Smidgens
- Feb 10
- 6 min read
"a very small amount" Dictionary.com
"Just a smidgen" - it's one of those mildly irritating things that people say when you are offering them a treat of some kind - some cake, some cream to go with the cake ... isn't it? In this case it's going to be a number of smidgens - little things from here and there. Almost exclusively recipes from here and there this time.
But isn't English a wonderful language? I looked up the etymology of this rather cosy sounding word - and various cute children's books have characters named smidgen to reinforce that notion - and here is what I found on etymonline:
"probably from Scottish smitch "very small amount, jot, spot, mote; small insignificant person" (1822) and related to smudge. Compare Northumbrian dialectal smiddum "small particle of lead ore" (1821); ultimately a variant of smeddum "fine flour; fine powder," which is from Old English but of unknown origin."
'Old English, but of unknown origin'. So tantalising. Which rough ancient Briton first thought to say 'smeddum' when confronted with some kind of fine powder - surely not fine flour because they didn't have fine flour then. Dust?
Fish finger sandwiches
When I was a young learner teacher in London's underprivileged Stoke Newington I shall always remember one of the class - 6-6 year-olds exclaiming in delight "Goody (or some such delighted expression) Bird's-Eye!" as he realised that the school dinner that day was fish fingers and frozen peas. And they may very well have been Bird's-Eye. And really only mildly nourishing - but then who knows what he got at home? Although being of West-Indian descent he probably got something really delicious.
Anyway I mention fish finger sandwiches because of these from Rick Stein's book Food Stories. The recipe is online but behind The Sydney Morning Herald's paywall. The point he made somewhere about these however, iand why I am paying them any attention, is that they are a wonderful way to get good food into kids - and other hesitant good food eaters. It sort of looks like junk food, but if you cook excellent ingredients properly then it isn't. Like hamburgers. Anyway, as I was trying to find his picture and recipe I, of course, discovered endless other recipes for such a thing, so perhaps I'll add it to my ideas list. In the meantime have a go yourself. All you need is some fish, breadcrumbs and egg and some imagination as to what else you put in there. It's not really an original idea from Rick Stein, but being Rick Stein it got publicity. A small step up from a butter and walnut sandwich I guess.
Chickpeas, lentils and every bean in between says Ottolenghi
Recently Ottolenghi's newsletter offered a two part lesson on all things legumes. The first part was fundamentally how best to do the basic cooking of such things and when to use dried, tinned or jarred. The second was all about the kinds of things you could make with the various types and what things went with them, with the overall aim of both newsletters:
"I am determined to dismantle whatever’s standing between people and that jar gathering dust in their cupboard, to give everyone a heart-warming chickpea moment."
And the above - from one of his team - Chaya from Mauritius - Chaya's dal pita with grilled tomato salsa is just one example of the variety of things you can make with them:
"the same chickpea becomes hummus, chana masala, or pasta e ceci."
And I've certainly got some of those jars gathering dust in my pantry. I keep resolving to do something with them and then I don't, which is stupid because I do actually like them all. I wonder if another silent vow might succeed this time. I mean it's so simple isn't it, to just put some beans to soak as you go to bed and then cook them the next day? And there are so many things you can do with them - type in Beans to the Ottolenghi website search and you get 598 results, and that's just one recipe producer. So is 2026 going to be the year of the legume for me?
I do recommend subscribing to his newsletter if you are interested in his food. I'm just a non-paying subscriber, and so I don't get to access all the recipes - just one of the two in each newsletter. But he's got a new book coming out in September. Maybe the others will be in there. Below are the two recipes that you can access: Lentil, fennel and Parmesan 'stoup' with charred tomato salsa and Warm green bean and lentil salad
Cookies from smidgens of this and that
The Guardian's waste not man - Tom Hunt - recently did an article on making cookies from things savoury and sweet and everything in between. He called them Compost (AKA larder) cookies. It's an adaptation of a recipe from Christina Tosi - an American cook who worked on a New England island conference centre where they didn't get supplies every day, and so they had to make do with what they had. Tom Hunt devised his own with these words of advice:
"use fresh coffee grounds, because they impart an incredible depth of flavour without overpowering the cookie. And, second, the addition of salty snacks (salted crisps, pretzels and/or peanuts, for example) is totally delicious in combination with the sweets. You can also try adding other ingredients such as cereal, tortilla chips or roasted fava beans."
If you make cookies a lot then you probably know all of this, but if you don't it's useful information. Kids would love having a go at this.
Sami Tamimi's bulgur balls
A kind of meatball - to add to the 80 in Bunny Banyai's book - although there is no meat. These are vegetarian from Syria where they seem to be called kbeibat bulgur. Tamimi sticks to that name but adds a bit of description - Kbeibat bulgur with spring onion and pomegranate - and there's also a bonus Spicy fennel and herb salad to accompany it.
The balls are comparatively simple, the sauce is rich with spicy harissa, pomegranate molasses, cumin, lemon and honey - as well as those spring onions. Next time you have to feed a vegetarian - consider them.
Tomato tartare with garlic aioli - from Curtis Stone in the latest Coles Magazine. I think this is another recipe where the quality of the tomatoes matters, because they are not cooked. You also need to peel and seed them. I confess I long to make something like this as an appetizer for a special dinner. It looks classy and probably tastes yummy too, but I do worry that when I remove the ring you carefully pile the tomatoes into that it would all collapse in a heap. There's nothing sticky in there to hold it all together. You press it all into the mould with a spoon - 'to set' they say. But how would it set? There are no eggs, or gelatine. Maybe this is a dish you need to practice before you serve to guests. Worth a try though.
This is an article in The New York Times, that Deb Perelman, in her Smitten Kitchen newsletter, recommended. It's possible it will be behind a pay wall, but maybe not as the link is from her newsletter.
Anyway it was a funny sad, thoughtful take on birthdays, and who they were for. If you've got nothing else to do give it a go.
From Smitten Kitchen. I was rather taken by this recipe and might even have a go at it on Thursday. I'm also wondering whether I shall add it to my grandkids cookbook, although I have finished the stew section. But it's so simple and yet so different. Quite a bit of Dijon mustard, the cognac, some red wine, carrots and mushrooms are what gives it its potentially interesting taste. It's a slow cook, so potentially not of interest to grandkids who tend to live in the moment, but yes, a little bit different. I might even indulge in some mashed potato - no - pommes purées to go with it. David can either have pasta, baguette or plain boiled potatoes. I find this odd, because he will eat those if he mashes them into the sauce. What's the difference between that and potatoes mashed or puréed first?
YEARS GONE BY
February 10
2025 - Nothing
2024 - Nothing
2023 - Eat food - rule no. 1
2021 - Missing
2020 - The fork
2017 - Pie pastry
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