Better than you would imagine

Today - Monday Sept 30th- no recipe given, simply and idea for a "....slightly lazy meal" Always happy when not too much work involved. Tonight's supper ( involving some left over rice - which of course I had to cook first not having any) didn't sound very tempting but actually was very tasty. 

(Jim thought the addition of some bacon would improve it)

"A one pan, rice based broccoli main course" was quick , easy and only one pan to wash up ! And very tasty.

A simple sole/soul

Sunday's chapter was headed " A simple sole". Made me chuckle, could be a description of some people I know!!!!

No recipe here but a quick fry of sole fillets served with a lime butter. My fishmonger at Sainsbury's  said he didn't want to fillet the fish for me because too much would be wasted - as it is weighed before filleting I rather think that is the customers choice! However - home with a whole lemon sole.

My husband offered to have a go at filleting the fish for me, and as I am quite accident prone when knives are involved I thought this would be a good idea. First time for everything and I think he did an excellent job with hardly anything wasted! Well done Jim x

The fish was delicious, will certainly use lime butter again.

Being a carnivore

Friday 27 th September and the chapter is headed " Another main course salad"

The recipe is Roast lamb and tomato salad. 

I decided to cook this for my daughter who is joining me for tea. (She is a real carnivore and so meat of any description is a real favourite.)

Another success - this was delicious, we couldn't decide which we liked best - this or Wednesday's Roast pork and rocket salad. 

The dressings are very different but both very,very good.

Verdict as to best? Still undecided. Have to make them again to decide!!!

Let Jim in on the treat too. 

No leftovers

Thursday's chapter was headed " Using up leftovers".

Mr Slater finds a bowl of cooked lentils in his fridge and decides to use them up by adding bacon and onion and other ingredients. In order to do this I had to cook some lentils first ( no leftovers in my fridge!)

No recipe given for this so had to guess the quantities. Played about with the dressing for ages never feeling it was quite right. However when poured over the lentils it brought them alive.

It made a delicious and filling lunch - perfect for cold autumn days.

Savoury follows sweet

Today - Sept 25 th the chapter heading is "Savoury juice" Intriguing !

Mr Slater tells us that "....juices that come from the dish itself are.......unsurpassed by any separately made sauce"

The recipe today is Roast pork and rocket salad with lemon and olives.

The juices are used to make a simple dressing with lemon and olive oil - wonderful, all the sticky bits left when cooking pork go into this dressing. 

I made this for my daughter and I - poor Jim missed a treat. This was very, very good and we mopped up the last of the dressing with hunks of crusty bread. And so much easier than making a sauce!!

Busy day

The second recipe for 23rd Sept was Chard and feta tart

Busy, busy day, gardening and cooking. Cleared the last of the vegetables and used them all up in my version of ratatouille , now in batches in the freezer - a taste of summer throughout winter.

Then on to the second recipe of Monday following my pudding disaster. Chard is never easy to find, the local supermarkets don't stock it, so this results in me visiting all the local farm shops finally finding a rather poor specimen!

This tart was supposed to serve four but was quite large and would easily feed six people. We felt it needed something like a tomato salad to counter the richness - but a very enjoyable Monday night tea.

Autumn - not summer pudding!

Yesterday the chapter was headed "Sweet juice"  and the recipe was A pudding for autumn. 

This pudding is very similar to Summer pudding but has damsons in it, along with blueberries , blackberries ( still lots in the freezer) and raspberries.

The pudding seemed quite easy to make and promised ".......a pudding of serious pleasure and inky sour-sweet juice. " Yummy.

Turning mine out was an absolute disaster and it collapsed! When making it I ran out of bread and had to do a sort of patchwork arrangement. Despite looking awful, it did taste wonderful. Will try again - not to be put off - but maybe next time will use individual pudding basins. 

The collapsed pudding

Home grown

TheSunday 22nd Sept and a chapter headed " A glut of courgettes". 

Mr Slater says "...... two plants are enough for most families and too much for this kitchen ". I have to agree - they do come "...... at you non- stop". But they are easy to grow and that's rewarding for a novice like me.

The recipe on Sunday was Courgette fritters with tomato and rosemary sauce.

This was lovely, contrasting textures of a very light crisp batter and the soft inside of courgette. Went very well with the rosemary and tomato sauce too.

Will certainly make again - still lots of courgettes growing!!!!

The second recipe on Sunday was Courgettes with goats cheese and toast .

We had this for lunch. Much better than I thought this would be. Very, very nice if not unusual topping for toast. Will do this again.

Not a fan of ice-cream but .........

The chapter heading today is "Blackberrying".

It has been years since I went blackberry picking but for the last week or so, with friends or alone,I have picked kilos of them!!! Some now in my blackberry and apple jam (another first for me) and the rest all washed and frozen in batches in the freezer. (Mr Slater says ".....blackberries freeze exceptionally well.....")

So all prepared for today's recipe Blackberry ice cream cake.

Mine didn't quite look like Mr Slater's , think I made my biscuit crumb too fine. However although I would never choose ice cream for a dessert I will make this again. Absolutely divine and sure to impress any guests!

 

Autumn is really here

Yesterday ( Sept 18) and a chapter headed "Using up the leeks ".  A chilly, wet day, using up the last of home grown vegetables - autumn is well and truly here!!!

The recipe was Tarts of leeks and cheese. These could be made as small individual tarts or one large pie. I decided on the individual ones.  

Simple and quick to make, especially when using bought pastry, - although Mr Slater does not explain why I had to put a layer of greaseproof paper between the leeks and pan lid, anyone know?

I ended up with too much filling for the pastry but served it hot alongside the tarts.

Mr Slater ,I feel , 

misses some instructions from this recipe at the end but looking at the accompanying picture I am reminded to cut slits in the pastry tops to let out the steam and to brush with beaten egg before baking.

The results were a very tasty if light evening meal. I think these would make an excellent lunch time meal.

Thank goodness for the freezer

September 16 th and a chapter headed " The last of the runner beans". 

In this chapter Mr Slater reminisces about a time when beans would be salted for the winter. The vegetables would get softer as the winter wore on and I believe they could taste quite salty especially if you forgot to rinse them before cooking! So thank goodness for the freezer and the fact we no longer have to preserve vegetables this way.

Today I make An autumn- coloured bean chutney, a recipe Mr Slater invented to use up the last of the runner beans. " I use a recipe based on a true piccalilli..........." 

Could be a difference of opinion here, I hate piccalilli  and my husband loves it. Anyway we shall see.

I have to say I love making chutneys and jams, it seems very therapeutic and good for the soul - and a certain amount of self satisfaction in setting up a store of summer fruits and veg that can be eaten in the winter months. 

Forgot to photograph.

Well it was Friday 13 th so something had to go wrong! Certainly not the soup I made but the fact ( and not for the first time since starting this blog) we managed to devour the soup before taking a photo. 

This was a pea soup made with frozen peas, quick and easy to make and very delicious. In fact the preparation didn't take much longer than opening a tin. No particular quantities given so you have to guess and adjust to taste. 

Will do this one again - and remember to photograph!!!!

Cooking squid for the first time

Yesterday's recipe was Baked squid with chilli tomato sauce.

Felt very unsure about cooking this one, never having cooked a whole squid before. Eaten it many times but never cooked it. As advised by Mr Slater I got the fishmonger to clean the squid for me ( or actually-  my husband went off and did this) so preparing the squid only involved getting the remaining sand out of the middle.

The squid was then stuffed with a very tasty breadcrumb mixture and covered in a wonderful tomato sauce before baking. Very simple really.

( My daughter was with us for tea and made several rude comments regarding the stuffing of the squid!!!!!)

The verdict - wonderful. Not a morsel left on our plates. This was truly delicious and something I will definitely do again. 

We followed this with some more of Mr Slater's Elderberry and apple pancakes with lashings of double cream . A feast indeed!!! 

Catch up recipes

Today I managed to catch up on two recipes from August 23 rd when I was unable to find any elderberries.

Yesterday I went foraging with my friend Sue and we managed - at last - to find some elderberries which were ready for picking. ( We also picked an enormous amount of blackberries and I have also spent today making blackberry and apple jam - 8 lbs of it!!!!L)

The recipes - found on pg326/7 are Elderberries and apples for breakfast

This was delicious for breakfast with some natural yogurt - and very good for you as apparently the berries are full of vitamin c.

The second recipe was Elderberry and apple pancakes. These we had for desert tonight . Lovely , the combination of elderberries ( which I don't think I have eaten before) and apple is very good.

A special day ?

Wednesday 11 th Sept and a chapter headed "A celebratory soup- stew for a special day". 

The recipe was A lentil and pumpkin soup-stew

The special day which heads this chapter is the day when Mr Slater celebrates the start of a project to build his new kitchen. 

I am not sure that I find a lentil and pumpkin stew celebratory!!!!!!

We had the soup followed by the second recipe of the day which was Broad bean, feta and spinach pie. 

The soup didn't look very nice - quite a murky colour but very tasty and very filling.

The second recipe was delicious. Again I found myself squeezing the beans out of their grey skins - but now I know it's well worth the effort. Until doing this I always hated broad beans, but this makes them much more tender and sweeter.

Elderberries spotted!!!!

Monday and today, although no recipe, it was a light dinner for two made up of a couple of partridge.

Off to my local- ish farm shop, but no partridge ( another recipe on hold!) 

On a better note have spotted some elderberries almost ready for picking so I will be able to complete August 23rd and 24 th's recipe pretty soon.

My friend Jane's verdict on A salad of plums, lentils and coppa, and I quote 

" Plum salad was delicious. Moist and full of flavour. Not something I would have readily chosen from a menu but that would have been my loss because it was gorgeous"

Thank you 

Even more plums

Sept 6 th and a chapter headed " A mirabelle feast" - no recipe - thank goodness, because plums, as you know are not my favourite fruit!!! A lovely description of the different varieties of plums growing in Mr Slater's garden - and served piled up on a plate and " ......passed round the table after the Sunday roast". 

Today ( Friday) we had planned a barbecue and the heavens opened, still we went ahead and I included two of Mr Slater's recipes. The first was yesterday's Baked peppers, summer sauce and the second was Monday's (8th Sept) recipe A salad of plums, lentils and coppa.

The baked peppers proved tricky to peel despite clear instructions , but got there in the end. The basil dressing tastes good - will see what my guests think later.

The salad I made a few hours in advance as the recipe says it keeps well for 24 hrs. I am not thrilled with this one but again will wait and see what my guests ( including Jane and Keith from next door ) think this evening.

Guess we will be eating inside and cooking under umbrellas!  

The salad

The baked peppers

A wonderful but substantial afternoon tea

Yesterday we had a wonderful tea ( as opposed to dinner) September 4 th recipes were A smoked chicken and dill sandwich and. Victoria tray bake.

The sandwich is a favourite of Mr Slater's , using sourdough bread , and now one of mine.

The tray bake , made with frozen raspberries , was moist, heavy and damp with fruit , delicious.

Land of the giants

Yesterday I had planned to cook a roast chicken for tea and Tuesday's recipe Apricot Couscous was the perfect accompaniment .

The chapter headed " A new couscous " introduced me to Mograbia - a giant sort of couscous.

Couscous is my least favourite comfort food, I prefer pasta, potatoes, bread and rice but Mr Slater says of this ".......a dish of supreme comfort and originality ". 

And yes we did enjoy this, a nice change but not one I will be doing on a regular basis.

Too bland for me

Yesterday ( Sept 1 st) and a chapter headed " The heart of it all"  Mr Slater reminds himself why he bothers to cook, and I guess all us mums out here feel exactly the same. It is all about "...feeding, nurturing and making people happy.........you care enough about everyone to go to the trouble". 

And so the recipe is one of those moments, a large enough pie to feed and satisfy six hungry mouths.

Chicken, leek and parsley pie, "..... a big informal pie for a family gathering..."

Well yes it certainly fed six with ease, looked and smelt good and my husband loved it. Personally I thought it a bit bland, ok but if I made it again I think I would add something else to pep it up a bit!