I Have a Problem

Hi. My name is Noor, and I have a problem. Although, I hadn’t thought of it as a problem until very recently. If you take a look at my kitchen cupboards, you may notice they are full of stuff. And when I use the word ‘stuff’ I mean it exactly like that. Yes, there are the regular items like salt, oil, eggs, pasta, flour, etcetera. But there are also random packets of chilli oil, about 15 different spices I am yet to open, unidentifiable meat snacks, various things that have caught my eye in the shops. The cupboard has at times, been home to at least 5 different salts, 4 types of oil (right now), 3 types of honey, and god knows what else. If I’m going for full transparency here, I’m thinking right this second about what fun things I can buy on my way home. And since I’m spending on food, I think of it less as a spending problem and more like innocent excitement over a passion. I don't need you to tell me that's an incredibly clouded perspective.

You might consider this hoarding, but I prefer to call it ‘collecting things I may find useful at some point’. Even though there's a lot in there I'm yet to find a use for. If you think I’m about to purge my cupboard of all seemingly ‘unnecessary’ goods, you’re wrong because I don’t find a single one of these unnecessary. I write this almost as a form of self-reassurance that one day, each of them will have their moment. I find it particularly difficult to resist something on the shelf of my local Asian store that looks remotely exciting, and this is how I ended up with a cupboard full of ‘stuff’. Also, card minimums. A Mama Sita’s Adobo spice packet is perfect for bringing my total from £4.15p to a nice, round £5. That part isn’t my fault. What is my fault is not finding the time to give all these lovely ingredients the attention they deserve, so I’m vowing right this second to do so.

That was a lot of talking so why don’t we cut to the chase. Here are some images of the contents of my cupboard organised into categories I’ve helpfully titled:

• Spices & seasonings

• Rice, grains, & other similar things

• Baking (including flours I don’t use for baking)

• Condiments

• Snacks

• Miscellaneous & stuff I couldn’t fit in the other photos

Spices & Seasonings

Condiments

Baking (including flours I don't use for baking)

Rice, grains, & other similar things

Snacks

Miscellaneous & stuff I couldn't fit in the other photos

Here's what's going at the top of the priorities:

Mama Sita’s Adobo/Lumpiang Shanghai/Sinigang Mixes

After being underwhelmed by my first adobo experience in early 2024, I’ve been wanting to give it a second shot. And when I laid my eyes on Mama Sita’s Adobo, I just couldn’t leave her on the shelf. And I couldn’t very well take her home without her friends, could I?

Barbecue Gluten Snacks

The reason I have this here is because I tasted one of these and truly hated it. Not only was I surprised to open the bag and find one big chunk rather than the advertised spiral, but it tasted so strongly of black pepper and cumin that I just couldn’t handle it. Since making this purchase months ago, I’ve been planning on adding them to a stir fry of sorts and just haven’t. Possibly some kind of trauma reaction?

One Single Slice of Dehydrated Kiwi

This is probably 3 months old and I ate it right after taking the photo.

A1 Crispy Cereal mix for Prawns

Had I not done my research, I’d have used this mixture to coat prawns the same way one would with breadcrumbs. Turns out you’re meant to batter and fry the prawns and toss them in the cereal mix afterwards. Always important to do your research.

Thai Minced Crab in Spices

The very kind man who sold me this did mention the best way to cook it, but it was so long ago I’m totally lost on what he said. Nothing a little research can’t help.

Pimp Your Mayo Mango & Habanero Seasoning

This is a special one. I spotted it at a food festival and thought to myself how silly it sounds. After 3 glasses of wine, it still sounded silly, but not silly enough to stop me from buying a jar. Pimp Your Mayo, I will find a use for you if it’s the last thing I ever do.

I'm not sure if this is a message on overconsumption, expanding horizons, taking inspiration, or something else I've missed entirely. Whatever it is mark my words, starting soon, I’m going to do my darndest to love and cherish each one of these wonderful ingredients. It's the very least they deserve.