta, Mint and Chilli.
Day 124: juicy mouthfuls for summer eating
Restoratively nourishing and refreshingly hydrating: Nigella’s Watermelon, Feta and Black Olive Salad has just become essential summer eating in this house.
Day 123: fabulous eating, with friends
An eating experience - like most of my eating experiences to be honest - that I didn’t want to end. Day 123 is Nigella’s One-Pan Chicken with Apricot Harissa and Sweet Potatoes. This is fabulous eating!
Day 122: reassured deep frying
Building and eating a sandwich is one of life’s greatest pleasures; Nigella’s Fried Chicken Sandwich takes the fear out of deep frying at home and delivers a creation befitting of such pleasurable moments.
Day 121: lemony uplift
Citrusy, silky, and elegantly comforting. Day 121 is Nigella’s Lemon Linguine. One of the most wonderful bowls of food I’ve ever eaten.
Day 120: sliceable, eatable bliss
Nigella’s Chocolate Tahini Banana Bread is clearly the result of dedicated testing by its creator to forge the epitome of sliceable, eatable bliss.
Day 119: celestial eating
Sweet pears drenched in heaven, with a dreamy, zesty blue. Day 119 is Nigella's Marsala Honey Pears with Gorgonzola. I went for a salad-type assembly, with the peppery tang of watercress and rocket.
Day 118: sweetly-braised khaki summeriness
A little tricky to shoot, and a mild drama with the pasta, but Nigella’s Pasta with Courgettes was a pleasure and comforting joy to eat.
Day 117: fierce summer sweetness
A fiercely dressed plate of gorgeous, summer sweetness. Day 117 is Nigella's Tomato and Horseradish Salad.
Day 116: sour-sweet, silky-smooth lusciousness
Luscious scoops of this sour-sweet, silky-smooth, melt-in-the-mouth ice cream were enjoyed for lunch after my Mum’s birthday brunch. Day 116 is Nigella’s No-Churn Margarita Ice Cream.
Day 115: a little off game
I was a little off my game last night, unlike Murray, and ended up overcooking the pasta - and the potatoes - to a potentially criminal state. Nevertheless, Nigella’s Pasta alla Genovese was delish and precisely what I needed to serve away the Monday Blues.
Day 114: staple comforts
A mighty fine bowl of cosy and bolstering comfort: Day 114 is Nigella’s Rapid Ragu. (or not so rapid, for me, who forgot caramelised onions and had to make their own).
Day 113: saturated in summer
A sweet, nubbly cloud saturated in summer: Day 113 is Nigella’s Warm Lemon and Elderflower Pudding.
Day 112: a golden wisp
I imagine heaven to smell like saffron, and I know - at least in my heaven - that I will eat spaghetti for eternity once there. I strongly believe Nigella’s Yellow Spaghetti to be a taste of said celestial dreamscape; a golden wisp of the promised land.
Day 111: a woe-banishing, one-pot wonder
Nigella's Chicken in a Pot with Lemon and Orzo is like falling into the arms of a loved one - or your favourite chair - at the end of a long, hard day: smile-inducing and mood-enhancing. An all-round, woe-banishing, one-pot wonder.
Day 110: lazy days
This fabulous loaf is deliciously dense and tremendously easy to make; requiring practically no effort other than some measuring and mixing. Day 110 is Nigella’s Lazy Loaf.