So last week I turned  twenty two  twenty three, I don’t actually have an issue with getting that little bit older. I just start to panic a little when I think of where I should be at my age. There’s pressure from all angles,  of newly graduated students already working their dream job, successful Youtube hosts who are younger and earn a living  just by talking to a camera (and good on them!) For example, this guy, is quite intimidating, but awesome! I’m glad that there are dudes like this here on this earth, but sometimes I want to feel like I have also somehow managed to change the world, Amen.  So I worry a little, feel a pang of anxiety, then realise it’s all going to be okay. This is what I would tell my twenty one year old self now, realising that life really does get better, and that confidence grows.

Dear Freddi,

- You will find the thing that makes you passionate. Very soon! Chill.

- Stop worrying so much, bedtime won’t continue to be so hard, your mind will eventually calm down.

- You will learn how much rocket you can eat in one go.

- You will also learn how much cheese you can eat in one go, but at least something other than Cheddar.

- You will fall in love with Gin.

- You won’t go back to that horrid yet heavenly place on a Saturday night to satisfy drunken needs of chicken burgers and chips.

- See that dude in your room who seems awesome now? He continues being awesome. But you knew that already.

-You’re going to have the guts to go to a different country on your own, and drink great beer.

- It’s still really okay to be a little shy. And a little quiet.

What would you tell your past selves knowing what you know now? I would also tell twenty one year old Freddi that combining carbs into one meal would be something I will still be doing in the future, however it will be different from Supernoodles on bread.  Take this Potato Pizza for example, that’s right, Numero three in my Project Nigel series. POTATO PIZZA.

So the pizza was quite satisfying, the next time I make it, I may tweak it a little by putting some garlic on there aswell and a lot more herbs, I do like my herbs. Other than that, it’s a great thing to make, for lazy days or entertaining. It’s definitely a nice twist on your average ham and pineapple.

YOU WILL NEED:

1 Onion, peeled and thinly sliced (topping)

120g fontina or taleggio cheese, I wasn’t able to get my hands on either so I used Emmenthal. (topping)

3tbsp wholemeal flour (for the base)

180g waxy potatoes

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-4 tbsp olive oil

- a small palm ful of thyme leaves

4 tbsp creme fraiche

more olive oil and shavings of parmesan

225g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

7g sachet of easy blend dried yeast

1 tbsp milk

2 tbsp olive oil

Adapted from Nigel Slater’s Real Food, 1998 P.22

For the base

Mix the flours together in a bowl then add the salt. After the salt is mixed in, add the yeast, milk, olive oil and 120ml warm water and mix to form a dough. Knead on a flat surface for about 10 minutes and set aside in an oiled bowl, covered, in a warm place for thirty minutes.

Preheat the oven to 220C

Slice the potatoes thinly and bring to the boil in a pan of salted water, once boiling turn the heat down and simmer for five minutes. Drain and set aside while you fry the onion until soft. Put a large baking sheet in the oven to heat up.

Turn the dough out on a flat surface and cut in half, with a rolling pin or your hand, spread the dough out so you create a pizza base about 23cm in diameter.Leave to rise for about ten minutes.

Divide the creme fraiche, onion, potato, cheese and thyme onto each pizza, slide the pizzas onto the heated baking sheet, trickle with a little more olive oil, parmesan and seasoning then bake for twenty minutes until the bases are crisp.