Store cupboard recipes: spaghetti and veal meatballs in a light tomato sauce
I had a yearning for spaghetti and meatballs yesterday. I have no idea why as I don’t think that I’ve ever eaten this dish in my life but somehow the combination appealed. I spent a morning in the kitchen creating the sauce. My challenge was to use as many dehydrated ingredients as possible and some of our home bottled/canned tomatoes from the autumn. Incidentally these are delicious and I will be making much more this year. The meat wasn’t dehydrated – I haven’t tried doing meat yet – but I had found and defrosted some...
read moreHomemade Christmas marmalade with whisky
Last year I happened to meet someone who supplies citrus fruits to one of the largest supermarket chains in the UK. “How come their fruit and vegetables don’t last as long as those from Waitrose and M&S?” “Ah,” he said, “it’s all a matter of storage temperature. They keep the produce in vast stores with the temperature set very, very low. This means that they can store perishables for a considerable time. Once they come to room temperature they will fade far more quickly.” Fascinating stuff. The temperature in our barn...
read moreQuick gnocchi, broccoli and prawn recipe
“The best way to test whether spaghetti is done is to throw it against the TV screen. If it sticks it’s done.” Oliver was rather wild at that point and not finding a TV close to hand tossed a strand of spaghetti against the kitchen window. It stuck momentarily and then peeled off, worm like, dropping to the sill. I can’t remember what the spaghetti tasted like when it was finally served. All I can remember is that creamy worm hunched on the dark window pane. When it comes to gnocchi there’s no need for similar shenanigans. Just...
read moreOn the Plot with ‘Dirty Nails’ by Joe Hashman: a review
“Stroking seedlings to make them stronger. You’re having me on!” Danny was goggle eyed. I picked up the book and showed him the relevant section. “Apparently seedlings gain strength and build a healthy root system when exposed to air currents. So you need to stroke the leaves of your greenhouse or windowsill seedlings to stop them becoming leggy and weak.” At the moment I’m spending more time reading about gardening than actually weilding a fork. At times this can be very frustrating but the flip side is that I have the time to...
read moreBest recipes for leftovers: roast potato, broccoli and stilton frittata recipe
“Are you really up for making a frittata. It’s such a palaver, peeling and boiling all those potatoes.” “I’m not doing potatoes.” Danny was horrified. “But we have to have potatoes. That’s the best bit.” “I’m using the left over roast potatoes from Sunday.” “Oh. I didn’t know there were leftovers.” Ever since Veronica left a comment saying that a frittata is a great way of using up leftovers I’ve been determined to do just that. The problem is that we don’t have many leftovers as they are usually guzzled by...
read moreHalogen oven chef: simple roast chicken and chips recipe
Yesterday, I sent Danny into town with £5 and carte blanche to “buy something tasty for supper”. You may agree that it is a bit of a risk to ask a man to choose my kind of treat (prawn with spaghetti, scampi and chips, a take away Indian meal for two for a fiver) but I didn’t really care what he brought back as long as he did the cooking. After poking around the meal deals at Waitrose, he plumped for chicken. A whole chicken. Not my idea of fast food, I must admit. “I just fancied chicken and chips,” he explained...
read moreScallops, bacon and cod pie recipe
Danny and I took advantage of some cheap Ryan Air tickets several years ago and spent a long weekend in Paris. The tickets cost under £50 but the long weekend notched up a giddy £800. And most of this was spent on food. Even though the days were financially balmy we were shocked how expensive Paris could be. But we still savour the memories of those meals and the wonderful restaurants. Whether they were local bistros catering for a small coterie of French clientele in the know, or larger more formal establishments where food was...
read moreShitake mushroom and cream sauce recipe
Yesterday Danny bought two T bone steaks from Tennant’s in Newmarket for a treat. He also grabbed a bargain at Waitrose – 150g of shitake mushrooms for 29p. “I’m going to try making a simple mushroom sauce like the one you made to go with the calves liver last week.” The calves liver came from the Tesco CFC. Another treat bargain. I’d thought that my sauce was a real winner but Danny’s sauce won hands down in the mushroom and cream sauce stakes. Now I can see why people are happy to spend two or three quid on a small carton of...
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