“The key will be in a locked box outside the house so don’t forget the code.” I scroll through the instructions on how to enter my latest Airbnb rental, a system I am getting very used to.
While we moved out of our house a couple of months ago, we still don’t have a new home. As a creature of comfort, the mere thought of this, up until a couple of months ago would have put me in a cold sweat. However, our saviour in this interim period while we find our feet between LA, Dublin and London has been the Airbnb system, which allows users to rent fully furnished homes all over the world.
After a month or two in our Venice Beach apartment in LA, my latest home is right beside the Kennington tube stop in London, a cleverly designed (and reasonably priced) architect’s home filled with salvaged antiques, old shop signs, leather sofas and a thoroughly modern city kitchen. Finding a gem like this is half the fun of the system.
Tantalisingly close to all of London’s culinary excitement, I’ve been working long days in a studio which has put a stop to any exploration and instead, I’ve been making do with leftovers from the cookbook shoot and whatever I can muster up from the local shop. The slight challenge of this transient existence is being at the mercy of what the kitchen du jour has to offer.
Our day-to-day eating is affected by this movement and I find myself choosing convenient recipes which require only a few pieces of equipment. I settle myself with the idea that it gives me the chance to develop recipes that work even with minimal kitchen gear, but being completely honest, I can’t help but crave my own kitchen with stocked cupboards, pots and pans.
Until then recipes like arroz con pollo are a saviour; chicken thighs fried until crisp and golden, then braised in a subtly spiced tomato sauce with short-grain rice cooked until plump. On the slightly more controversial side is a one-pot lasagne, inspired by our stay in the States. Most definitely not a recipe to replace the traditional baked one, but one which offers convenience and serious flavour in one pot.
Even if you don’t find yourself in the perfect kitchen, the recipes here prove delicious meals are still at your fingertips.
