9:30am
I woke up craving banana pancakes, so that’s what I’m doing. I rarely eat pancakes, they’re not something that happens a lot in my house, and if I’m out for brunch, I never want the big American ones that dominate the menus. I would feel like I had eaten a brick.
I make the mixture, whisk it all together, then stare blankly at it. Something is wrong. I realise I’ve forgotten the egg, so quickly mix it in. Better. I’ll make some for the other idiots for when they get back from walking the dog.
2:30pm
Me, Benji and Mum have just got back from Gravesend, where we went on a food expedition. Gravesend is neither beautiful, nor up-and-coming, and is, in all honesty, quite rough. However, it is characterful, home to some good restaurants, and is full of Eastern European, Indian and Middle Eastern food shops, which I love. There’s also an incredible Gurdwara, if you ever fancy a visit.
I found some drinks for my rogue drink series that I do on instagram (which is just me rating unfamiliar beverages), and we found the closest thing I’ve seen so far in England to the chilal cheese I used to get in Paris. If anyone know where to source chilal in the south east, please hit me up. I desperately need it back in my life - it’s a Syrian stringy cheese and is a bit cheddary and a bit halloumi-y.
Benji is now in a huff with us as we unintentionally misled him about how much we were going to eat from the Korean place. We ordered more than expected: 2 Korean hot dogs (did not vibe), 5 veggie dumplings (vibed), and veggie kimbap (vibed). Benji didn’t want to eat this, so got a chicken mayo before as a snack, thinking we were only getting a snack too. We ate it on a bench, watching the boats going up and down the Thames. He was very upset to discover the size of our meal. He is still not speaking to us.
On the bright side, I found toot sweets! Yes, like the ones in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. A friend gave me one in Paris whilst we were looking after the kids in the park, and I finally found them again. I managed to play (sort of) the national anthem and Hey Jude on the way back in the car, but this did not cheer Benji up.
8:20pm
Had salmon stir fry for dinner. We thought the sauce wouldn’t go far enough, but me and mum had a root around in the cupboard and found our saviour - peanut butter. Truly a miracle worker.
At the dinner table, we talk about how we have too much choice in what we eat, the fact that everything is available all the time. I would love to be able to eat seasonally and locally, but I need to unlearn a lot in order for that to happen. I love walking into a supermarket and finding everything I have on my list - but it’s so bad for the planet. We’re now watching Indiana Jones to cure us of our climate anxiety.
Find Emily on instagram @em1lyread.