pumpkin and peanut curry

You know you're getting into the thin end of the month when you find yourself looking in a sparse cupboard wondering whether there is a recipe out there which uses three different sorts of pasta, some stem ginger, a can of tomatoes and a packet of dessicated coconut?

Fortunately the site of the crunchy peanut butter - usually the preserve of this summer's recipe du jour, Sesame Chicken Salad - reminded me of some sort of curry I'd seen during one of my Delicious culling and sticking sessions. Sure enough the Parsley Book comes up trumps. Not only that we're only missing lime juice to finish the dish off, which is never a key ingredient anyway. It's a garnish really...

... Or it's a quite essential element, used mainly to balance the cloying peanut butter and slightly dull pumpkin flavour of the dish, giving it a zesty lift I would imagine. Without it, the end effect is a bit like a woolly satay - it's nice, but it lacks some oompf.

I think it's one to be filed under "To be used in emergencies", and you'd definitely need the lime juice, and maybe some coriander.

Food of the Milos
It seems I don't know my son that well afterall. Having predicted last night he'd wolf down the macaroni cheese like no tomorrow, I return to discover he's spurned the lot. He didn't like the bacony-rosemary-y crust, he didn't like the cheese flavour and he didn't like the spiral pasta tubes. He's hateful. Instead of my lovingly crafted uber-Macaroni cheese, he only eats the steamed carrots and broccoli side-dish Ana makes, and a yoghurt. Philistine!

sources
pumpkin and peanut curry - Delicious 2005, now in The Parsley Book

butternut squash macaroni cheese with rosemary, bacon and parmesan

For some reason we have no default version of macaroni cheese, which is unlike most of the dishes we eat. I suspect there are usually a couple of variations kicking around for most of the recipes we cook, but whilst we may have dabbled with a few twists, we tend to have a go-to for each.

Incredibly we have at least four for macaroni cheese:

1. A surprisingly dull Waitrose version with broccoli and cauliflower;
2. Jamie Oliver's lovely if bank-breaking four-cheese version;
3. A bog standard version using Annabel Karmel's tried-and-trusted cheese sauce, with a soupcon of RGB changes, namely adding mustard and parmesan to the cheddar mix;
4. Grandma/Nanny made super-cheesy macaroni cheese;

Quite why this simplest of dishes resists order is beyond me, but tonight we add a fifth version to the list and - Praise Be! - we might have found a winner! Given it's from Delicious 2005, I'm mildly vexed it's taken me until now to find perfection, particularly as it's been sat under my nose all this time, but at least I can stop the hunt.

Like the Waitrose version it involves adding a veg, in this case mashed butternut squash which has been slowly boiled with cinnamon, garlic and a smidge of chilli flakes, but the winning tweak is the addition of the breadcrumb, bacon and rosemary crust. In a nod to Jamie's four cheese version, and also because I think *just* parmesan is a bit lightweight, I jazz it up slightly with some left-over marscapone and some of the Stinking Bishop Matt and Virginie left behind.

It is possibly the best one we've made yet. Even the newly-super-skinny Ana likes it which is odd because her cold only let's her taste "about 10% of the flavours" apparently.

Food of the Milos
Oh dear, this hacking cough he's developed seems to still be with us, usually I notice, between the hours of 0230 and dawn. Still he's chirpy this morning and manages to eat some apple and toast nibbles Ana makes him whilst I'm hiding in bed, and some porridge before going to nursery.

For dinner he has the choice of chilli bean stew (basically the left-over chilli bean burritos sans burrito), or some of Lucy's chicken curry I made on Tuesday night. Naturally he opts for the curry, proving he is our son after all, and I'm willing to put a bet on what he'll have tomorrow night if he's given the choice between the macaroni cheese and the chilli...

sources
butternut squash macaroni cheese with rosemary, bacon and parmesan - Jamie's Quickies Recipe Card, Delicious 2005. Now it's in the Parsley Book

vegetable and chick pea tagine

I promise you this was on the menu *before* my amazing birthday present from Ana arrived, and if it's any consolation, I won't be using the tagine until I've prepared in the prescribed manner, by boiling some milk in it first. It seems mad doesn't it?

Anyway, it's the coldest night of the Autumn so far with a super crisp frost falling as I cycled back and an almost perfect but not quite full moon hanging overhead. I love bright winter days, and in fact spent another delightful lunchtime sat in the sun in Cavendish Square reading and eating (or drinking?) a steaming thermos of Bill Granger's curried parsnip soup. Coming home is a different story though, and I need to snuggle up to Milo for at least 10 minutes before I thaw out.

With him asleep and me defrosted, I knock up this quick tagine/stew from Ana's very favourite sports and fitness magazine.

It seems quite simple but the harissa and cumin really give it some oompf, and the carrot turns out to be quite sweet alongside the apricots. I really must get around to learning to cooking some flavoured cous cous though, I fear the plain stuff whilst good at sucking up gravy is just a bit, well, dull.

Food of the Milos
Despite having waking up all bunged up at 0200 this morning and coming into our bed, Monkey is in pretty good form on our way to Julia's. He at least slept rather than thrashed around, poking us and forcing us out of the bed, which probably explains why he's so chipper. We invent a song called "Meercats" on the way, which involves singing "Meercats" until one of us breaks and sings "snakes". I predict it'll be Christmas number one, in our house anyway.

At Julia's he has the usual apricots, cheerios, toast breakfast, followed by ham and eggs for lunch, but as he's a bit under the weather he doesn't eat much of either. Consequently he only feels like pasta for dinner, so Ana makes him Bill Granger pea, parmesan and pasta and he zonks out fairly quickly after I get back. Not that I'm boring, I hasten to add.

sources
vegetable and chick pea tagine - Fiona Hunter, Zest Magazine. Now the Parsley Book

chilli bean burritos with sweetcorn salsa

I've gone slightly crazy tonight. Rather than drying off from the sodden cycle home, making a quick dinner and then relaxing in front of the TV with some wine, I end up making three lots of stuff: Bill Granger's Chilli Bean Burritos, a massive batch of Lucy's chicken curry using the left over chicken from Sunday dinner for Milo, and another Bill recipe for my lunch this week, curried parsnip soup.

At least Bill's burritos are fairly quick to make, so quick in fact I give the sweetcorn salsa a spin for the first time, and it's a pretty good accompaniment. Certainly an ace way to squeeze one more portion of veg onto the plate, between the extra cheese and creme fraiche.

For the record, I had six wraps and Ana had only two, which goes some way to explaining why she's such a skinny minny at the moment. Don't worry, I'll cook stews for the next four months to bring her back up to my size. Anyway, whilst we eat burritos I've got two other pots bubbling away on the hob.

Due to a slight admin error, in one is about two litres of Lucy's chicken curry. It is very tasty with a slight kick from the Tikka Masala curry paste we used (left-over from something or other), although I wonder whether he'll ever finish the six portions now in the freezer, as well as the one in the fridge?

In the other are two litres of curried parsnip soup, which I approach with some trepidation. Last time I made it I attempted to offset the lack of curry paste with my own unique combination of garam masala, curry powder and cumin. It was not a success, instead I created an acrid, throat-choking nightmare and had to bin the lot. It still makes me gag slightly when I think about it. This time *with* paste it's a honeyed, warming beauty - hurrah!

Food of the Milos
His cold seems to be getting worse at the moment, so after a night spent rolling around our bed moaning, he's not up for much breakfast. Some apple, raisins and a bit of crumpet is pretty much his lot until lunchtime, when Ana makes some boiled eggs and toast. After a run around the park he's much perkier and ready for a big bowl of fish curry, some more fruit and a yoghurt.

sources
chilli bean burritos with sweetcorn salsa - Bill Granger, Every Day, p56
curried parsnip soup - Bill Granger, Holiday, p96
chicken curry - The Byzantine Mind of Mrs Brenda Baxentaylordale-Taylor

stuffed tarragon chicken

It being the weekend - and a rugby weekend at that - we share the parenting duties today, before rendezvousing later at home to prepare for the arrival of the divine Matt and Virginie for dinner.

So whilst I spend the morning abortively trying to park at Brentford Fountains, before giving up and going to Richmond instead, Ana tidies and reclines at home. Then whilst her and Milo go to Zac's birthday party in Putney, I'm totally p'wn-ing the Esher backrow.

With monkey tucked up in bed, we put the Christmas knife skills to good use to joint and take the supremes off of two chickens for the stuffed tarragon chicken, and my usual knife action to cut up some pears.

I'm especially pleased I'd pretty much remembered how to joint the birds and whilst one (Ana's as she doesn't like skin) was a bit duff, the others were aces. Not only that all the thighs and drumsticks went into the freezer, and the two carcasses went into the fridge to make stock. However one of these two actions will come back to haunt me.

Tonight we start with Donna Hay's caramelised pear and rocket salad, which really benefits from leaving the roquefort out for a bit before crumbling over the pears...


...Followed by the stuffed tarragon chicken (from Delicious)...


...chocolate raspberry torte (not homemade), stinking bishop cheese and biscuits and then more chocolate and half a bottle of sloe gin. No wonder the pictures are all a little blurry, but at least I got a picture of them this time:


Despite their loveliness I find them really hard to cook for, and I always feel I have to raise my game, because every time we eat around theirs they do the full monty very very well. And they supply amazing cheese. Not that I don't love all your cooking special friends, just these two are the closest to proper chefs I know. Damn their eyes.

sources
caramelised pear and rocket salad - Donna Hay, The Instant Cook, p44
stuffed tarragon chicken with cannellini bean stew - Delicious, March 2010, p46

tana ramsay's sausage casserole, with savoy cabbage and butter beans - recipe

Here you go Sarah, just for you - Tana Ramsay's sausage casserole! Surely it's summer there now though, and you no longer need casseroles?

tana ramsay's sausage casserole, with savoy cabbage and butter beans - recipe
Serves 3, plus three pots in the freezer for him later
Ready in about 1 hour

2 tbsp olive oil
400g sausages
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
55g cubed pancetta or bacon lardons
2 leeks, chopped
2 fresh thyme sprigs, stripped
55g chorizo, cubed
410g can butter beans, drained
1 litre veg stock
250g mushrooms, sliced
1/2 a savoy cabbage, shredded

1. Gently heat the olive oil in a deep pan. Add the sausages and brown on all sides. Add the onions and garlic, and fry until softened. Add the pancetta, leeks and thyme. Put in the chorizo and turn the heat up slightly so it sweats off some of the moisture. This will make the leeks and onions go orange. Or follow Brenda's advice, and ditch the chorizo for milk-based reasons, and use tomato puree.
2. Add the butter beans, stock and mushrooms. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for about 15 minutes.
3. Add the savoy cabbage - it may look far too much, but it does wilt loads. Stir through and leave to simmer for at least 25 minutes. Preferably longer.
4. Serve with lovely buttery mash.

enjoy!

balsamic and thyme steak

It's Friday night, and all we've got in the fridge is half a large savoy cabbage left-over from Tana Ramsay's sausage casserole. What to do, what to do, other than buy booze, chips and dips of course?

Inspiration hits on the way home, and I pick up some steak for a relatively healthy steak and mash dinner to accompany The Mentalist. It *must* be healthy because it's from a really old Delicious One Month Healthy Eating Plan.


Now, whilst this plate looks marvellous Ana's plate is less successful, mainly because Sainsbury's fillet steak really isn't very good. It's quite tough, and gristly. Note to self there.

sources
balsamic and thyme steak - Delicious, One Month Healthy Eating Plan Booklet, February 2007 - now the Skull Book. I really must take a picture of it