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).
Salad Days I
Tag: cheese
Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
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
Here today, gone tomorrow!
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.
Anyone for eggs?
I have always loved eggs. As a little girl, I loved eating Dad's scrambled eggs; of course I had had my own, but they were much nicer when I perched on his knee, eating them off his plate. He loved his eggs on buttery toast and topped with a good sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper. Another … Continue reading Anyone for eggs?
Veg-ing out
I have flirted with vegetarianism on and off for about thirty years, particularly when I lived alone - which I have done, not unhappily, on and off, until I finally settled down with Tom. One of the first, if not the first, recipe book I bought, was the A - Z of Vegetarian Cooking in … Continue reading Veg-ing out
Eating to live and living to eat?
I enjoy preparing and eating food. I lost my sweet tooth a long time ago, although I do enjoy the odd dessert from time to time. My preference is for uncomplicated meals which, in old fashioned language, would have been known as "balanced". Although not vegetarian, I prefer not to eat meat every day, eating quite a … Continue reading Eating to live and living to eat?
Waste not, want not – I
Both my parents grew up in the UK in the Second World War: Mum in Oxford, where her mother took in evacuees and then later also billeted soldiers. Dad grew up in Glasgow, and with his sister, Belle, evacuated to a poultry farm . Consequently, we grew up constantly hearing, "waste not, want not". Little was thrown … Continue reading Waste not, want not – I
Sensational sandwiches
A sandwich is a sandwich, is a sandwich - or is it? Since mid-January, I have forsworn bread and potatoes. I thought that it would be difficult, but it hasn't been. I think that the main reason for this is that I made a decision that this was a choice rather than a rule. It was … Continue reading Sensational sandwiches
Beetroot: it’s beautiful – and delicious
We have a bumper beetroot crop at the moment and although it's easy to bottle, it's also great doing new things with it. Freshly pulled, beetroot cooks more quickly than when shop bought, and is beautifully tender and sweet - another reason not to just pickle it. Besides being delicious roasted or simply added to a leafy green salad, … Continue reading Beetroot: it’s beautiful – and delicious
Autumn – preparing for spring (and winter!)
Although the grape harvest in our valley seems to be later this year, autumn seems to have arrived early. Along with this, we have had a wonderful experience: a pair of swallows building a nest in preparation for the spring. Jack and Jill are Greater Striped Swallows, indigenous to Africa, and they summer south of Namibia, … Continue reading Autumn – preparing for spring (and winter!)