Chorizo Conundrum

"Every great decision creates ripples, like a huge boulder dropped in a lake. The ripples merge and rebound off the banks in unforeseeable ways. The heavier the decision, the larger the waves, the more uncertain the consequences." So says the Seventh Doctor, as portrayed by Sylvester McCoy, in the classic 1988 Doctor Who Story "Remembrance of the Daleks".

Admittedly the decisions the Doctor had to make in that particular story were sizeable compared some I've been faced with recently but all the decisions I'd made, after going through the pros and cons of each possible outcome scientifically, were eventually decided by gut instinct.

After a day in the garden, while my dog is on holiday, the back and the front now looked like they were owned by somebody. As the sun beat down the decking and flint chippings, freshly purged of weeds, made the back garden look a little like a Mediterranean Beer Garden; especially if you squinted and closed your eyes slightly.

That said I decided to make a Chorizo Frittata a dish that is common in the Mediterranean World. The soundtrack to cook to was appropriate for my current state of mind as it was the Rolling Stones' gritty and defiant 1978 comeback "Some Girls" which includes the disco funk of "Miss You" and the 'wanted man' anthem "Before they Make Me Run"

The Ingredients of the dish were:

Half a white onion diced up.
A clove of garlic diced up.
Two teaspoons of dried Basil.
Two teaspoons of Harissa.
One diced Tomato.
One Tablespoon of Red Wine Vinegar.
Four eggs that were beaten and mixed up in a measuring jug with three tablespoons of unsweetened  Soya Milk.
A pack of Chorizo.

The first job was to fry the vegetables, Tomatoes and spices in three tablespoons of Rapeseed Oil in a frying pan. I did this for around ten minutes on a medium heat until the Onion pieces were translucent and golden in colour.

I then added the Eggs and the Soya Milk mixture by folding it steadily into the frying pan with the slices of Chorizo which I distributed evenly throughout the mixture. I also used my spatula to bury some of the pieces deep within the mixture while leaving others on top of it.

I fried the mixture for about twenty minutes on a medium heat while periodically putting the spatula underneath it to stop it sticking to the pan and avoiding the underneath of it being burnt. After twenty minutes I served the Frittata on a plate with a side of lettuce.

Basil and Tomatoes are always a winning combination in any recipe and when coupled with Chorizo and Harissa it gave the dish a feel of warm Southern European days. The taste of the dish, together with the sun beating down into my dining room, took me back to my last holiday abroad, some time ago, in Fuerteventura where dishes and ingredients like this were commonplace.

Chorizo in the Sun; the Egg and Milk body of the Frittata shines brightly.

Tactical Trout

On Easter Saturday I'd spent a lot of time working on the garden as it was getting to the time of year where the plants come alive, the weeds grow and the lawn needs a lot of attention. Although I had a pretty quiet Easter Bank Holiday, I still had time to fit in a pub lunch, a visit from a colleague and an evening tasting home brew.

All that coupled with the work on the garden in quite warm temperatures meant that something quick but nutritious was needed. I'd not had any Trout for a time and with it being a bank holiday I decided to treat myself and pick up some quality Trout fillets from the local supermarket.

Prior to putting the Trout Fillets in the oven I coated them with Coriander powder and fennel seeds. I put a teaspoon each  of Coriander and Fennel Seeds on each of the Fillets and drizzled them with Lemon Juice.

I then wrapped them in a foil parcel, so as to keep the flavours in the Fillets, and then cooked them in the oven on gas mark 4 for eighteen minutes.

While and prior to cooking the Trout Fillets I sliced thinly two New Potatoes and stewed them in the juice of half a Lemon, a tablespoon of White Wine Vinegar, a teaspoon of Fennel Seeds and a teaspoon of Coriander in my Le Cresceut for twenty-five minutes on a medium heat. About five minutes before the end of the cooking I added a tub of Cress and stirred it in.

I timed the preparation of the New Potatoes so that they were ready at the same time as the Trout Fillets. The Trout was extremely flavoursome and when coupled with the New Potatoes it was a surprisingly light meal that wasn't too sour and was just the ticket after a warm day in the garden and taking in a long walk.

Coated in herbs- these ones added some unusual but pleasant flavours to the Trout and Potatoes

Turnip Winter

The Turnip Winter of 1916-17 is an infamous part of German History. It came about in the middle of the First World War partly because the British Navy were encircling the German Coast, which stopped food being imported by sea on any meaningful scale, and also because the Potato crop failed. This was partly because of the agricultural infrastructure being damaged by the war effort. The net result of this was the only other root vegetable widely available was the Turnip and by default it became the German People's choice of staple food.

One hundred years later in the winter of 2016/17 in less trying conditions, albeit the odd gun shot gets fired nearby to the neighbourhood now and again, I had found some Turnips at my local fruit and veg shop. I always prefer Turnip to its more popular cousin the Swede, as Turnip is easier to prepare and to cook. It is also less chewy and stringy.

On the evening of Friday 10 February I set to work making a soup to last me over Valentine's Weekend. I topped and tailed, peeled and cubed two Turnips and then topped and tailed, peeled and finely sliced a White Onion.

I then peeled and cubed two Potatoes.

I fried them in my Le Cresceut for twenty-five minutes on  a medium heat with a tablespoon of dried Tarragon, a pinch of Mustard and a pinch of White Pepper.

After the twenty- five minutes were up I added half a pint of Chicken Stock and simmered the ingredients on the hob for another twenty-five minute period.

After that I took it off the hob and left the contents of the Le Cresceut to cool down overnight. The next morning I blended them and later with my lunch warmed them through until the broth bubbled lively. It made a filling and delicious dish to compliment my Saturday lunchtime Cheese and Biscuits. Next day I blended it and it was delicious.

Although I enjoyed the soup and the sour taste of the Turnip, mainly as it had the edge taken off it by the Tarragon and Mustard, if I had to have it with every meal it would get very tiresome. Indeed it must not have been easy for those civilians who had to live on it during that winter one hundred years earlier. A small reason, to go with the many much larger and more significant ones, as to why wars should be avoided at all costs.

Root love: three types of root vegetable form the core ingredients of this soup.

The Salmon of Knowledge

During the working week it's sometimes convenient to get an instant meal or something else that's quick to make because is largely pre-prepared. Often the knock on effect of this is that you get yourself tired at work as you've got no energy through not eating anything with any energy or protein.

It's easy to forget though that you can cook a lot of fresh food and things with plenty of protein in double-quick time. The recent mid-week meal of Salmon Steaks with Shallot and Tarragon Scrambled Egg was a case in point.

The Salmon Steaks were easy enough to prepare as preparation involved grilling them on a medium heat for around twenty minutes, turning it once half-way through cooking.

The Scrambled Egg was achieved by beating two eggs and then melting three ounces of Margarine in a sauce pan. This was then followed by lightly cooking two thinly sliced Shallots and tablespoon of dried Tarragon for five minutes in the melted Margarine on a medium heat.

After that I added the beaten Eggs and a quarter of a pint of Soya Milk which I mixed in with the Shallots,Tarragon and melted Margarine and cooked on the hob while stirring constantly for another five minutes. The end product were some thick and flavoursome Scrambled Eggs.

I served these with the Salmon and the luxury of having a meal involving fish and some other fresh ingredients gave me the energy to work non-stop the next day to achieve a lot in a short space of time.

Fish is brain food: these Salmon Steaks certainly were.

Port in Pizza Night

A heatwave arrived early on in the second Saturday in April. That meant after an early trip to the local Greengrocer a ten mile walk with a semi-willing terrier was in order. When it's sunny all day  like it was on this day I like just to go off and spend all day outside. I first found that mindset in the summer of 1999 after I'd finished my GCSES when on a hot day I'd take off with my cricket bat, some tennis balls, my golf club and golf balls and hit them about in the fields behind my parents' house until teatime. In those days though my world was a lot smaller and less interesting than it is today.

On my return home from the warm walk, I decided on something that is deceptively quick to make but also fairly light on account of the warm weather we were experiencing. I realised I'd not made much Pizza of late and so settled on a Pizza Recipe that used a colourful and flavoursome new cheese I'd found in the local deli.

First I made the dough which comprised of:

Fifteen ounces of Wholemeal Bread Flour.
Four teaspoons of Yeast.
Three teaspoons Caster Sugar.
Seven fluid ounces of Water.
Four teaspoons Oregano.
Four teaspoons Italian Herbs (Sage, Rosemary and Thyme).

I mixed together all the ingredients above and when I had turned into something resembling a piece of dough I kneaded the dough hard. The motivation for the kneading was  easily found by thinking of a frustrating situation I'd experienced not too long ago.

After an intense kneading session I left the dough in my South facing conservatory to rise while I did the garden.

An hour and a half later the dough had expanded fully and I made the topping which comprised of:

One sliced Tomato.
One diced Spring Onion.
Two diced cloves of Garlic.
Sprinkling of Oregano.
Sprinkling of Italian Herbs.

I fried the above ingredients in the Le Cresceut with Sunflower Oil for ten minutes on a low heat and then put them to one side.

In the meanwhile did the rest of the topping by laying out on top of the dough evenly three seven by seven slices of Port Wine Derby Cheese and three slices of Prosciutto that was torn into strips.

At this time I was listening to James Taylor's eclectic Flag album on which includes two covers; a sloppy but fun "Daytripper" (I don't need to tell who wrote than one do I?) and a sentimental but thoroughly likeable cover of the Drifters "Up On The Roof". There is also a look back to Taylor's own past with a re-recording of his early classic "Rainy Day Man". Balanced against these looks back are some excellent new songs in the form of the sardonic "Company Man", the parochial but haunting folk masterpiece "Millworker" and the unsettling "Sleep Come Free Me" which shows the darker side of Taylor that sometimes lurks behind his sweet voice. These three songs plus the former three glances into the past more than compensate for the workmanlike songs that make up the balance of the album.

Once I'd laid the Cheese and Prosciutto over the dough I then added evenly the contents, including the Sunflower Oil, of the Le Cresceut onto the top of the dough and spread them evenly.

I then cooked the Pizza for twenty minutes in the oven on Gas Mark Six.  After that I sliced it and served it on a bed of lettuce.

The initial taste verdict was that the rich Port and Wine Derby Cheese threatened to overpower everything else at first. However the soft dough and Prosciutto stopped this being a reality. The taste of the Cheese and the Prosciutto also ensured that the Garlic and Spring Onion were tasteful rather than potent in this innovative pizza dish.

Tomatoes on a beach of purple in this melted Port Wine Derby Cheese.

Beety McBeety Face

It was Thursday, it was the end of March, the sun was now shining and it was the first non-working day I'd allowed myself to take as holiday from the day job since the second day in January. Having enjoyed a warm and wet morning walk in a quiet village near the Derbyshire Dales, which evoked strong memories of a formative job in my past, and late Mother's Day Coffee; thoughts turned to what I was going to do with the bunch of Beetroot lying on my chopping board.

Although it is tricky to prepare fresh Beetroot, largely because it stains everything that it touches a deep purple, it's much better for you than buying the pre-prepared version and fresh Beetroot is considered something of a superfood. You can do a few things with Beetroot ranging from using it as an adjunct to a salad, blending with lots of other fresh ingredients in a juicer, making delicious and colourful soup, to having it as a filling to a tart.

One other option, which is the one I chose to follow, is to make a risotto with it. The ingredients were as follows:

4 Beetroot- topped, tailed, peeled and cubed.
4 Shallots- thinly sliced.
2 Garlic Cloves- finely sliced.
5 Ounces of Walnuts.
1 tablespoon of dried Thyme, Oregano, Sage and Rosemary.
1 tube of Goat's Cheese.
1/3 of a pint of water.
1/3 of a pint of Red Wine.
10 ounces of Risotto Rice.

For some reason it had been a day of memories of previous roles and the interesting and eclectic individuals I'd met in them. This informed the music that I chose to listen to as I chose Camel's superb 1996 concept album Harbour of Tears the story of which concentrates on guitarist, and de facto owner of the Camel name, Andy Latimer's Irish and American ancestry. Despite the personal theme the record is constantly rewarding with Latimer and lyricist Susan Hoover showing the ability to tell an interesting story while making engaging music. Highlights include the folk/prog-rock "Watching the Bobbins" and the wistful "Send Home the Slates". The album was one an old colleague of mine enjoyed after I'd introduced it to him shortly before I stopped working with him.

The first job of preparing the Beetroot had been done earlier in the day as after I'd cubed it I'd boiled it for around forty minutes to make it soft enough for use in the Risotto.

Then taking my Le Cresceut I added some Sunflower Oil to the bottom of it and fried the Garlic and Shallots on a medium heat for twenty minutes. Then I added the Rice and Walnuts and stirred them for two minutes.

Next I added the Red Wine and continued to stir the ingredients until most of the Red Wine had been absorbed by them. This took about eighteen minutes For this Risotto I used a Sauvignon Blanc that did the job well. I also took the opportunity to add the Thyme, Oregano, Sage and Rosemary.

After that I poured in the Beetroot pieces and the 1/3 of a pint of water I'd earlier boiled them in. Now came the trickiest task in making the Risotto; keeping stirring in the water while ensuring the Risotto didn't dry up but wasn't too runny either. I managed this by stirring it on a medium heat for about forty minutes.

After forty minutes I thought enough water had been absorbed to add all but one slice the Goat's Cheese. Once this had fully melted and been stirred in I served the Risotto and topped my helping with the spare slice of Goat's Cheese and a Walnut.

The Red Wine gave this dish a very rich taste which was accentuated by the Goat's Cheese. However the nutritious and earthy tasting Beetroot ensured it wasn't too sickly a dish and the overall taste reminded me why it is important to have fresh Beetroot in a healthy diet.

Shades of deep purple were offset against a slice of Goats Cheese and lone Walnut when this was served.

Commander Limes

It was a wet Sunday in February, the dog woke me up before 8am in her usual way involves pawing me in the side until I come round. After some tactical cereal, that tasted like a mix of sawdust and raspberry ripple, we pushed our way through wet snow and I talked to an aged farmer's widow as we took in a morning a walk.

On our return to the house I decided to make some comfort food and specifically a cake that used some stray limes I had left over from a recent trip to the local shop.

On the player as I made the sponge mixture was Frank Zappa's excellent and eclectic Sheik Yerbouti album which comprises of great song writing, comedic moments and scorching guitar solos.

The sponge mixture ingredients comprised of:

180g/ 6oz Self-Raising Flour
180g/6oz Caster Sugar

60g/2oz Ground Almonds

120g/4oz Margarine

2 Medium Eggs

Juice of half a Lemon and half of a  Lime.

Teaspoon of Almond Essence.

First I creamed together the Margarine and Sugar to make it fluffy before I gradually added the Eggs, which I'd already beaten thoroughly, and then the Flour and Ground Almonds. After that I added the Lemon and Lime Juice and the Almond Essence.

Next I stirred all these ingredients together with a wooden spoon to create a thick mixture that I then folded into a greased cake tin and then cooked for 30 minutes on Gas Mark 6. Once this was cooked I left it to cool on one side and later turned the sponge out onto a cold baking tray.

Later I made the icing which comprised of the following ingredients:

Juice of half a Lime and half a Lemon.

75g/3oz sieved Icing Sugar

125g/4oz Margarine (at room temperature)

I first creamed together the Icing Sugar and the Margarine to make a rather runny icing mixture. Then I added the Lemon and Lime and juice and stirred it into the Icing Sugar and Margarine. It was then spread over the top of the sponge and allowed to run down the sides of it.

To finish the job I sliced up another Lime widthways and used the slices to decorate the top of the cake. The end result was a cake that was light tasting and with the Lemon and Lime evoked thoughts of hot summer days and parties in people's back gardens with an option Gin and Tonic.

The Limes have it: plenty of citrus fruit in this recipe gave the cake a taste of summer in dark midwinter.