Bishop Fish

The Saturday that preceded Valentine's Day featured typically unremitting February Rain, my last haircut with my entertaining hairdresser and the penning of an important card.

The afternoon gave way to the early evening and it was time to cook. Today's project was a Mediterranean White Fish Dish. I, like many at this time of year, get a little jaded by the short days and traveling  in the dark. I had read that one way of combating this was to have plenty of fresh fish in your diet. This was a key reason for settling on the dish I chose to cook.

The ingredients were as follows:

For the Tomato Sauce:

Five Tomatoes cut into cubes.
Five Shallots, peeled, topped and tailed and cut into thin slices.
Two Cloves of Garlic, peeled, topped and tailed and cut into narrow pieces.
Half a teaspoon of Black Pepper.
Two teaspoons of Dried Basil.
Two teaspoons of Oregano.

For the Fish Part:

Two Fresh Cod Steaks.
Two tablespoons of dried Thyme.
Two tablespoons of dried Rosemary.
One Lemon sliced evenly width-ways.
Ten Green Olives that have been de-stoned.

For the soundtrack to the cooking I chose the Beatles' landmark record from 1967 "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". A close mate of mine had sent me a link to an insightful article by Michael Jackson's acclaimed producer Quincy Jones in which Jones declares the Beatles to be poor musicians. Jones may have a point, you wouldn't put many of the members in the top draw for technical virtuosity. However what they lacked in that department is made up for by the wonderful overall sound they generate coupled with the warmth and passion of their music. All of these qualities are present on this memorable album.

The method to prepare this dish is as follows:

Tomato Sauce:

1. Heat some Olive in the Le Cresceut on the hob.
2. Add the Garlic Cloves, Shallots and herbs.
3. Fry on a medium heat for around 15 to 20 minutes stirring regularly until the Shallots begin to go brown. This was a tip I picked up secondhand from my Dining Partner's Mum, who's curries have such a distinct and delicious because she cooks the onions well prior to adding many of the other ingredients.
4. Add the Tomatoes and fry for another 15 minutes.
5. Take the Le Cresceut off the hob and leave on one side.

The Fish:

1. Take a high-sided Pyrex dish and put enough foil in it to hold the sauce and the fish so they can be wrapped loosely in a parcel by the foil.
2. Line the bottom of the foil with the Tomato Sauce.
3. Spread the Lemon Slices evenly on top of the Tomato Sauce.
4. Sprinkle half the Thyme and the Rosemary on the Lemon Slices.
5. Put the Cod Steaks on top.
6. Sprinkle the rest of the Thyme and Rosemary on the Cod Steaks.
7. Spread half the Olives evenly on the Cod Steaks and the rest on the Tomato Sauce.
8. Fold the foil over the top of the food to form a parcel.
9. Bake in the oven on Gas Mark Four for 25 minutes.

When the dish was ready I served it with a side of Sweet Potato Fries that I had fried from scratch using one small Sweet Potato while the other food had been cooking in the oven. There's clearly a difference in eating fresh fish as the Cod was succulent and flavoursome unlike its frozen and processed counterpart. It also lacked the plastic taste of that type of frozen fish.

The Lemon, Thyme and Rosemary blended well to enhance the flavour and the Tomato Sauce had a rich taste without being sickly that made me think I was at a beach-side restaurant on a classy Portuguese or Spanish Resort. The Sweet Potato Fries also were a healthy alternative to chips or Potatoes. It was a tasty  meal that counterbalanced the dark skies and horizontal rain that continued outdoors.

Ready to serve- the Olives sit atop the Cod Steaks which themselves lie on a bed of Lemons, herbs and Tomato Sauce. 

A new angle- the Cod and Sauce stacked against a small wall of Sweet Potato Fries. 

Parkin the Whisky

"This Black Ice is reminding me of my clubbing days; because walking on it is making me do the fancy footwork I used to on the dance floor" so spoke I to a wonderful colleague as the working week drew to a close. It was no joke out there though. That evening I had shuffled along the pavements precariously after trips to the local and the greengrocer while a Saturday morning walk with the Dogg saw me stay upright only with the help of my Grandfather's old walking stick.

The afternoon saw me having a long and fun telephone conversation with one of my closest friends. In some ways our lives have run in parallel; we were on the fringes at secondary school until we go the Sixth Form where we made good friends that we still have to this day. We are both left-handed, only children and were born within three weeks of each other; in some ways we have the same mind. The previous year we had, after numerous false starts, both found ourselves wonderful tag team partners.

After that it was time for a spot of cookery before the evening's activity. I settled on a recipe for Parkin- a comfort food that was a suitable tonic from the freezing rain and blanket of cloud that had hung over the estate that morning.

While I was preparing the Parkin I listened to Mercury Rev's 1998 effort "Deserter's Songs"- an album that the band were currently touring to promote the twentieth anniversary of its release. It was released at a time of turmoil in my professional life as my addiction to that classic computer game Fifa Road To World Cup '98 very nearly cost me a quality education.

The ethereal strings and cold but powerful arrangements on songs such as "Endlessly" and the romantic yet fatalistic "Goddess on the Hiway" made this excellent album well suited to the occasion.

The recipe for this dish, which is popular in many parts of Lancashire, is:

Ten Ounces of Oats.
Ten Ounces of Self- Raising Flour
Ten Ounces of Soft Brown Sugar
Two Heaped tablespoons of Ground Ginger.
A beaten Egg.
Eight Ounces of Golden Syrup.
A quarter of a pint of Whisky.
The juice of one Lime.
Eight Ounces of Unsalted Butter.

The method is as follows:

1. In a mixing bowl stir together the Oats, Self-Raising Flour, Brown Sugar and Ginger.

2. Add the Egg, Syrup, Whisky and Lime Juice. Mix in well until a thick paste is formed.

3. Add the Butter and stir into the other ingredients very thoroughly.

4. Pour into a high-sided baking tray that's completely wrapped in foil and greased.

5. Cook in the oven on the middle shelf on Gas Mark three for three and a half hours.

6. Remove from the baking tray but keep in the foil and leave to cool overnight.

The taste of this recipe was smokey with a hint of sweetness while the texture was crisp and crunchy without the food being burnt. Although I had to lose the edges of it I was able to eat the middle which was delicious. With the taste and texture of the Parkin it evoked childhood days long gone of sitting in front of my parents' TV on late Autumn weeknights eating Bonfire Toffee and watching Champions' League Football.

Fresh out of the oven- a Dark Parkin with plenty of smokey flavour. 

You want it darker- the delicious middle made a delicious afternoon snack.

Pizza Faith

Plans had changed for the weekend, the Dogg and I had enjoyed a walk later in the day than normal. However that was due to the happy distraction of bumping into two of my very close friends in the delicatessen at my local mall and supermarket. Warm hugs and handshakes were exchanged.These two people are ones that fill me with confidence and positive energy every time I see them.

I also had positive energy as the previous Monday I had helped tackle the winter blues by having my first Cricket Practice with my much-loved Cricket Club for the first time in nearly four years. That said I had energy flowing that I expended, among many other things, preparing Homemade Pizza.

On the player was the cathartic and wholly appropriate, bearing in mind it was a dreary January afternoon, final album by Nirvana "In Utero". When I first bought this record I found it little more than a collage of noise with the odd melody that is discernible. However it is a record that takes a few listens to reveal its extensive charms. All of the songs, with perhaps the overly 'shouty' "Tourettes" being the exception, are outstanding. The largely silent, twenty minute coda to timeless closer "All Apologies" seems at first to be unnecessary but after an album that hits hard it is almost as if the band wants the listener to have some quiet time to contemplate what a great and powerful record they have just heard.

The Pizza Ingredients, if you would like to make this one yourself readers, were as follows:

For the topping:

Five slices of Double Gloucester and Cheddar Cheese, each about five centimetres by five centimetres.
A Teaspoon of Mustard Seeds.
A Tablespoon of Dried Rosemary.
Two Rashers of Quorn Vegetarian Bacon cut into squares or rectangles.
Five tinned Artichoke Hearts.
Pine Nuts.

For the dough:

Ten Ounces of Wholemeal Bread Flour.
A heaped teaspoon of Yeast.
Three hundred milliliters of cold water.

The first job was to make the dough. I did this by stirring together the flour and yeast in a bowl. I then gradually added all the water. Once I'd done this I kneaded it vigorously and then rolled into a circle on a greased baking tray.

The next job was to make the topping. First I spread the Mustard Seeds and Rosemary out evenly on top of the dough and then crushed them into it with clenched fists. Next I put the Cheese Pieces on top evenly spacing them. The plan in doing this was that they would melt when cooking and bind the other elements of the topping together.

Then I put the Mock Bacon evenly on top of the Cheese and then spaced the Artichoke Hearts out on top. Finally I spread the Pine Nuts liberally throughout the topping.

I cooked the Pizza in the oven for twenty minutes on Gas Mark Six.

When I took it out of the oven the Cheese had melted and in doing so glued the other elements of the topping together beautifully. The smoked flavour of the Vegetarian Bacon was enhanced by the Mustard Seeds and Rosemary, two types of seasoning traditionally associated with Pork. The Artichokes meanwhile were savoury and fresh despite coming from a tin. The dough meanwhile was soft with a crispy edge to it.

Side of Pizza; the Artichoke Hearts sit atop the Vegetarian Bacon, Cheese and the Dough. 

Smokin' Aubergine

6 January 2018. My dining partner had just arrived and we needed something rich and healthy for lunch the next day. On the player was more Neil Diamond; this time the edgy and quasi-cool, for him, 1976 album "Beautiful Noise". As an eight year old at junior school I remember quoting a lyric from the title track at my class teacher; she was not impressed and promptly went off on maternity leave.

It was a soup that we needed for our Sunday lunch in order to warm us up after a morning walk that was likely to be chilly.

The ingredients were as follows:

2 Diced Shallots that I had first, topped, tailed and peeled.
1 Aubergine Cut in half with the top removed.
2 Cloves of Garlic sliced finely after being topped, tailed and peeled.
A teaspoon of Caraway Seeds
A teaspoon of Smoked Paprika
3 Halved Tomatoes

The method was as follows:

1. Spread the ingredients evenly throughout a high-sided and greased Pyrex Dish.

2. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes on Gas Mark 6.

3. Remove from the oven and leave overnight on the worktop. This allows the ingredients to infuse with each other.

4. The next morning blend with a quarter of a pint Almond Milk.

5. Return to my Le Cresceut and warm it through for five minutes on a medium heat.

I served the soup in bowls and topped them with some Chickpea based Smoked flavour snacks that my dining partner had sourced from the local budget supermarket. They did nothing but add an extra dimension to the taste of the soup.

We consumed the soup after a very icy walk and found that the soup was one that had , thanks in part to the Caraway Seeds, a smoky, rich and earthy flavour that went well with the weather and the terrain we had encountered on the walk.

Soup Triangle- the Chickpea based snacks made the soup a little more aesthetically pleasing, and tasty.