pumpkin & feta risotto

Another night, another vegetarian feast. Tonight it's a massive batch of Donna Hay's pumpkin risotto, enough to feed us, give me a massive lunch tomorrow and a bowl for Milo's dinner.

Like Bill Granger's no-stir tomato risotto, it's a pretty easy version seeing as you just whack it into the oven and, rather than stirring the stock in for 20 minutes, you just do four minutes mad stirring at the end of the cooking time. You do need plenty - and I mean PLENTY - of black pepper and parmesan though...

sources
pumpkin & feta risotto - Donna Hay, Instant Cook, p66

tomato curry

Having spent a weekend eating amazing food c/o Brenda Baxendale-Taylor (and a nice-if-average roast in the pub), tonight we have possibly the most expensive curry we've ever had. Not because of any extravagant ingredients like goldleaf, or hand-fed chickens with diamond beaks, but because I have to get it all from M&S at work.

It makes no quantifiable difference to the flavour of course, but on the upside I got the chance to browse coriander under a big picture of Ana Beatriz Barros in pants. Maybe Waitrose could do a deal with Nuts?

sources
tomato curry - Simon Hopkinson, Delicious, November 2007, p86

bonfire weekend at ashton under hill

Remember, remember the 5th, 6th and 7th of November, value lager, experimental cooking and IKEA. Admittedly it's not quite how the rhyme goes but it pretty much sums up another fantastic weekend in glorious Ashton under Hill.

Contrary to tradition Tewkesbury Abbey fireworks aren't on the 5th, so when we get down on Friday we let the kids go mental in Dave and Lucy's swanky new front room before settling down to some 2% Morrison's value lager (mmmm, refreshing) and the first of Brenda's amazing experimental dishes - stuffed roasted butternut squash.

This is a controversial choice for a couple of reasons:
1. There's only butternut squash, no side;
2. Dave wants a take away curry;
3. It's a recipe from She Magazine;
4. Dave wants a take away curry.

However it is a definite winner, and I've taken the recipe away to repeat Les Bren's stunning culinary success.

There is more success looming on Saturday, although not from a rugby point of view. The mighty Tewkesbury 2s lost a hard battle against Gordon League (crazy name, crazy guys), before Australia managed to cheat their way to beating Wales without a front row. Hmmm...

Things then get much, much better with an amazing bonfire and fireworks display in front of the Abbey, followed by some quality bouncy castle time for Milo. We then hit the motherload at home with a massive bowl of lamb and prune tagine, which I believe was from Delicious? Lucy?

Sunday is much slower affair; the girls go to IKEA and the boys go the pub for a Sunday roast, via the pub.

It's a long, sleepy journey home, but we can't wait for the next weekend trip to Worcestershire. Hurrah for the country!

chickpea and tomato soup with chorizo and green chilli

Having only eaten the last of Monday's beetroot borscht for lunch (okay, and some toasted banana bread from Kaffiene), cycling home into the teeth of a headwind is very hard tonight. I've got no energy whatsoever, I'm getting the bonk by the time I come out of Hyde Park and it's by only fixating on getting a bar of fruit and nut from the newsagents at the end of our road which gets me home.

What I don't want to do when I get in is even contemplate any more soup. Two bowls of soup isn't enough for a growing chap like myself, I'll fade away! However Ana cajoles me into it, and weakened by an alcoholic ginger beer and a 7.45 mile cycle ride, I cave in - and I'm bloody glad I did as the end result is utterly delish!

Warm, hearty and slightly spicy, the crispy chorizo and lime juice set it all off beautifully. We will definitely, DEFINITELY be having it again, although I think it's too thick to get into my thermos for lunch.

Food of the Milos
Despite being a bit pickley today, the little boy has a much better Thursday. Toast and Phili for breakfast, and pasta bolognese with fruit salad for lunch at Julia's. For dinner he has one of his new favourite dishes, Lucy Brenda Baxter's Chicken Curry. He maybe preparing for a weekend of being a minx in Ashton-Under-Hill however, because it wasn't particularly wolfed down. More weaseled I'd say...

sources
chickpea and tomato soup with chorizo and green chilli - Bill Granger, Delicious, February 2008 p68. It's not in any of my Bill Granger books, so I'm intrigued as to which it's in...

beef and bok choi noodles

Incredibly this is our fourth experimental dish in five days, and not only that this is the third meal in a row from the same two year old copy of Delicious. Tomorrow we've got another one lined up, and even more bizarrely Ana has chosen all of the recipes. I feel quite faint.

We have a few stir fry dishes up our sleeves, but this one turns out to be a bit of a revelation. It's a neat combination of being super quick, very tasty (despite the fact I'd run out of ginger), and quite similar without being too similar to a Bill Granger classic we used to have loads. I think it'll become one of those recipes that depending our mood, we'll either have the BG one or this one. Does that even make sense?

Food of the Milos
Much to his disappointment, he's back at Julia's today as Ana is back at work. Curiously he has almost no breakfast today, only a few snacks before having chicken, mash, veg, grapes and yoghurt for lunch. There's defrosted Tana Ramsay sausage casserole for tea, which he loves apart from the cabbage (fair enough), and a further dose of trick or treat sweets.

sources
beef and bok choi noodles - Delicious, February 2008, p28

baked fish with herb and lemon crust

Is there anything better than trying a delightfully healthy and experimental fish dish after a brisk autumnal day, particularly when the person who decided on the meal is actually out at yet another of her book clubs?

Faced with the stark choice of eating it or binning it, I reluctantly opt - for the sake of our budget - to take one for the team and cook the sodding thing. Things don't get any better once I discover the fish has both skin AND scales, the herb crust is a good deal greener than the advertised picture, and to add insult to injury there's only fairly limp broccoli in the fridge.

There is a serious amount of back o my hand brewing for McCarthy's head and no mistake, but she's saved. SAVED I TELL YOU because despite the scales, skin, faded broccoli and emerald green lemon and herb crust, it's amazing! It's the last time I let her read Delicious mind...

Also I forgot to say last night, but this time the Beetroot Borscht is infinitely less sweet, and therefore a much more pleasant proposition than last time. It certainly took the edge off the wind in the park today, and the colour drew some curious glances from my fellow Cavendish Square literati, including the BBC's Chris Hollins. I tipped them wink, nodded sagely and returned to Midnight's Children.

Food of the Milos
It's a double nibbles morning for Milo today, but sadly no breakfast. He has a cheese sandwich for lunch, and last night's fragrant chicken stew with a jacket spud for dinner. Plus a variety of sweets from his trick or treat pumpkin of course.

sources
baked fish with herb and lemon crust - Delicious February 2008, p24

moroccan chicken stew

Monday monday eh? To be honest I don't mind Monday's that much; everybody in the office sits around in a post-weekend coma so I usually get left alone to listen to Radio 7, and I even managed to prepare a post about Whites for the coming Wednesday. A quick read in the park at lunchtime and a pleasant cycle home in the winter sunshine later, what's not to like?

By the time I get home Ana is ready to depart for Bobble Hat Blitz, leaving me to spend a delightful hour turning half our sack of beetroots from last week's foraging trip into more soup, and knock up some warming Moroccan chicken stew whilst continuing the Radio 7 marathon.

If you want to know, I listened to The Sit Crom and some Edgar Wallace Short Stories. Brilliantly Sue Limb, who wrote The Sit Crom, coined the phrase Bonkbuster, for which I salute her!

Still searching for that perfect tagine to christen the pot with, btw. Angela Hazel at work as supplied a definite contender but if anybody has any decent recipes, so pass them on.

Food of the Milos
After his usual breakfast of nibbles and porridge, (and safe in the knowledge he's got a pumpkin bag full of sweets in the cupboard), attempts the rest of the day in reverse. He eats his main meal of sausages, mash and peas for lunch at Claire and Isla's, before eating his usual lunch, boiled egg and sausages, at home later for dinner. Babies eh?

sources
moroccan chicken stew - Delicious, February 2008, p28
beetroot and apple borscht - Delicious, March 2010, p40