Frizzled

Painting floors, podcasts and frizzled chickpeas

I was listening to a podcast with Alison Roman as a guest while I finished painting the sitting room floor, contorting myself into an unnatural comma shape, knees around ears, lower back screaming in indignation as all the while I wondered what on earth possessed me to do this (floor oil on top of emulsion paint - don’t ask). I at least have an element of control over what I do inside my house, where as outside I am subject to the whims of building inspectors and Welsh Government edicts, however unsuitable they may be for this particular building. So even if it’s awful and not fit for purpose, at least it was my choice and the only person I have to apologise to is my husband as his feet stick to the surface because it never seems to dry. I have already forgiven myself and I don’t care what the cats think.

Alison Roman is an American chef turned writer, you-tuber, funny, clever maker of delicious food.  I like her and I like some of her recipes because they are not fancy (one of her books is actually called Nothing Fancy) and leave room for personal adjustments, although chicken and pasta seem to feature an inordinate amount of times.  This is all fine, I love both those things but without acknowledging that industrial chicken farms are the scourge of the planet, never mind the poor old birds, it seems to me that something is missing in her stories.  The podcast is called Table Manners by Jessie and Lennie Ware, a mother and daughter team who talk, naturally enough, about food and family and have guests on to discuss what their last dinner might be among other, gushy and sometimes funny questions and answers.

I am really not sure about this podcast world.  My husband is addicted to The Rest is History and I have to admit to liking that one, most of the time.  But it’s the ads.  The endless faux ‘chats’ about things you absolutely know are an anathema to these people - can you see Dominic Sandbrook in Las Vegas just because British Airways gives you bigger baggage allowance for you bring home more unnecessary crap?  No, nor can I.

And mother / daughter Ware banging on about Lloyds bank giving you free Disney Plus.  Who cares?  I am quite sure they don’t.  I don’t know them or what their background is (I have an inkling…) is but I suspect they are not short of a bob and that an incentive like that wouldn’t get them switch banks. And also they are all just too damn cheerful.

The reason I listened that particular podcast in the first place was that Marina Hyde featured in one episode.  I love Marina Hyde and her whip smart observations and eviscerations of our shambling shower of politicians and her valiant protest about the Post Office scandal, which still hasn’t been properly acknowledged let alone been compensated for. She’s a posh bird who isn’t afraid to be that along with her lefty, liberal feminist views.

But, even she comes across as a bit fake on here.  All the ‘chatty’ ones seem to be like that - Julia Louie-Dreyfus (she of the utterly brilliant Seinfeld and Veep) does one called Wiser Than Me, brilliant tpremis being that older women are wiser than younger ones, and she had Jane Fonda on, who again I love for many reasons, but I came away thinking less of them both as they patted each other on the back, swapping compliments with one another, getting more extravagant each time.

Anyway, that’s what I think about pod casts, well, some of them.  But Alison Roman did make me think of a recipe she’s done called Frizzled Chickpeas.  I love that word, frizzled.  Chickpeas are great, and unless we start mowing down the Amazon to grow them then they still are pretty sustainable.  So I frizzled some for my lunch and it was a bowl of deliciousness. You could add some crumbled feta, or bacon bits, or anything you fancy really… artichokes from a jar, olives maybe?

Frizzled Chickpeas (with hefty nod to Alison Roman)

• 1 tin chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry-ish

• 1 clove garlic (or 2 small), crushed

• smidge of hot paprika

• small handful parsley, chopped

• 1 heaped dessert spoon finely chopped red onion

• 1 heaped dessert spoon of preserved lemon (I make my own - it goes in nearly everything that has garlic in)

• a few cherry tomatoes, chopped cucumber and a some rather elderly radish shoots (optional)

• Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and tip in all the chickpeas - they will pop and spit a bit but nothing too violent.

• Add the garlic and stir about until the chickpeas start to turn brown.

• Remove form the heat and add all the other ingredients, salt and pepper as you like, and splash of vinaigrette if you have any to hand, other wise a little more olive oil.