Reflections in, on and round about…with a lot of cooking on the side
The heart of it all: food is essential for life and the centre of many things. One of my favourite things is to cook and share food. Join me for a virtual breaking of bread…..
This is a favourite summer supper, based on a Thai beef salad. The Husband who, as regular readers know, is a dedicated, salad-eating carnivore, responded to my first suggestion of an ostrich meal with, "Why would I want to eat 'big chicken'?"
No, I'm not referring to either my youth or the best days of my life, but rather logical eating choices during the hottest summer in many, many years. Certainly since we arrived in McGregor and when the top temperature was 41ºC (106ºF).
This was not what was originally planned for today, but having shared pictures of the Gazpacho that we had this weekend, on Instagram and on my personal Facebook page, I was "inundated" with requests for the recipe. I hadn't made it for a while because our tomato crop last season was underwhelming. To say the … Continue reading Gazpacho – easy peasy!
December 25th, 2015 dawned much as every summer day does, but two things were different. First, it was Christmas day, so there was no alarm clock, and
Just a week ago, our village was bursting at the seams. It was the second McGregor Poetry Festival which brings many people and amazing poets to our village - including a colleague and his wife. She and I had worked together nearly thirty years ago and we hadn't seen each other since those days - … Continue reading Pots and a poet
This is a warm pasta salad with roasted peppers, cilantro and ginger - another of my "made-up" dishes. I had not made it for a while when I saw Jamie's recipe for roasted red pepper and walnut spread. This prompted me to make it again. Ingredients: Sweet bell peppers. I generally use robot peppers as that gives great colour variation, … Continue reading Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
Next to the pea patch, we had a bed of broad beans. Broad (or fava) beans are another childhood memory: picking them during a sunny winter afternoon and then shelling them in front of the fire for supper. We had another bumper crop this year, I am delighted to say, so some are safely stored in … Continue reading Bountiful broad beans
Here today, gone tomorrow just about epitomises last week. Summer arrived with a vengeance on Monday and the thermometer hit 38 degrees Celsius (just over 100 Fahrenheit). Overnight, a little swarm of bees took residence in our Cotoneaster.
After I posted Getting Brave with Brassicas, a couple of people commented that I had not included Brussels Sprouts . In response to the comments came some great suggestions and here's another. This not only looks delicious but could also be a lovely simple light meal all on its own. Linda, I look forward to … Continue reading Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries and Feta
This year we grew peas. So what? There is something almost magical about peas that you pick and shell - to pop into your mouth - in the pea patch. Little can beat the flavour of those little round orbs as they pop with their unique sweetness. Peas are "up there" as my favourite vegetable. I remember … Continue reading Sweet peas…Tiger’s chilled minted pea soup