Sorrel and chervil?

Wherever I tried today I could not get sorrel ( which was optional to the recipe) or chervil! But went ahead anyway with Roast chicken, herb and asparagus rice.
This was a recipe to use left over roast chicken but as I had not prepared for this I had to cook some chicken instead.
Lots of herbs in this one, some from my home grown ones, some bought and some completely un obtainable!!!
A light refreshing sort of dish , useful if trying to use leftover chicken but otherwise wouldn't do this one again if it meant actually cooking soe chicken first.
Why is it so difficult to obtain ingredients, my friend who lives down south has none of these problems!!! Are all the good cooks in the south- I don't think so !!!!!

More salmon

Yesterday's recipe was Salmon and Dill patties
Salmon on Wednesday and now on Thursday - still not to worry I love salmon and the recipe sounded delicious, served with a cucumber and yoghurt sauce, very summery ( although the weather did not match! )
It is very satisfying to use ingredients you have grown yourself and at last my herbs are growing well and so the dill in this recipe was my own.
I made the patties in the morning and kept them in the fridge until I needed to cook them. I expected them to be like a fish cake really , but not at all, much better and definitely more tasty. 

The cucumber and dill sauce.

Another expensive - but amazing - quiche

Today's recipe was A salmon and spinach tart , sounds very simple but gosh was it good.
Another of Mr Slater's  expensive tarts, involving lots of double cream and egg yolks, amongst the salmon and spinach, but well worth it.
I always find pastry a bit tricky but practice is making perfect, and the filling was very easy to do. The result was "superb " - my husband's words not mine !!!!!!
It was divinely delicious, a sort of quiche with a salmon hollandaise filling, rich, creamy and very naughty.

Finally the supermarket stocked the ingreds!

Today's chapter is called " Sorting the wheat" . In this Mr Slater explains the differences between the various kinds of wheat available and whoopee the supermarket stocked the wheat I needed for today's recipe. My store cupboard is beginning to look rather good now with lots of new additions!
Today's recipe uses cracked wheat - Wheat with mint and Alphonso mango.
Well don't know if my mangoes were Alphonso or not, but this was a very nice salad. The addition of mango made it have a sweet flavour contrasting with the sharp lemon dressing and radishes and onions. The wheat added a different texture and made it a very satisfying salad - even the husband could be fooled into thinking it wasn't quite a salad!!!!!!!

Hard to find ingredients.

Last nights recipe was A risotto of spelt and pea shoots
Mr Slater says "pearled spelt" is "....now easily available from supermarkets and grocers..."
Well not where I live so once again I had to order on line!
I love pea shoots and their flavour really comes through in this risotto. Made half quantities as just the two of us tonight, but there was plenty, in fact a very filling dish. Delicious.

On the search for gooseberries again!

Yesterday saw me on the hunt for gooseberries yet again, and yet again no luck in finding fresh ones so have had to resort to tinned ones again. The recipe was A warm jam of gooseberries and strawberries.
This recipe uses half the normal amount of sugar as it is a jam " ......for instant consumption...."
This was much easier to make than a normal jam as I wasn't worrying about the setting point and we both thought the taste was much better as it wasn't as sweet as a normal preserved jam. I would call this a " pouring jam " and served it with scones and cream. The recipe made two jars and as it only keeps a few days in the fridge will pass on the second jar to my daughter for a second opinion.

I also made Crystallised rose petals
Excellent!!!! If you have been reading my blog you might remember I couldn't find these when making the Dark chocolate discs with rose petals. Well the rose petals are now all in a screw top jar waiting to darken and crisp up and then I will be able to have another go at the chocolate discs.

The worst ever

15thJune and a chapter headed "A new kitchen table "
Mr Slater's desire for a " simple, polished everyday table........that will get better for a few wine rings, oil spots and maybe the odd burn...." Reminds me of some dear friends who had just such a table. They didn't worry about setting an elegant table ( or using serving dishes, the pans often sufficed) food was good and the company better, wonderful evenings spent together .
Today's recipe has no title  or exact list of ingredients, but I have a go. It sounded like another wonderful open kind of sandwich.
This has to be the worst thing I have ever made and I couldn't finish it. I didn't feel the avocado went well with wasabi paste or served on toast. Not one I will repeat!

The perfect lunch

Today for lunch we had A salad of crab, avocado and lime
This perfect combination was served on toast. Gorgeous, very rich - doesn't look a lot on the plate but we couldn't have eaten any more. The lime toast was amazing - give it a go!

Like it or loathe it

A chapter headed "Getting tarragon right" Mr. Slater calls it a "......like it or loathe it herb...."
I love tarragon, but having grown mine from seed it is not quite ready to use yet so had to buy some from the supermarket. Very annoying as its never in the quantity you require , neither is it very fresh!!!!!
Two recipes for yesterday. The first was  Chicken tarragon mayonnaise.
Bit worried about tackling the mayonnaise as I have had varied success rates in the past. Well not difficult to make but my mayonnaise was very very thick! Still a very light tasty way to serve chicken - perfect for a summers day , if we ever get one!

The second recipe was Cherry almond crumble
Having broken my crumble dish and not yet replaced it I decided to make individual crumbles. The recipe made 6 , we ate two (scrummy) and I froze the rest for later. ( I hope they freeze successfully - froze them before cooking )
The cherries proved quite expensive £8 for 750 gms - still as a desert for 6 I guess that's OK.
Combination of cherry and almond is exquisite.

A bike trip ahead

June 7th and the title of this chapter is " Savouring the apricot. Stoning the cherry " and besides the two recipes for today Mr Slater gives other helpful suggestions as to how to bring out the best in these two fruits.
My step son arrives this evening for an overnight stay before embarking , with his father , on a biking trip to Scotland in the morning. My daughter and future son-in-law join us for tea so tonight I have 4 guinea pigs to try out my two recipes.
The first is Chicken with apricots and coconut milk. To save time I made the spice paste yesterday and as Mr Slater said it has kept well in the fridge ( covered with a little oil) and is now ready to use. Glad I did this as everyone stood in the kitchen chatting as I cooked which always distracts me from the task in hand! Plus it meant some of the washing up was out of the way.
I served the chicken with naan bread and rice. Plates cleared, not a morsel remained apart from some naan. Speaks volumes I guess or maybe they were all ravenous !!!!!!!

Desert was A sweet cherry salad Mr Slater promising the rare pleasure of eating stoned cherries is worth the laborious task of stoning them! I enjoyed it but everyone else opted for the Gooseberry crumble cake which I had made on Wednesday. Served with cream it was a hit, so much so that my future son- in - law ( a bit of a faddy eater) took the rest home to finish off!!!!

Catching up again

Baked chicken with wheat and dill
I had postponed this recipe from May 30 th as I was unable to obtain the whole wheat. Not to be deterred I ordered some on the Internet and it has arrived. Mr Slater says this "..... Is a recipe to soothe....."
Not sure about that. It certainly is very filling. I cooked this last night and shared with my daughter. She loved it as did I. The wheat adds a nutty sweet flavour, quite unusual, and a different texture. A quick to make and simple dish with good results. Wish I'd ordered a bigger quantity of the wheat!

Coffee and cake

June 5 th and the recipe is Gooseberry crumble cake.
Once again the British weather has caused me problems. No gooseberries to be had - not ready yet. My next door neighbour had promised me some of hers but they are still flowering, no evidence of fruit yet.
Anyway not to be put off I decided to use tinned - obviously not as good as fresh, but at least I can go ahead with my cake today. I rinsed the berries to remove the syrup and dried them with kitchen paper. This cake has a layer of sponge cake, a layer of berries and a crumble topping and is a recipe Mr Slater says "......I have worked on over the years......."
Well it was worth it, a delicious cake ( especially when served with double cream) with a sharp bite. And I thought I didn't like gooseberries !!!!

My strawberry plants

Mr Slater says " Strawberry plants are survivors, putting up with........drought.....deluge....neglect..."
How right he is. A friend of my husband gave us 6 strawberry plants, each in its own tiny pot, before Xmas. I popped them next to the garden shed and promptly forgot about them until a couple of weeks ago. They had certainly been more than  neglected and suffered howling gales, frost , snow etc. Anyway 4 had survived, now planted out and thriving.
I am looking forward to the fruit eagerly as. Often shop bought strawberries are absolutely tasteless.

Yesterday's recipe was to "........make a strawberry shine....." and was A mint and raspberry sugar for strawberries.

This looked wonderful when first put on the fruit but when set aside for 20 mins as recipe instructed it became syrupy and I think too sweet. Even hubby thought it too sweet!!!!!!

Tonight's ( June 4 th) is called  " cuisine approximate". No structured recipe for today - instead a list of ingredients to make a marinade for chicken thighs. I had a go , growing in confidence and tasting as I make up the marinade.
We decided to have a barbecue this evening - the weather being too good to waste-  so the chicken went on the barbecue rather than in the oven as Mr Slater suggests.
Having been in the marinade all day ( or as my husband insisted due to his excellent barbecuing skills !!!) they were moist, tender, sticky and sweet and delicious.

Some new equipment

I have bought 3 new pieces of equipment which I must share with you - they're all amazing.
First my new grater, it was expensive, but Mr Slater was right, what a difference a good grater makes. The other two items were inexpensive but incredibly useful. The blue p,attic thingy is very helpful in getting under stuck pastry. The metal scraper is fantastic for scraping up chopped veg and transferring to a pan . And the best thing of all - they hardly take up any space unlike my bread maker, my mandolin, my raclette, my deep fat fryer etc etc.

A new month

June 1 st brings in a new chapter called " A bunch of asparagus" and the recipe for today is Asparagus tarts with lemon and creme fraiche.
Not a pastry lover, but husband is I went ahead with this recipe. At least it was made with bought puff pastry. I can make my own and used to do so but quite frankly why bother ? The bought version is just as good and much quicker !!!!!
The title of the recipe doesn't go with the list of ingredients! It seems double cream is used in the recipe rather than creme fraiche. Having cooked this I guess either will work but double cream has to be more yummy.
A quick uncomplicated recipe producing something which looks quite spectacular. I suggest a good starter for a dinner party.