Kitchen Confessions.

Confession: I am not a health food nut. Prepare yourself emotionally, for here is a shocker: I do not like coconut oil. I know! I want to hang my head in shame but I just can't. I am who I am. I will own up to being a little bit paleo, a little bit wholefood, and a lot glutton - but a discerning glutton, I hope. I am a great believer that wholesome food is easy to make yourself, but sometimes I don't have the time to, and sometimes I don't even want to. I generally do not like prepackaged sauces, ready made meals, or other supermarket 'convenience' foods that are full of chemicals and numbers. Having said that, here is another confession - I sometimes do use some prepackaged food. Some of it is really bad!

Here we go, in order of least to most offensive. Buckle up!

Instant Stock Powder

I do make my own stock, and sometimes I even make Bone Broth, but most days I grab a spoonful of Massel Chicken Stock Powder. Scandalous! Mostly for steaming rice, or Pot Stickers, or anywhere where the stock itself is not the main event. Find a brand you love, and go for it. Choose low salt if you want.


Things in Tins

Tinned tomatoes are a staple in my cupboard. We grow a lot of tomatoes in our tiny garden, but what we grow could never keep up with demand in the kitchen. I also used tinned legumes such as kidney beans, and chickpeas. I actually prefer these to using dried ones! Hommus disappears in a few minutes in this house, which is a bit disheartening if you've spent a long time soaking and cooking the chickpeas. I also use tinned baby corn and occasionally corn kernels, tinned beetroot, tinned salmon and tuna, and sometimes even tinned smoked oysters to keep Mr BC happy. Things I do not buy in tins: potatoes, carrots, green beans, mushrooms, soup. Some things are just better fresh.


Curry Pastes

Sometimes I make my own, but sometimes I don't have all those ingredients on hand, and sometimes, even if I do, I can't even be bothered to grind them up in my morter and pestle. So lazy.


Instant Pasta

Just the dried plain pasta, not the saucy varieties. Not even sorry.


Frozen Vegetables

I do grow peas, but not very well and certainly not enough to supply this hungry family! I am a regular purchaser of frozen peas, and also frozen spinach. We grow it, and we certainly eat it fresh, but sometimes it just tastes better to have frozen spinach in certain recipes, such as Spanakopita.


Frozen Food....

Well, I've opened the freezer door now, so there is no turning back. Here are the things that I buy in the freezer section.

• Chicken Nuggets! I get ones made from 100% breast meat, and my children love them. So do I! Bwahahaha!
• Fish Fingers. Sometimes, I don't do a massive table of delicious options; sometimes at my house you get fish fingers and eggs. Deal with it. 
• Meat Pies. Look, it's just an Aussie thing, and there is no way I am going to regularly make meat pies. They are not an every day food, more of a fortnightly food. Depends if it's Pie Weather.
• Dim Sims. I am married to someone who was born in Melbourne, where apparently steamed dim sims are a state delicacy. Sometimes I make my own but it isn't the same.
• Ice cream. Well, der.