Always thinking of the next meal...
Recently I’ve checked my website statistics (the traffic has skyrocketed by the way) and saw a new site linking to me. Curious as always I went to investigate. Nicole from For the Love of Food decided to make my Chicken Calvados and it was a great success which really delighted me. After reading her site for a while I noticed she has a monthly contest, called Taste & Create. The idea is to cook another blogger’s recipe and give feedback. Nicole will then do a monthly roundup of the results.
The weather here in the UK has turned for the worse. It’s cold, damp and everything is grey. The sun hangs low in the sky, casting a stark yellow light fooling you into thinking it is 5pm in the afternoon when it is actually only noon. The novelty of shopping while it is dark hasn’t worn off (for me) yet, but Britons find it downright depressing. In times like these I can’t help but turn to food for comfort. What’s more consoling than a bowl of meatballs with pasta? Lamb and dill is a rare pairing, but it works!
If you’re not a fan of red meat you can always make these turkey burgers and serve it with the sill sauce.
Pork fillet or tenderloin is very lean, so it can be quite a tricky meat to cook with. With a flick of a finger the once rosy and tender flesh can pale, shrivel and turn as tough as old boots. After a lot of experimentation, I have finally mastered one technique to cook this stubborn cut.
A savoury terrine is ideal for the summer and makes an ideal light lunch or starter. Elegant or rustic, it suits every type of occasion and can be served at picnics, buffets or anything you can think of! Eat it hot. Eat it cold. Eat it on crusty bread, or like me with a crunchy salad with a fruity dressing. The possibilities are endless!
One thing that never ceases to amaze me is how easily tomatoes grow here in the UK. For four years in a row we’ve had bumper crops of tomatoes. With Gabriel’s arrival this year our vegetable plot got grossly neglected and our poor tomatoes missed out on the tender loving care they needed. Yet we harvested kilos of them ever week. There was a slight problem though, I didn’t know what to do with them! I needed a solution quick. It would have been an awful shame to let premium quality organic tomatoes go to waste.
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Poulet Vallée d’Auge is the French name for this classic dish from Normandy and Brittany, which are the dairy and apple-growing regions of France. Chicken and apple is a match made in heaven. Paired with a light creamy sauce enhanced with some brandy is simply divine. This fricassée is seriously more-ish. Once you start you can’t stop until every morsel has been devoured and the very last globule of sauce licked off your plate, not to mention the frying pan!!
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The butter bean didn’t get its name for no reason. When you taste this creamy soup you would have never guessed there is no dairy in it. Pulses are wonderful because they contain both starch and protein that make you feel satisfied for longer and they’re cheap. The bacon is just a little luxury in this recipe but can easily be omitted and the soup suddenly becomes suitable for vegans.
A very green soup indeed. Sometimes it is difficult to get your 5-a-day, but this soup really helps in this regard, not to mention all the fibre it contains. It seems like an unlikely combination but once you try it you’ll appreciate the verdant and robust taste of the broccoli, the sweetness of the peas and the “leeky” flavour. The potato helps to give the soup a bit more “weight”, in other words more substance so that it can easily be served as a main meal. What’s more this soup can be enjoyed year round.
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3km walk done. Papaya & seeds for lunch.