A rummage in my drawers

I've given you an insight into my psyche lately and now it’s time for a different kind of intimacy; a rummage in my drawers and a peep in my pantries.

Our new kitchen has lots of drawers – 40 to be precise - and two pantries. Although they mostly contain everyday items like sugar, flour (well, 10 different types!) and cornflakes, there are also quite a few "interesting" things.  I could tell you all about the normal things, but that's not why you read this blog, is it?

So, true to form, here are the Top 10 weird foodstuffs in my kitchen:

10. “God knows”
Chinese salted, preserved shredded turnip (it comes in cabbage too). When I was a kid my father used to buy this.  I have no idea how on earth he managed to find "tong choi" in Palmerston North during the 1970s, given that there were probably only about four Chinese people living there at the time.  But he did, and a little clay jar of it used to sit in the corner of a bookshelf in our lounge. 

It’s nice added in small quantities to give a salty counterpoint to otherwise fairly bland noodle dishes (e.g. pad Thai). Kieran opened the jar when he was a toddler and asked Don what it was. The reply “God knows” stuck and it’s now fondly regarded by the whole family (although only Kieran and I actually eat it).

9. Lotus leaves
These monsters are soaked to soften them, then wrapped around glutinous rice that's flavoured with whatever, before being steamed. The leaves, which aren’t eaten, impart a pleasant vegetal flavour to the filling.

8. Cocoa nibs
Cocoa beans' bottoms. I add them to spiced fruit cakes to provide a complementary subtle chocolatey crunch.

7. Sugar crystal sticks
Lovely looking sugar and saffron confections all the way from Tehran via a Middle Eastern supplies store in Mt Eden Rd. They’re meant to be stirred into coffee as a sweetener. Trouble is, I don’t like sugar in my coffee. I keep hoping I’ll come up with a creative inspiration for using them…

6. Smoked kelp
Buying it seemed like a good idea at the time, and it smells really nice. Now what?

5. Drumsticks
I bought this pack of frozen ‘drumsticks’ at an Indian store about a year ago, where they sat until a few nights ago because I had no idea what they were or what to do with them. I decided to treat them like okra and used them in a side dish to accompany a curry that I made when our friends Lindsay and Freeman, and their kids came over for an impromptu dinner.  Lucky old them.

It transpires that drumsticks are really, really, really tough and stringy. The trick to eating them involves slitting them in half lengthwise and scraping out the insides. A lot of effort for little return.

4. Soybean powder
I have no idea why a steaming bowl is depicted on this packet, or what Chinese people would ususally use this stuff for.  I bought it because a gluten-free chocolate cake recipe specified soy flour and I assumed soybean powder is the same thing.  Then again, maybe not. 

I had a go at baking the gluten free cake yesterday.  It tastes wonderful but, for some reason, the cake has done a great impersonation of Mt Eden - crater and all.  Must've been the soy powder.

3. Ajwain

I have no recollection of where or why I bought this. And I’m certain I’ve never cooked with it. Googling reveals it to be a member of the parsley family that tastes strongly of thyme.  Sounds skitzo to me. Ajwain is used sparingly in Indian cooking.  Farty pants readers may be interested to know that it helps reduce beans' flatulence-causing effect and also aids digestion.

2. Mystery things

I vaguely recall buying (and using) these about 15 years ago. I think they’re a Thai pickled plum.

1. 18-month-old yoghurt

Readers of my Intellectually Curious posting may recall being introduced to this yoghurt when it was a spring chicken at 6 months past its ‘use by’ date. Another year on and it is time for my yoghurt friend to go.

Lindsay and Freeman bravely stayed on after dinner to witness the Beast From The Fridge being unleashed.  Here's what happened (Lindsay lived to tell the tale)...