Sunny Tuesday.

Wimbledon, the garden...I don't want to be cooking, so there's some melon that needs eating up,plus other vegetables in the fridge. I am mostly eating vegetarian at this time, it's too hot to bother with cooking.

I have done a melon, cucumber and tomato salad ,and dressed it with a difference . A Coriander , chilli pepper and the juice of a lime  and no oil  ,whereas I usually make a dressing of walnut oil and lemon juice. 

It definitely has a kick.  

Will put some chives to liven it up,and have a tomato and garlic salad to go with it .  Should be loosing weight ,as I have hardly eaten any meat in days

Also made a cake based on a recipe from Nigel Slater, using apricots in the mix, but have added  some chrystalised ginger ,and not used any ground almonds

3eggs, 4oz of butter and caster sugar, the zest and juice of a lemon,and 6 Oz of self raising flour.

Put the lot into the Magimix and pulsed it briefly  till amalgamated.

Oven @ 170o for 30-35 minutes. Dredged the top with Caster sugar,and poured over a mix of orange and lemon juice. Looks good!  I think Nigel calls it a " simple" cake.it is certainly easy to make.

Hereis the finished ( and ready) meal!

The salads ready for eating,  Peperonata, Caponata, tian of Aubergines,courgettes and tomatoes and a green Bean,Mangetout and courgettes ,the courgettes done in ribbons ,dressed with Olive oil and mint.

Mediterranean feast.

I haven't been in the kitchen to cook for ages it's been too hot, but today, as it's far cooler I have had a burst of energy,and made some Peperonata, some Caponata and a Provençal Tian of Aubergine, onions ,courgettes and tomatoes.

Now I am going to try and take a picture of the Tian( which I haven't made in years) before it goes in the oven.

I sautéed some red onions, a clove of garlic and the chopped aubergine in olive oil,till it was soft but still recognisable, then sliced tomatoes and Courgettes thinly to cover the top. It will go in the oven for the final cook,when the topping of vegetables should be soft. I have taken done of the peel from the Courgettes,it is not an easy thing to do onehanded,as the peeler kept on peeling my nails,and I don't want nail parings in the finished dish.

The Caponata is the usual Sicilian dish of Aubergine, celery ,tomatoes, capers, olives and pine nuts, stewed with a little oil,salt , and white wine vinegar,and a spoonful of sugar . Some flat leaf parsley will just go on the top for colour and flavour.

 Sicilians sometimes add a spoonful of sultanas as well, but I think that makes it too sweet .

Then the Peperonata is just tomatoes, red peppers or a mix of yellow and red , with chopped onion,a little garlic,and  gently cooked on the hob till the tomato juices have evaporated almost to nothing. 

Leave to get cold. Now I have three Mediterranean dishes , I shall have to ask somebody to come  and eat  it all.

The two pictures show first the caponata,without the capers or parsley as I have had to send a friend out to get me some capers ,just when I thought I had everything! 

 The second one is the Tian before it goes into the oven. 

Tuesday lunch.

Now this seems the wrong way round!  In case you wonder what on earth this is.... Salmon,with a tomato and garlic sauce, plus Chinese elements.,sesame oil, sesame seeds and some teriyaki marinade fish sauce, sesame, rice wine and a little salt and sugar. Then fried,and garnished with the tomato sauce, Mangetout pease,broad beans( which I had picked for me by friends at the weekend,and I podded  them, and removed the skins myself) and a few spring onions for garnish. 

We will have Jersey Royals potatoes,and I have done a huge plate of grilled vegetables, courgettes, aubergine,and red peppers,which can either be before ,or with the fish.

Finally I have made an Apricot Frangipane Tart which I had already put into the dining room. 

My latest delicious treat.

Last weekend I had friends round here,and we had a Chinese takeaway. There was some of the Peking Duck left,so I was thinking what I could do with it.  So I decided to make a potted  meat, something my Mum used to do when we were children.

Diced a red onion,and a clove of garlic, sweated them in a pan with a little olive oil until they were transparent, then added a glut of red wine,and let that simmer away.

 Put in the meat,plus a small fillet of gineau fowl, as I was cooking a breast of the bird ,some Thyme,and a couple of slices of Parma Ham. Let this all amalgamate plus some salted butter and added seasoning, mostly pepper,as the ham was quite salty.  Oh, I forgot the most important and maybe unusual ingredient, there were some  Marron  Glacé left from after Christmas, so they were crumbled in as  well, to give a touch of sweetness.

Then it was whizzed in the food processor with some more butter ,and potted into two small containers. It was really tasty,and I have had it twice,with friends who have fine for lunch this week.

Can't show a picture, as it was all eaten!

Homage to Europe.

Here is my lunch today, a mix of delicious bits and bobs, some  Chorizo slices,way out of date by 3months, but perfectly OK, two shallots, a red pepper, some  Jersey Royal new potatoes,just boiled for about 8 minutes,and some spinach that needed eating up. 

Put in the pan with a tiny drop of oil,pepper and salt, and here you are! 

Easter!

Well, here it is, a disaster as far as I am concerned as I broke the cake cutting it in half,and the put the ganache on when it was not quite set enough,so some of the decorations have slid at an alarming angle.

I am also making a rhubarb and strawberry fool. Have glazed a ham for tomorrow, using a glaze of marmalade,grainy mustard and Demerara sugar. Can't lift it as my wrist is now too weak, so thank goodness for family who dropped by !

Then I am doing sauces for a friend who is having a party tonight to celebrate her birthday, 70 people, and I will make a herb sauce ,using parsley, dill,watercress,  tarragon and a little mint with a mayonnaise base , and an avocado and spring onion sauce with crême fraiche and Greek yoghurt, both to have with the salmon steaks that she is cooking. 

Next treatment at Oncology is on Tuesday,