Courgettes for Soup and Oregano

The last day of September. The dog barked in my face to wake me up at 7am. Sleep had been limited as I was still buzzing from an epic evening in a nearby Spa town. Familiar locations had been visited but they were given a new and exciting twist.

As I'm an avid cricket fan I often use cricket phrases in my everyday conversation. Therefore as there was heavy rain I decided to take an early lunch as no play outdoors, in this case walking my Terrier, was possible during the morning. I also had guests on powerful motorbikes to entertain for a brief spell in the afternoon before I headed out for a catch up with some of my oldest friends.

All things considered as well as having an early lunch I decided to make some soup using four locally sourced Courgettes. These ones were quite small and the experts tell me that this means they taste sweeter. I am not the biggest fan of cooked Courgettes but they are good in soup I must admit. Otherwise I prefer them raw with salad.

On the player was Deep Purple's controversial 1969 classical crossover "Concerto for Group and Orchestra". When my dad was a student in the early seventies he shared a house with, among others, a chap who owned this record. My Dad was not impressed with it. However once you pierce the fairly unadventurous classical compositions you find that the raw power of the nascent second incarnation of the band is well in evidence. Also, outside of the concerto piece there is an early version of the classic "Child in Time" and a powerful  rendition of the original band's "Wring that Neck". Both these songs are worth the price of the album alone.

The ingredients of the soup were as follows:

4 topped, tailed and sliced Courgettes.
1 topped, tailed and thinly sliced White Onion
1 tablespoon of Black Pepper
1 tablespoon of dried Basil
1 tablespoon of dried Oregano.
Quarter of a Pint of Black Tower White Wine.
Half a pint of Vegetable Stock.
Olive Oil.

I sweated the Courgettes, Onions and the Herbs in my trusty Le Cresceut Dish with some Olive Oil for twenty minutes on a medium heat on the hob. I kept the lid on during this process to ensure the ingredients cooked more quickly.

I then added all the White Wine and simmered everything for another 30 minutes keeping the lid on.

After that I added the Vegetable Stock simmered the ingredients for another 20 minutes, this time with the lid off the Le Cresceut.

I then left the food to cool for two hours and blended it before serving it.

The Black Tower White Wine has a strong and rich taste that almost makes it as potent as Red Wine. In this case it served to make the soup rich while the Basil and Oregano enhanced the sweetness of the Courgettes.

Green grows the soup- ready to eat and bubbling brightly. 

Rhubarb, Apple and Orange Cake

The middle Saturday in September. It was time to recover from twelve straight days at work, albeit the middle two of those days had involved some excellent networking in leafy park next to a school where my parents first met.

I had recently acquired Rhubarb and Bramley Apples from an allotment in the County Town where I once practised my trade. I decided to turn this delicious fresh produce into a cake. The ingredients of this cake were as follows:

15 ounces of Self-Raising Flour.
9 ounces of Brown Sugar.
4 ounces of Unsalted Butter.
2 beaten Eggs.
1 teaspoon of Vanilla Essence.
Half a pint of unsweetened Soya Milk.
Juice of 1 Orange.
1 stalk of Rhubarb.
2 Bramley Apples.

On the player was Frank Zappa's excellent live effort "Fillmore East: June 1971" which features excellent live versions of three songs from his best known record "Hot Rats" as well as a cover of the cheesy 1960s hit by The Turtles "Happy Together". The cover is given credibility by the two lead singers of this band being a part of Zappa's band at the time.

I started by stirring together in my mixing bowl, using a wooden spoon, the Flour, Sugar and Butter. Once they were combined I added Rhubarb, after it had been sliced thinly, and the Bramley Apples, after I'd cubed them and removed the cores.

After fruit had been mixed into the dry ingredients the Eggs, Milk, Orange Juice and Vanilla Essence were added and stirred in until the mixture resembled a thick paste that was dominated by the fruit.

I had earlier greased with Unsalted Butter a twenty centimetre wide and ten centimetre deep cake tin and I proceeded to pour the mixture into it and spread it about evenly throughout the tin. Then I put it in the oven at Gas Mark 4 and cooked it for seventy minutes.

I knew the cake was cooked when I used the old trick of putting a sharp object through the top of it to see if any of the mixture stuck to it. As it didn't I realised that the cake was ready.

Rhubarb is more closely associated with crumble normally. However here it was perfectly appropriate and the flavour of contrasted well with the sweetness of the Orange Juice and Vanilla Essence. These two sweet ingredients helped to ensure that the normally sour taste of the Bramley Apples was enhanced and made to be flavoursome.

Taking a slice- a cross section of this cake with a piece removed. 

Salmon Gratin

The first weekend in August seems a long time ago now. It had involved raving in the garden shed of close friend and a ten mile walk with the dog. There was Smoked Salmon in the house;a fish that I had found my love of rekindled by a one off encounter in the City.

I decided to turn the Smoked Salmon into a Smoked Salmon Gratin. I find Gratins quite easy to make if you want to prepare something with limited effort that is also a substantial meal. There are a number of great Vegetarian Gratins out there that I've made but this was the first time that I'd tried a Fish Gratin.

The day's soundtrack was the Cat Stevens album "Mona Bon Jakon" the key track on this corker from 1970  being "I think I see the light" a song appropriate to my circumstances at the time.

The Recipe for the main part of this dish was as follows:

Half a diced White Onion.
One Leek topped,tailed and sliced widthways.
Two White Potatoes sliced widthways.
Eight Ounces of fresh Broad Beans from my local Green Grocer.
A pinch of Mustard.
A teaspoon of White Pepper.
Twelve ounces of pre-cooked Smoked Salmon.
Olive Oil.

The Recipe for the Sauce was as follows:

Four Ounces of Unsalted Butter.
Three Ounces of Plain Flour.
A pinch of Mustard.
A tablespoon of dried Dill.
Half a pint of sweetened Soya Milk.

If you want to try the dish yourself then the approach I followed was:

1.In my Le Cresceut I  shallow fried on a low to medium heat  the vegetables, Mustard and White Pepper for a period of thirty five minutes. I fried these ingredients in Olive Oil and stirred them regularly to ensure they didn't stick to the bottom of the dish or burned.

2.I then added the Smoked Salmon pieces and stirred them in.

3. While I was cooking the main part of the dish I, fairly successfully, was able to multi-task by making the sauce. I did this  by melting the Butter in a saucepan and mixing it with the Plain Flour, Mustard and Dill. When this was all mixed together it formed into a honeycomb. I then gradually added the Soya Milk to the saucepan while all the time stirring it into the dish on a medium heat until I had a thick sauce.

4.I then added the sauce to the Le Cresceut and stirred it in thoroughly.

5. To finish the dish off I put the Le Cresceut, with the lid off, in the oven on Gas Mark Four for around fifteen minutes. After which I served it.

The Smoked Salmon's unique flavour and the Dill Sauce were what made this dish while the Broad Beans provided the required taste to help bring out the taste of the other vegetables too.

All cooked a ready to serve and much more delicious than this photo might make it look. 

Beetroot and root vegetable risotto

The day after my Birthday was August the 10th. It was a Hot August Day and the dog and I disappeared off into the White Peak for the majority of the day on a twelve mile walk to revisit places from my childhood and spot new things.

On my return home I had to tackle the fact that tomorrow was a working day so it was important to cook something that was suitably fortifying to see me through to the weekend without any difficulty. I decided to try a Beetroot Risotto recipe that was a variation upon the one that I wrote about in a previous post on this blog entitled "Beety McBeety Face,"

The ingredients for this recipe were:

Three Beetroot topped, tailed, peeled and then Cubed.
A Leek topped ,tailed and sliced finely.
Two Carrots, peeled, topped, tailed and sliced width-ways.
A clove of Garlic slice finely.
Two Sprigs of Marjoram from my back garden.
Five Sprigs of Rosemary from my back garden.
A teaspoon of White Pepper.
A teaspoon of Ground Ginger.
Two tablespoons of Port
Eight Ounces of Risotto Rice.
Half a Pint of Water.
Five ounces of Wensley Dale Cheese.

I started off by putting some Olive Oil into the bottom of my Le Cresceut and frying on a medium heat the Beetroot Cubes, Sliced Leek, Carrots, Garlic, Marjoram, Rosemary, White Pepper, Ground Ginger and Port for thirty minutes. I stirred these ingredients regularly to ensure they did not stick to the bottom of the dish.

I then added the Risotto Rice which I stirred into the dish for ten minutes. Next I added the water and simmered the dish for twenty minutes until most of the water absorbed.

To finish I added five ounces of Wensley Dale, stirred it in until it had just melted and then served the Risotto.

This risotto proved to be rich one, partly due to the addition of the Port, but not as rich as the one featured in "Beety McBeety Face" as it lacked that risotto's Goat's Cheese. However it was still a filling and healthy meal thanks to the Beetroot and the other fresh vegetables.

Tickled Pink- a glowing pre-work risotto. 

September Goulash

The second part of my cookery project for the first Saturday in September was inspired partly by a recipe I'd seen in a Vegetarian Cookbook, part by my love of Pui Lentils and part by a trip to Eastern Europe many years ago where I ate plenty of Goulash.

I had never made a Goulash before so here I was in unknown territory. To mark this moment the meal was prepared to the innovative and groundbreaking 1978 Frank Zappa Live Album "Zappa in New York".

The ingredients were as follows:

For the Goulash:

Two sliced Carrots.
Three finely sliced Shallots.
Three finely sliced sticks of Celery.
Two diced Garlic Cloves.
A tablespoon of Tomato Puree.
One can of chopped Tomatoes.
Ten ounces of Pui Lentils.
One teaspoon of Caraway Seeds.
One teaspoon of Smoked Paprika.
A tablespoon of Port.
A half pint of Vegetable Stock.

For the dumplings:

A sachet of vegetarian dumpling suet.
A tablespoon of finely sliced chives from my garden.
Five tablespoons of Water.
One tablespoon of Soya Milk.

I first made the dumplings by putting the suet and the Chives in a mixing bowl and gradually adding the Water and Soya Milk. The reason I did this was that I find if you add the wet ingredients gradually the dough mixes together better and makes better quality dumplings. After the dough was mixed together I divided it into six balls and left them in the fridge to firm up.

After this I sweated the Carrots, the Shallots, the Celery, the Garlic Cloves, Tomato Puree, the Caraway Seeds, Smoked Paprika  and the Port in the Le Cresceut in Olive Oil for 35 minutes on a medium heat. I stirred the dish occasionally to make sure that the ingredients did not stick to the bottom of it burn. I also kept the lid on during cooking to make sure the food cooked quickly.

 About 25 minutes into this process I added the Dumplings.

In the meantime as soon as I started cooking the food in the Le Cresceut I boiled up the Pui Lentils in a saucepan of water for 35 minutes on a medium heat.  Once the Lentils were ready I added them
 to the Le Cresceut with the Vegetable Stock and Tomatoes. I stirred them in carefully. I then boiled it all for a further 35 minutes on a medium heat.

The Smoked Paprika, a spice that had been recommend to me by an individual who had contributed
little else that was positive to my life, and the Caraway Seeds added a charcoal type taste that reminded me of Liquorice. The Celery of course served to enforce this taste. However this taste wasn't too overpowering as the Tomato Puree, tinned Tomatoes and the Chive Dumplings ensured enough contrast to make this a flavoursome and filling meal.

It was certainly a meal my parents enjoyed as we talked shop about significant individuals and possible futures.

Melting Pot- the Dumplings and other ingredients bubbling away prior to serving the dish. 

Carrot Marsala and Lentil Soup

Saturday morning. The morning after a night out, with good company, at a revamped local pub that sits at the top of a hill in the shadow of an eerie churchyard. Only three and a bit pints had been consumed but I was feeling a little jaded, perhaps partly because I had pushed myself hard at work during the truncated working week that had just finished.

Later on that day my parents were around for a meal as they were off on holiday for nearly three weeks the following day. What to cook? I decided on a three course meal and today's blog entry deals with the first course of that meal.

On the player was one of Frank Zappa's many top drawer live albums. The album I listened to was called "The Best Band you never heard in Your Life". Zappa probably released this record in pique and sadness as it documents his final tour in 1988 that he cancelled after a fall out with his backing band. The title is specifically for the fans who had bought tickets for the cancelled legs of the tour. The record features a mix of Zappa Classics and cover versions, some serious and some clear parodies, of well-known rock numbers. Among the best of these is his cover of "Stairway to Heaven" in which the horn section approximates Jimmy Page's famous guitar work to a tee.

I had consumed quite a few curries recently and had found in my fridge a lot of Carrots that needed eating quickly. That said I settled on preparing a Carrot Marsala and Lentil Soup.

The ingredients of it to try at home are as follows:

For the Soup:
1 Diced Red Onion.
1 Diced Garlic Clove.
1 Cubed and diced White Potato.
1 Tablespoon of Garam Marsala.
1 Tablespoon of ground Coriander.
Half a pint of Vegetable Stock.
1 Can of Green Lentils.

For the Lime Oil

4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil.
Rind of one Lime.

The way I prepared this one was as follows:

1. In my Le Cresceut I sweated the Onion, Garlic, Potato, Coriander and Marsala in Olive Oil with the lid on the Le Cresceut for around half an hour on a medium heat.  

2. After the half an hour was up I added the Vegetable Stock and simmered everything in the Le Cresceut with the lid off for another half an hour.

3. After this I took the Le Cresceut off the heat and left the contents to cool.

4. Once the food had cooled I blended it and returned it to the Le Cresceut.

5. Next I added the Lentils to give the dish some more texture and warmed the soup through so it was ready to serve.

6. While the soup had been cooking on the hob I made the Lime Oil. The way I did this was to put the Olive Oil in a serving bowl. I then grated the Lime Rind in using a cheese grater. Next I stirred it into the Olive Oil with a spoon and left it to cool in the fridge until I was ready to serve the soup.

The soup went down well with everyone. The Marsala and the Coriander gave it a definite taste of some of my local town's better curry houses while the Carrot, Potato and Lentils gave the Soup a real body and plenty of protein.

The Lime Oil was added to the Soup once it had been served and it served as a welcome contrast to some of the more savoury flavours of the soup. With the weather starting to cool this is definitely a soup that will no doubt be made again over the winter months.

The Lime Oil floats on top of the soup as it is less dense than the soup itself.

The Lime Oil is illuminated by the late summer sunlight.

Any Port in a Storm

Last Wednesday it was my birthday, a year older, a year wiser as well? Maybe, certainly a year where I'd achieved a lot and learned a bit more about myself. After the dog woke me up early I saw it was still raining heavily from the day before. While I waited on the weather to clear, so I could go a walk, I decided to use some of the Beetroot I'd purchased from the local greengrocers and some of the Port my wonderful secretary had got me for Christmas to make Chutney.

With the wonderful sound of Frank Zappa's 1974 Jazz-Rock Classic "The Roxy and Elsewhere" bouncing out of my newly repaired speaker system I set to work.

The ingredients were as follows:

Four Beetroot, topped,tailed, peeled and cubed.
Half a White Onion , topped, tailed, peeled and diced.
A tablespoon of Dried Ginger
Five stems of Marjoram from my herb garden.
Three tablespoons of Port.
A clove of Garlic topped, tailed, peeled and finely sliced.
Juice of Half a Lemon
Half a pint of water

In my Le Cresceut dish I fried in four ounces of melted and unsalted Butter on a medium heat on the hob the Beetroot, White Onion, Ginger, Marjoram, Port, Garlic and Lemon for around thirty minutes stirring them constantly to stop the ingredients from burning and sticking to the bottom of the Le Cresceut.

After the thirty minutes were up I added water and stewed the food for a further forty-five minutes in the Le Cresceut dish on a lowish heat.

When the food was ready I took the dish off the hob and left it to cool down. Once it had cooled down I then put it in an airtight container and left it into the fridge. In doing this it sealed in the flavour and stopped the chutney going off. I would recommend though with this type of Chutney that for the best taste you consume it within 2-3 days at most.

Later in the week I sampled it with a couple of pasties over an early lunch and found it to be very savoury with an extra rich flavour because of the Port.

Purple Reign- some of the Chutney boxed up and ready to eat.