Family roast night

When I was growing up we had a roast dinner once a week.  This was usually beef or lamb and occasionally pork which was more expensive.  Rarely, if ever, chicken which was far too expensive for an everyday meal.  Once a week, in households all over New Zealand (in fact all over the empire) women were roasting a joint and serving with potatoes and seasonal vegetables followed by pudding.  We all knew how to do it.  When our children were growing up we usually served a roast on Sunday.  Often chicken which was cheapest or lamb, rarely beef or pork which was too expensive.  I doubt if any of our offspring could put a roast on the table without consulting a recipe.  (Is this true?)  I obviously failed there!  As tastes and habits changed, the regular weekly roast fell off our repertoire and rarely appears at our table apart from Christmas and Easter and the occasional chicken.  I have decided to revive this flagging tradition as an irregular family get together.
Last night was very cold and the young people were hailed on between the street and the front door so they were very grateful for the gin hot toddy that was offered.  This is a fantastic idea for a winter cocktail.  Per person pour juice of 1/2 lemon, 15 ml thyme infused syrup (or 1/2 tsp brown sugar), 30 ml gin, 15 ml green ginger wine into a heat resistant glass.  Top with boiling water and stir.  Garnish with a sprig of thyme, a few juniper berries and a piece of cinnamon stick.
We started our family roast cycle with a rolled rib of beef from our local butcher.  We drizzled a little olive oil and rubbed the meat all over with dry English mustard.  Put the meat in a roasting dish with enough room for vegetables, add 1 tbsp beef dripping and put in the oven at 250 for 15 mins then reduce to 180 for the remainder of the cooking.  Calculate 35 mins per kilo.  Add the vegetables for the last 45 mins.  We had whole small carrots and parsnips and shallots which had been peeled or scrubbed and tossed in a little olive oil with salt and pepper.
My mother always added potatoes to the meat but we did ours separately in duck fat.  Peel and cut Agria potatoes into chunks - I usually allow three pieces per person plus an extra portion in case. Bring to the boil and simmer 4-6 minutes, then drain until all the steam has dispersed and they are completely dry.  Add to a roasting dish of hot duck fat (2 tbsp) and put into a hot oven (250), immediately turning down to 180.  They will need about an hour.  When the meat is done leave to rest and transfer the vegetables to a serving dish which you can keep warm while making the gravy.  Put the meat pan on the element and thicken with a little flour.  Add 1 cup beef stock, 1 tbsp red currant jelly and a slosh of red wine.  Heat stirring until it is the desired consistency.  I think the best accompaniment to roast beef is frozen peas.  Add a knob of butter and plenty of pepper when you serve. 
We also did Yorkshire puddings which was a bit of an extravagance but in England is an expected accompaniment to the Sunday roast.  My mother NEVER made these. They're pretty simple. For six, make a batter by adding 125g flour to a bowl then make a well in the centre and whisk in 2 egg and 150 mls milk.  Lightly season.  Add a dab of dripping to the required number of  compartments in regular muffin trays and pop this into the oven to get really hot.  Then pour the batter evenly across the compartments and put in the oven on a rack above the meat.  We have two ovens so I had the potatoes in the bottom oven. Serve with gravy and a little horseradish paste mixed with crème fraiche.
The timing is a bit of a juggle but actually not too hard.  Remember women all over the western world managed this every Sunday, and many in the UK still do.  I worked back from the time we wanted to eat and stuck a note on the fridge to remind me what time to put each component on to cook.
And this wouldn't have been a Sunday roast (albeit on Saturday) without pudding.  Our childhood favourite was Dominion pudding from the Edmonds book.  Cream 50g butter with 100g sugar, add an egg and beat well.  Add 1 cup flour sifted with 1 tsp baking powder alternately with 1 cup milk and mix until you have a smooth batter.  I was taught to always end with the flour.  Grease a pudding basin and put a few spoonfuls of raspberry jam on the bottom.  Pour over the batter and secure the lid on the basin.  Steam in  a large pan of boiling water for 1 1/4 hours.  If you have never done this before Edmonds is not helpful.  It says  "steam 1 1/4 hours".  Bring the water to the boil add the pudding, cover and turn right down.  It needs the full cooking time but will not spoil if it goes over. Serve with custard and/or cream.
The next day you could have roast beef sandwiches with horseradish, watercress and some sliced roast potatoes if there were any left over.  This is where that spare portion might come in handy.
Tonight we made a cottage pie with some of the left over meat.  I made a sofrito of onion, carrot, garlic and fennel.  I use whatever is in the fridge that might work including celery or leek which we don't have today.  It's not strictly a sofrito but that gives the general idea.
Add the leftover meat and vegetables finely chopped.  Add the leftover gravy, leaving some aside if you have a Yorkshire to reheat, and a good slosh of some kind of tomato sauce or chutney to give a good consistency of pie mix.  Turn mix into a pie dish.  I always use my mother's 1 3/4 pint Denby casserole dish.  (She used this dish for all potato topped dishes, rice pudding, crumble or with the lid for casserole.)  Top with some kind of mash.  I had celeriac and pumpkin in the freezer so mixed them together.
And now I have one meal quantity of beef left.  Any suggestions?

Home and abroad

It's been a while but I find myself with a moment to spare and I thought I'd catch up with you.  We've been away.  This isn't an excuse but I thought I'd start by sharing some of the delights we ate while we were away.  We travelled to England and Scotland and I made a side trip to Rogat in the Netherlands.  We ate some amazing food and I am not going to mention the not so great - best forgotten.
There are some wonderful places to eat in London.  We made a day trip to Hampstead Heath and I wanted to eat at the Spaniard's Inn.  The food wasn't this good last time I was there.  We sat in the sun and enjoyed a leisurely lunch and a pint.  From the June menu, I had the Scotch egg and Peter had the terrine. We then shared the salad of bulgar wheat, quinoa, lentils, soy flakes, radish, pomegranate & asparagus.  There was one surprise with the salad - no asparagus.  And a slightly odd response to its absence.  The waitress had no idea what asparagus was and peered at the plate uncertain what was actually missing.  The chef and the duty manager were surprised that I had thought fit to mention its non-appearance.  That said, this was the best Scotch egg ever and  a wonderful salad sans asparagus.
I was keen to try out Ottolenghi's Soho offering, Nopi.  We couldn't get a table in the main restaurant but there was space at the downstairs bar.  It was a great atmosphere and great food.  We had a selection of dishes to share.  I was browsing in the Time Out and I found a review for another Middle Eastern restaurant in Soho, the Palomar.  If you only eat at one Middle Eastern restaurant in your life, make it this one.  Again we couldn't get a table but we did secure a perch at the bar where we could observe the food being prepared and the chefs having fun while they cooked.  
We had two great meals in Glasgow.   We were taken by friends to Two Fat Ladies at the Buttery.  This was a five-star restaurant specialising in fish.  We don't often eat out like this.  At the other end of the scale we went to a family run Italian restaurant, Sarti, which is definitely worth a visit. 
Phoebe searched out another amazing find in Canterbury.  Next to the railway station is the Goods Shed where produce was once stored before being transported by train.  This is now a Farmer's Market and restaurant serving locally sourced seasonal food.  I can't describe the meal - you'll have to try it out for yourself.
I also enjoyed home cooking in the village of Rogat in the Netherlands province of Drenthe.  I enjoyed traditional Dutch cooking including Stamppot, made with endive as a summer substitute for kale, and chervil soup.  Most of what I ate was produced from the back yard including eggs and honey.   
Since we've been back we have been enjoying some of the coldest weather Wellington can throw at us, so we thinking slow cooking and lots of winter greens.  Luckily the kale, cavalo nero and rainbow chard in the garden is keeping us going.  We have a new eatery in Wellington, Loretta, sister restaurant to Floriditas.  They have the ultimate comfort rice dish  - warm rice with broken sausage and thyme.  I am making a basic risotto with a sprinkle of chilli flakes and a handful of thyme leaves in with the very finely chopped onions.  I used pork & fennel sausages, skin removed and broken up.  Cook these lightly before adding the rice.  Add extra stock so the resulting dish is quite sloppy.  Add extra thyme at the end and omit cheese.  Truly.   I served with  leeks and winter greens from the garden.
You should also try a potato tagine-style stew which has become a staple at our table.  For four to six, soften a finely sliced onion and two roughly chopped carrots with a pinch of salt, in a heavy bottomed pan.   Add a teaspoon each of ground coriander, cumin, ginger, turmeric and paprika and a pinch of chilli flakes along with three crushed garlic cloves, zest of a lemon, tbsp clear honey, a couple of bay leaves and three long green chillis left whole.  Cook for a couple of minutes.  Add scrubbed red skinned waxy potatoes cut into chunks and turn in the spices. Add a tin of tomatoes, a tin of chickpeas, two cups chicken or vegetable stock and bring to the boil.  Cover and simmer fotry minutes.  Add a handful of green olives at the end and serve with dollops of Greek yoghurt (I use Zany Zeus) and scatter with toasted pumpkin seeds, a tsp of paprika and some finely chopped parsley (or coriander).  You will make this again and again.
 

Vegetable wonders

We still have plenty of beetroot and radishes.  I found a delicious new way to serve squid which has the added advantage of using some of the beetroot leaves along with spinach.  For four, saute a finely chopped red onion in a little olive oil then add 500g squid sliced into rings, with 1/4 cup white rice.  It may not seem like much rice but it is enough.  You don't want the rice to overwhelm.  The squid & spinach are the stars here.  Cook 3 minutes or so then add a tin of tomatoes and a handful of roughly chopped spinach & beetroot leaves with 2 tbsp chopped parsley.  Simmer 10 mins or until rice & squid are cooked.  Delicious.
Remember spicy bean stew?  This a herby version.  Saute a sliced leek in olive oil until soft then add 2 cloves chopped garlic and cook a minute or two.  Add a tin of tomatoes and a good handful of finely chopped herbs - parsley, thyme, chervil.  Cook about 10 minutes and if it looks dry add a splash of water.  At the end add some finely sliced spinach & beetroot leaves with a drained tin of canellini beans and cook until the greens are wilted and the beans are heated through.  Add a sprinkling of herbs to serve.
We went to friends for dinner, were served a wonderful meal and sent home with a bag of freshly picked runner beans.  I cooked these with herbs and served with steak and a corn and avocado salad.  For the beans, slice them thinly and cook in water about 10 mins & drain.  There were about 400g.   Heat a little olive oil & add a good handful of chopped mint, parsley, chervil & dill with 4 tsp capers, juice and zest of  a lemon, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 2 small shallots finely chopped.  Stir in the beans & serve.  Add any leftovers to a salad the next day. 
For the corn salad, combine kernels from 2 cooked corn cobs or about 2 1/2 cups frozen, 4-5 tomatoes cut into wedges, 2 diced avocados & handful of basil leaves.  Toss with a herb dressing made by mixing in a food processor 3 handfuls basil leaves, 2 cloves of garlic, zest of a lemon, 1 1/2 cups olive oil & a pinch of salt.  This will keep in a jar in the fridge for a week & is also great with fish & freshly dug potatoes.
The garden is certainly serving us well.  On Sunday I tried to finish up odds and ends.  We bought some fish from the market & served with the last of the potatoes & aforementioned oil, a corn cob mixed with the last of the peas and the lone leek sauteed with the lone courgette.  The courgettes got off to a slow start but are coming on now.  I think it may have been the lack of sun as there was a shortage of female flowers on the plants and apparently they appear as the weather warms up.
I have been reading about Isabel (Mrs) Beeton's carrot jam which was intended as a kind of substitute for apricot jam.  On further investigation, I stumbled upon a treasure trove of vegetable jams from our old friend Hugh F-W.  Not chutney, but vegetable jams.  I started with the carrot version, which resembles a spicy marmalade with lots of peel and is delicious.  I am keen to try the green tomato but we didn't put in any tomatoes this year.  I may be able to muster up the pumpkin jam as we have a splendid crop and if the courgettes improve look out for courgette and lemon jam.
With the pumpkin I have already made what looks like the winter's supply of pumpkin soup.  I will be looking for smart ideas for pumpkin shortly. 

Going Dutch

This week we stuck with the old standbys with just a couple of new things to share.
We haven't had a fish soup for ages and this week we tried a variation on an old favourite.  For 2, steam a dozen mussels in 1/2 cup white wine until the mussels have opened.  Set the mussels aside and strain the cooking liquor through a fine sieve.  You'll want about 3/4 cup of liquid.  Set a couple of mussels aside to garnish & halve the rest.  Rinse out the pan and put it back on the heat with a little olive oil & butter, 1/2 leek finely sliced & 1/2 fennel bulb finely sliced.  Season, cover & cook over a low heat about 10 mins until tender.  Add a clove of crushed garlic, some fresh thyme & a pinch of saffron.  Cook about a minute.  Add the mussel liquor, 1 1/2 cups chicken stock & 1/4 cup cream.  Bring to the boil & simmer 10 minutes. Add about 300g firm white fish cut into bite-sized pieces.  We used  porae from Yellow Brick Road - responsibly caught via long-line on day boats, traceable, certified by Friends of the Sea.  I added that because, if you check the app I mentioned last week, porae is listed as a bad choice.  Simmer 3 mins or so until the fish is just cooked then take off the heat and add the mussels & some chopped parsley.  Add a reserved mussel to each bowl along with some fennel fronds & a grind of black pepper.  Serve with freshly baked sourdough.
A real find this week was the Dutch favourite Stamppot.  This is Dutch sausage & mash & is divine.  I found the recipe on a Dutch blog along with other interesting ideas so we may be trying some Dutch fare over winter. I pretty much followed this recipe to the letter and although I was sceptical about the vinegar it was perfect addition. The recipe recommends adding a stock cube to the potato cooking water but, in fact, I boiled the potatoes in our home made stock.  I bought the rookworst at Moore Wilson and again I didn't expect to like it but it was delicious.  I also think this would be nice with a good pork sausage and a blob of apple butter.  Did I mention that I had made it again this year, but this time with more sugar because last year it didn't keep well?  This year's batch is much firmer & could be spreadable but still delicious.
We also went back to that old favourite kedgeree. We got some beautiful smoked fish from YBR but I can't recall what it was.  I was reminded how much I love kedgeree and I'm sure it will reappear on our table before too long. 
Next week is going to be interesting.  Harriet has challenged us to spend no more than $21 on the entire week's food including coffees and other treats.  I feel confident we can do it.  I'll let you know how we go.  If you have any suggestions please share.  Alternately if you have any suplus in your gardens they would be welcome too.

Fish suppers

We've been having a fishy time recently.  Wonderful fish at the market and scallops & whitebait on the menu.  I thought I would share some of our favourites.  If you are not a partaker of fruits de la mer turn away now.
I love a creamy risotto with a simple fillet of pan fried fish.  We have had rainbow chard in the garden this winter.  I thought it would die back but it has not.  We just have to keep eating it.  Fortunately I came upon a recipe from Floriditas for rainbow chard risotto.  You could make this with any greens I think including beetroot tops and this is the perfect accompaniment to a pan fried fillet of terakihi or gurnard.
I also like to do an oven based vegetable dish with a piece of fish cooked on top at the end.  Try these braised potatoes with leeks and thyme, topped with a firm fillet of white fish.
For four, lightly boil 600g waxy potatoes and slice to about 1/2 cm thickness.  Halve 3 leeks lengthwise and slice about 1cm thick.  Mix the potatoes & leeks with a little olive oil, thyme and 2 cloves crushed garlic then tip into a wide shallow ovenproof pan (or cazuela) & place over a medium heat.  Pour over 1/2 cup white wine & a cup chicken stock & bring to the boil.  Cover with a lid or foil and transfer to the oven.  Cook at 180 for about 45 mins until the vegetables are tender.
Put the fillets on top of the vegetables pour over 1/3 cup cream then grate over Parmesan.  Cook uncovered about 15 minutes until the fish is just cooked & the vegetables are just coloured.  If it is still quite liquidy remove the fish & set aside to keep warm then reduce the liquid down on the stove top.  Serve with lemon wedges and a green salad if you fancy.
For a quick scallop treat try gingery scallops with spinach.  We often have this for Saturday lunch  or it could be a birthday starter if your birthday falls in the scallop season. Warm 2 tsp grated ginger, 1 clove crushed garlic, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp v finely chopped red capsicum in a little olive oil.  Heat a pan to very hot & cook the scallops in batches (6-10 per person depending on hunger/greed), 30 seconds each side.  Remove from the pan & rest in the marinade.  Add a bunch of chopped spinach to the pan with a little lemon juice & wilt down.  Place the spinach onto warm plates, top with scallops & drizzle over the marinade & pan juices.
For a very seasonal and rather luxurious soup night, what about pea & parsley soup topped with scallops & fried tarragon?  Soften a finely sliced onion and 2 stalks finely chopped celery in a little butter, with a bay leaf. Add 3 cups chicken stock & bring to boil then add 1 kg freshly picked or frozen peas & boil 3 mins.  remove from the heat & stir through 1 cup chopped parsley & 3/4 cup cream with a little ground white pepper to taste.  Blend until smooth.  Add 2 tsp red wine vinegar & salt to taste.  Keep warm while you pan fry 3 scallops per diner.  Cook them in a little butter with a little salt & some tarragon leaves.  Pour the soup into serving bowls and top each bowl with scallops and tarragon leaves.

Catching Up

It's been a while.  We've not been going hungry.  We have been eating delicious dinners everyday and baking bread every week.  I have had other things going on and I haven't made the time to sit down and record them.  The photos however have been taken and I thought I would take this opportunity to update you on how we have been eating over winter. 
I've just picked three highlights.  I'd never made Coronation Chicken before.  Have you?  I thought I would have a go this Queen's birthday with all the Jubilee events going on and I was very pleasantly surprised.  It wasn't even that complicated.  I used Rosemary Hume's original recipe and I pretty much stuck to the recipe even when it sounded a bit odd e.g. apricot jam & mayonnaise.  I did just poach chicken breasts rather than a whole bird because it was only for three.  The rice salad with peas was delicious.  Try it in the summer or at the next Jubilee.
On the retro theme I also recently made a prawn cocktail with a classic Rose Marie sauce and Steak Dianne.  It's worth revisiting those old favourites - they were popular for a reason.  Perhaps I'll have a dinner party with a retro theme.
Phoebe gave Peter a very exciting pizza cutter for his birthday and, yes, I know that was a while ago, however pizzas have now been eaten & sliced & I can report that it is very effective.  I should have some of the other gadgets in the series.  The pizzas were also good.  I made one classic margherita & looked to Hugh for inspiration.  I always use Hugh's magic bread dough for pizza these days. Any dough left over shape into a loaf, make a couple of cuts in the top and pop in the oven at 250 for about half an hour or till it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.  I have made the beetroot pizza and recommend it along with the kale and onion, however on this occasion I did potato, rosemary & blue cheese.  The classic margherita & this one are the two pizza greats.   They also do a fabulous version of this at Scopa in Wellington - it's the Rosa Maria.  While I'm on the topic of the Bresolin brothers, we had the Wellington on a Plate menu last week at Duke Carvell's between movies and it was a stunner.  And tomorrow is the Moore Wilson Food Heroes which is one of the highlights of my culinary year. 
My house guests gave me Ottolenghi's Plenty and I made Chickpea, tomato & bread soup.  Make this soup.  Ottolenghi describes this as a warming & filling meal in a bowl after which you need nothing but a "little pillow to rest your head on".  It's true.  Try it.
And there are many more gems to be found in the book.  It has become one of my "go to" books when I have a vegetable & need an idea.
And I have to tell you about the dinner I have just eaten.  Peter made us braised fish with leeks, thyme and potatoes. 
For two, cook a couple of waxy potatoes, sliced 1/2 cm thick, for about 4 minutes & set aside to cool a little.  Halve a leek & slice about 1cm thick. Mix the cooked potatoes & leeks with 2 tbsp melted butter, some thyme leaves & a clove of crushed garlic.  Tip into a wide saute pan - Peter used the cazuela - pour over 1/4 cup white wine & 1/2 cup chicken stock & bring to the boil.  Cover with baking paper, seal with foil or a tight fitting lid & put the dish in the oven at 180 for about 45 mins.  Cut about 350 g white fish into large pieces & place on top of the veg.  Pour over a little cream, season & scatter with grated Parmesan.  Cook uncovered until the fish is cooked - about 15 mins.  Serve with lemon wedges.

Pasta, grains & greens

When I first introduced soup Monday I made a wonderful barley soup inspired by Alison Holst & I returned there this week.  This had two pleasing consequences.  I discovered I had more pearl barley in the cupboard than I needed & remembered a barley salad I had been meaning to make.  You could serve this with anything really but we had lamb meatballs which worked well.  Just make your favourite meatball recipe.  We included onion, garlic & cinnamon.  For the salad cook 1/2 cup of pearl barley for about half an hour until tender.  It may take a little longer.  Drain, toss through 2 tbsp olive oil & set aside to cool slightly.  In the meantime mix a cup chopped parsley, 1/4 finely diced preserved lemon, a few black olives, juice of 1/2 a lemon, crumbled feta & some finely sliced mint leaves.  Mix in the cooled barley & top with meatballs.  Good as lunch leftovers later in the week.  Look forward to lots of barley on these pages in the coming weeks.Are you wondering what the second consequence was - did you think I had forgotten?  The soup requires a can of creamed sweetcorn & I only needed 1/2  a tin for two.  We added the remaining corn to the Friday night omelette.  Try this - it was delicious.  I have a real soft spot for creamed corn.
I often think of the green vegetable first & then come up with a way to fit a meal around it.  For a simple weekday meal you can't go past Hugh F-W's macaroni peas.  Cook pasta - we used macaroni but penne or whatever shapes you have to hand would do as well.  Cook some frozen peas.  While the peas are cooking gently soften a clove of garlic in a little butter.  Blend half the peas with the butter, garlic, 25g Parmesan & enough of the pea cooking water to make a puree.  Think pesto.  Combine with the rest of the peas & pasta, add more Parmesan & mix through basil or parsley.
Roasted roots crumble seemed like a good accompaniment to leeks & greens this week.  Roast a selection of pale root vegetables - potato, parsnip, swede, celeriac - cut into smallish chunks & some sliced onion, with a mustardy dressing.  Mix equal quantities of wholegrain mustard, honey & olive oil with a good quantity of chopped rosemary and toss the veg around in it.  Cover the veg & roast at 180 for 45 minutes then uncover & cook a further 20 minutes at 200.  You want the vegetables well cooked & golden but not browned.  Pour a few tbsp cream over the vegetables - this is just to meld them together a little so you could omit if you don't have cream in the cupboard.  Top with a crumble made of a handful of rolled oats, 2-3 slices of crumbed bread, toasted hazlenut roughly chopped , grated cheese & a little melted butter.  Return to the oven for 10-15 minutes to crisp up the crumble.
We made way more than we could eat & there was a little cranbapple sauce in the fridge so the next day we had lamb rack with the left over crumble mixed with the left over leeks & greens.
If we are planning to eat mixed greens it seems impossible to buy only what we need for a single meal so another pasta & greens meal was called for.  Again this can be whatever pasta & greens you have to hand.  In our case penne & cabbage with beetroot leaves.   Soften an onion in a little oil then add finely chopped garlic & chilli & cook a little longer.  Cook the pasta in the usual way & a few minutes before the end of cooking add the shredded greens.  Drain the pasta & greens & toss with the onion mix & some grated Parmesan & a drizzle of olive oil.
There was still some spinach & beetroot leaves to use so out came that meal of the moment  - spicy potatoes with greens.  Top it with a poached egg and you have a splendid meal.
This week a work colleague gave me 5 kilos of windfall apples.  Look out for apple recipes next week.  If you have any ideas post them here.
You may remember that when I go to the market every Sunday & have a cup of chowder from Yellow Brick Road for Breakfast.  I occasionally try something different but always return to chowder.  Nothing else quite measures up - until now.  I may have found a new favourite - Vicky Ha and The Dumpling House.  Try those dumplings.  She now sells them frozen by the dozen and I am planning to buy a dozen tofu & spinach dumplings to treat a vegan.  I think my favourite is the pork & cabbage but the Nepalese lamb & veg is a close second.

Easter Eats

This year's Easter menu is almost the same as last year & the year before.   Good Friday means hot cross buns, hot from the oven around 11.30.  Dinner is smoked fish pie.  I like the predictability of traditional festive eating.  It reminds me that we do have food traditions although they are mostly ignored these days & some people are unsure where they came from.  Most relate to the old agricultural year so although they are seasonal are not always relevant to modern city dwelling.  I do like to bring them out on high days & holidays.  I'd like to do more of them.
Saturday was an unbelievably hot Wellington day.  Possibly the warmest of the summer & there was no wind in our garden so we dined outdoors, mezze style, for lunch.  We had sourdough with carrot hummus, flatbread with leafy greens & goats' cheese, a tomato salad & spicy potatoes with spinach.  This has become one of my favourites.  It is really quick & would do as part of a spread, a meal on its own or as I did with the leftovers, topped with a poached egg.
Boil some small waxy potatoes & set aside to cool enough that you can handle them.  Heat a little oil in a pan & soften a thinly sliced onion.  Add a clove of crushed garlic, 1 finely chopped chilli, a knob of grated ginger, 2 tsp garam masala & cook for a couple of minutes.  Thickly slice the cooled potatoes into the pan & heat through.  Thinly slice a handful of spinach & add it to the pan.  Stir through until wilted then season with salt & pepper.  If you are not feeding a vegan think about adding a little cream to bind or you could use coconut cream.  I like it both with & without cream.
Easter lamb is one of my favourite meals of the year.  This year we did a very simple slow cooked shoulder of lamb served with roasted vegetables and leeks & greens.  We included beetroot leaves with the greens.  Keeping with the rosemary theme of the lamb, I roasted carrot, parsnip & swede coated in mustard, rosemary & honey.  Cut an appropriate number of vegetables for your table into bite size chunks & toss in a mixture of wholegrain mustard, honey & olive oil.  Use 2 tbsp each per 1 kg veg.  Season & add rosemary sprigs, then tip everything into a roasting dish & cover with foil.  Bake for 30 mins at 180 then uncover & turn up to 200 for another 30-40 mins.  You want them tender & beginning to caremelise.
To complete the meal I made a sauce with the 15 crab apples off our trees.  This was a variation of something I found on the internet called Sassy Crabapple and Cranberry Chutney.  I found there are heaps of recipes called Sassy crabapple and/or cranberry  - who can say why?  I named mine simply Cranbapple.  Use a ratio of 2:1 crab apples to cranberries.  We didn't have enough crab apples so I included a couple of windfall apples as well.  Peel and core the apples and add the cranberries.  For 750g fruit, add grated ginger, a clove of crushed garlic, a cinnamon stick, zest & juice of a lemon, a sprig rosemary, 1/4 cup muscovado sugar, 1 tbsp apple syrup (you could use maple if you have it - use real syrup not maple style syrup).  Put it all on the stove and cook until the fruit is soft - 20 mins or so.  Remove the cinnamon stick and rosemary before serving.

There were leftovers of the roasted roots.  Later in the week I heated them in the microwave, pureed in the processor then mixed with a freshly mashed potato.  We cooked up a fresh batch of leeks & greens.  A savoy cabbage is a pretty big thing and will stretch to quite a few servings.  We served with sausages & cranbapple sauce.  There is still a little sauce left - maybe a lamb rack over the weekend? 

Sticking with the fruity theme we had apple & blackberry pie & vanilla ice cream for pudding.  I had hoped to get fresh blackberries but we had to settle for frozen.  If you have a favourite pastry recipe use that or buy good short pastry.  We used this recipe and recommend making pastry with lard.  My mother-in-law does this & she is the queen of pastry.  Phoebe hopes to follow in her footsteps.  Mix slices of apple & blackberries (about 1 kg fruit) with 1 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp each nutmeg & cinnamon then turn into a pie dish.  Cover with pastry & bake for 40 mins at 200 until golden.

Goodbye summer, hello autumn

Only a couple more tagines to go.  This week it was butter beans with cherry tomatoes & olives.  I use the jars of Spanish butter beans.  Heat some olive oil and butter in a tagine.  Stir in 4 cloves of crushed garlic, 2 sliced red onions, 1 sliced green chilli.  Add 2 tsp crushed coriander seeds, a knob of grated ginger & a pinch of saffron.  Cover & cook 5 mins.  Add 20 or so cherry tomatoes with 2 tsp each sugar & dried thyme.  Cover & cook until the tomato skins begin to wrinkle, not long.  Toss in the drained butter beans & a handful of black olives.  Squeeze on some lemon juice, cover & cook until the beans & olives are heated through. Sprinkle with parsley & serve with some crusty sourdough & a dollop of thick yoghurt.
Sunday night was a lovely piece of gurnard & an unexpected treat from the market - samphire. Luckily the fishmonger was able to tell us how to cook it.  I cooked the fish with the potatoes a la Hugh.  First roast the potatoes in a roasting dish big enough to hold the fish & when they're nearly done add the fish.  I often do this & serve with a garlicky minty pea puree.  The samphire is easy.  You do need to pick through & remove the woody bits.  The bottoms are quite twiggy & not nice to eat.  Think asparagus of the sea & you will get the idea.  You just boil for 3-4 minutes & toss in butter with black pepper & lemon juice.  Think seafood+lemon.  Don't salt without tasting.  It grows in the salt water.  Keep an eye out for it next year - this was the end of the season.  I think this lot came from the Hawkes Bay somewhere. 
Try this soup with the last of the courgettes & corn.  Heat some olive oil with a knob of butter in a large saucepan & add 2 thinly sliced onions & 400g floury potatoes peeled & diced.  Cover & steam for 10 minutes or so.  Keep an eye on them to ensure the potatoes don't catch.  Add 500g roughly chopped courgettes & the kernels off 2 sweet corn cobs with 2 tsp ground cumin, 2 cloves crushed garlic & cook for a couple of minutes.  Add 5 cups chicken stock, season & bring to the boil.  Simmer 10 minutes ensuring the potatoes & corn are cooked.    Transfer 1/3 of the soup & 1/2 cup basil to a food processor & blend until smooth.  Tip the puree back in the pan & reheat if necessary.  To serve top with a dollop of yoghurt, some extra basil & a drizzle of olive oil.  This is delicious reheated for lunch on a day you happen to be working from home.
It's the new leek season so we had spaghetti with leeks & bacon with chilli crumbs.  Remove the crusts from 3-4 slices of sourdough bread & tear into large crumbs.  Lay on a baking tray & spray lightly with olive oil.  Add 1/2 tsp chilli flakes & 1/2 tsp sea salt.  Mix them well & bake at 180 10-15 minutes.  Keep a close eye & toss occasionally.
Meanwhile heat some olive oil in a pan & add finely sliced onion & leek with a tbsp finely chopped rosemary.  Cook slowly until the alliums are soft.  Stir in 200g crumbly goat's cheese.  Grill a couple of rashers of bacon & chop into the onion mix.  Cook the spaghetti  and put everything together with some grated Parmesan.  Hold back  a few of the crumbs & sprinkle on the top.
As you know, I am very fond of lentils & I got the idea of making a spicy lentil stew from Nigel Slater.  I thought that this would be nice with mashed potatoes, then I found a parsnip in the fridge & thought parsnip & potato mash but that seemed a little insipid & carrot seemed like a colourful addition.  The trick is to cook the potato separately.  So cook the potato in one pot & the parsnips & carrots in another then puree them with a little butter in the food processor & mash the potato with a little warm milk.   Whip them together with a fork, season & add a little grated nutmeg.  There was some spinach in the fridge with the parsnip but not quite enough for two so I added the beetroot leaves.  Remember to always use your beetroot leaves.  I just like them in salad but I now know that they are also good cooked.  Just roughly chop the spinach & beet leaves & put in a dry pan.  The water left from washing the leaves is sufficient.  Cook them down, season - nutmeg is also good here - & stir through a little olive oil or cream if you find some in the fridge.  This meal was my favourite of the week although I did use every pot and pan in the house.  One for the lentils & another for the caramelised onion topping, two for the mash & another for the greens.  I did struggle to fit everything on the hob.  Phoebe would have had something to say about this.  There was more than enough but my plan is to add the left over lentils to the intended left over lamb & quince tagine for a Moroccan shepherd's pie.  The sweet orange mash should be perfect & I think I have some frozen mashed potato to add to it.  Return next week for the thrilling conclusion.

At home

For Harriet's birthday I did the usual vegan Mediterranean style medley.  This year I added Patatas Bravas to the menu.  This is a classic Spanish tapa that I had had at a Spanish restaurant in Auckland & have been keen to try.  First make the sauce.  Sweat a finely chopped onion in a little olive oil with some finely chopped thyme, until the onion is very soft & translucent.  Add 3 cloves of finely chopped garlic & a finely chopped, fairly hot red chilli.  Cook a minute or 2.  Add a tin of chopped tomatoes, 2 tsp smoked paprika, a pinch of sugar, salt & pepper.  Simmer about 10 minutes & keep warm. 
Cook a pan of waxy potatoes cut into 3cm cubes, 10-12 minutes (make lots because these will be popular).  Drain & dry then saute in olive oil 10-15 minutes until they are crisp & golden.  Drain & tip into a dish then pour over the warmed sauce.  Scatter with parsley & watch these disappear from the table. Especially if they are served in this new casserole purchased at Alan Rhodes pottery in Whenuakite, Coromandel.
We had friends over & I wanted to spend the evening talking not cooking.  This pork dish was the answer.  For 4, take 600g pork fillets & tie with kitchen string, tying the thin end under for even cooking.  Combine 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, finely chopped rosemary, zest of a lemon in a bowl & season, then rub over the pork & set aside.
In a roasting dish combine 4 parsnips, peeled & sliced on the diagonal, 2 red onions, quartered, 3 carrots peeled & cut on the diagonal, 8 wholes cloves of garlic, skin on.  Toss with a little olive oil & roast 40 minutes intil tender.  Turn occasionally to ensure even cooking.  Make a dressing of 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1/4 cup good olive oil, 1 clove crushed garlic, 1 tsp grainy mustard, 2 tbsp chopped chives, salt & pepper.  Add a couple of handfuls baby spinach to the veg then toss through the dressing.  Brown the pork on all sides in a pan then roast in a hot oven 12 minutes.  Rest 10 minutes.  Toss through the vegetables. I made the mistake of sharing the recipe, so my friends know I hadn't gone to any trouble.
On Monday - yes it's soup Monday time - we had roasted pumpkin with chorizo.  Dice enough pumpkin for 2 & combine with a little olive oil & butter,  1/2 tsp each ground ginger & allspice, 1/4 tsp chilli flakes, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, in a roasting dish.  Roast at 180 until tender & a little caramelised - about 30 mins.  Meanwhile heat a little olive oil in a soup pan & fry 1 dried  sliced chorizo, 1/2 sliced onion, 1/2 diced carrot, 1 stalk sliced celery, 1 clove crushed garlic, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, until onion is soft.  Stir in 1 tbsp tomato paste, 3 cups beef or chicken stock, the roasted pumpkin & 1/2 tin kidney beans.  Simmer 30 minutes.  Puree a small quantity of the soup so you have a mix of pureed & chunky.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream & a sprinkle of smoked paprika.
We found a great recipe for a smoked mackerel salad that made a very simple work day meal.  Finely slice 1/2 an onion & soak in water or white wine vinegar to soften.  Boil a handful of waxy potatoes until tender & set aside.  Grill a couple of rashers of streaky bacon.  Make a vinaigrette with olive oil, white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, capers & a sprig of dill. Add the onions to the dressing & toss with the halved potatoes while they are still warm.  Mix through a fillet of smoked flaked mackerel & crumble the bacon over the top.  You could consider adding a hard-boiled egg.  I didn't this time but might next.
We had a frightful storm last Saturday & we did an emergency dash in pjs to rescue some roses that I feared would be battered.  They looked so wonderful in a vase that I thought I would share with you.  This is the 2nd flowering and these little babies seem to flourish more each year.  I'm pleased to report that there are still plently of blooms left on the bushes.