tom kime's kebab ki baraz (lamb meatballs with a sour cherry sauce)

After a week mucking about in the countryside, entertaining Norwegians (and small children) variously in sunny Ashton-under-Hill followed by glamorous SW14, we're back on the diets. Not that the past week has been a dietary disaster of course, but there has been a lot of booze being knocked back which no amount of running in searing heat can off-set.

So tonight we're back with a super-tasty Moroccan-inspired meatball recipe, which handily uses up about 1Kg of the cherries we foraged behind Dave and Lucy's house:

We don't have this dish enough for my liking. I love the spices and herbs that really lift the lamb mince, but the sour cherry sauce makes all the difference, and really peps up the cous cous.

Wine Time
Lamb and cherries? I don't think I'll be looking any further than a Pinot Noir, which is bursting with sour red cherry flavours, which handily also cuts through the fatty meat. If you did want to go elsewhere,  a young, spicy rioja would also go down a treat, as its spicy notes would mingle nicely with the herbs in the meatballs.

sources
kebab bi karaz - Tom Kime, Australian Delicious but now the Skull Book

delia smith's roasted vegetable cous cous salad with harrissa and valli little's courgette spaghetti with pesto

After yesterday's love-in, we're back to marital strife today, although luckily it's dinner/lunch-based rather than anything more tragic.

To be honest we can't hate each other too much as we spent most of the day ignoring the sun, sat on the sofa watching back-to-back Tour de France. It's only when food is required that it all goes slightly awry, firstly with a late-ish lunch. It being summer, the fridge is full of courgettes, and I know Ana loves a courgette, so a Valli Little experimental pretend pasta dish of courgette 'spaghetti' is obviously going to be a winner, particularly off the back of last night's experimental winner, also care of Valli's rainbow rhythms healthy meals:

I could not be more wrong, and not even an extra big glass of lunchtime white can offset her disgust. In fact she only has one mouthful before giving it the widest of berths, and she's more annoyed when I nick off to pick Milo up without making her a replacement lunch. Having eaten two bowls, I think she had a small point - certainly you need to make sure you strip the mint properly, otherwise your pesto ends up 'woody' - but otherwise I think this amazing. It's fresh, lemony and filling - perfect for the Yummington. Still, 1-0 to Ana.

By the time it gets to dinner she's clearly wary, and there is some extended low-level bickering about having Delia's roasted vegetable cous cous salad: She's never had it, it won't taste nice, it looks horrible etc

Luckily I know a blog that will not only prove we've had it before, it'll also indicate that Lady Barnes was pleasantly surprised how tasty it was. Luckily it's even better this time around, mainly because I didn't burn the veg, making it feel lighter than previously, and I also swapped the goat's cheese for the infinitely more Ana-friendly feta. It's a total winner, and means we end the evening with an honorable draw, 1-1.

sources
courgette spaghetti with mint and basil pesto - Valli Little, August 2013, Delicious, p110
roasted vegetable cous cous salad with harissa-style dressing - Delia Smith, Delia Smith's Summer Collection, p106

valli little's char siu beef and tenderstem broccoli stir-fry

Having been at each others throats for most of the summer, due to financial pressures I hasten to add rather than any fading affection, it's nice to remember that we do love each other, and it's nice being married to each. And our eighth wedding anniversary seems a good enough reason as any to remind ourselves that each of us is really alright, even if one of us doesn't clean the bathroom enough for the other's liking, and one of us is massively OCD.

Strangely for our anniversary we've got something completely new and experimental, rather than a comforting curry. Not only that, according to Delicious it's also extra good for us because it harnesses the powers of the rainbow!

 It's cobblers of course, but it is another Valli Little humdinger - spicy, filling, quick and super, super-tasty. Happy anniversary us!

I'd like to show you a picture of our happy family unit eating together in the garden, enjoying each others company and good food in the evening sun, but David Irving Ana has vetoed the picture of her - despite the fact she's looking magma hot - so you'll have to make do with a) the fab card she got me:

And b) me and Milo celebrating on her behalf:

 She's a silly sausage, but I still love her...

sources
char siu beef and tenderstem broccoli stir-fry - Valli Little, Delicious, August 2013, p110

jill dupleix's sesame chicken salad with celery and cucumber

The *other* best thing about roast chicken are the left-overs, and if you can resist picking the warm flesh off the carcass and chowing down on the still-crispy skin, box it all up - including any remaining gravy/juice - bung it in the fridge, and you'll find you've got everything you need to knock-up super Jilly D's fantastic asian-inspired sesame chicken salad.

It's obviously one of our favourites, but you should really give it a go. It's stuffed with crunchy carrots and cucumbers, along with juicy chicken pieces, zingy lime and a sweet-sour sauce made up from peanut butter and some other cupboard staples. It just lifts your mood, and is perfect for a warm evening. Go on,  give it a go - 'tis easy!

Wine Time
Generally with asian food, swirling as it is with acidity, spicy heat and umami flavours, you should look for a crisp, white with a little bit of sweetness in it. Classic matches include off-dry Rieslings, Gewurtztraminers, Moscato, and Prosecco. Luckily we till had some Viognier in the fridge from yesterday, which also fits the bill a treat.

sources
sesame chicken salad with cucumber and celery - Jill Dupleix, the Owl Book

roast chicken and salad

After a long weekend spent either on the Isle of Wight running grandparents into the ground and surfing, or hungover after another drunken parent's pot luck, followed by Sean and Suzie's wedding of the year, we're all back in the SW14 hood for sunday dinner en familie.

As it's so clement, and with headaches lurking behind the eyes of adults, we settle on a relaxed roast chicken salad, sat in the late-afternoon sun. What could be better, and I love everything about this meal, the chicken, the rocket and avocado salad (with pumpkin seeds), yellow cherry tomatoes and a baguette, all of which are key ingredients for a cracking sandwich. Although not if your wife cuts the bread crostini-style:

Luckily enough I'm not the only one who like a good roast chicken, although we're still working on the rocket...

Wine Time
Roast chicken is an amazing beast in wine terms, as it can happily snuggle up to a huge variety of flavours, mainly because it lacks oompf itself. With a simple roast like this one, you could easily go with anything from a buttery Chardonnay, to a minerally Gavi or a zippy Sauv, taking pretty much all compass point in between. We decided (mainly because it was on offer) to chill a bottle of Viognier brimming with peach note and mouth-watering acidity, and it was really very tasty. The second bottle tasted even better, which I think is the mark of a good wine.

jamie oliver's chicken, olive and preserved lemon tagine

Tagines are made for entertaining: They are the glamorous face of stews and casserole, you can leave them to cook themselves, and even better they seem to primarily be made up from cheaper ingredients - preserved lemons aside of course.

This chicken version is also perfect for tonight's book club as it's completely lady friendly because the lemons give the illusion of being lighter than most tagines, keeping it fresh and packed with mouth-watering flavours. More importantly, given this club is entirely populated by women, there's more-than enough left over for my lunch tomorrow.

sources
chicken, olive and preserved lemon tagine - Jamie Oliver, Jamie Does..., or you can find it right here.

gennaro and carluccio's borlotti bean soup

Soup is a funny thing. You naturally think of it as a winter staple, but I think we're slowly developing a fair clutch of summer versions that work just as well after a hot July day as a wet and woolly November one.

Gazpacho is an obvious choice, but I've noticed the summer versions tend to fall into two styles: Spicy Asian-influenced broths, like Vietnamese beef noodle soup and Tom Norrington-Davies' classic chicken noodle soup with mint and lemon, and those that can trace their lineage to minestrone. Bill Granger's puy lentil soup is a good example, as is tonight's fare - Gennaro Contaldo and Antonio Carluccio's borlotti bean soup:

I think the latter versions work mainly because they're predominantly tomato-based, and they manage to retain their acidity which keeps the soup fresh and vibrant, and perfect for warmer weather.

sauces
fresh borlotti bean soup alla maruzzara - Gennaro Contaldo and Antonio Carluccio, Two Greedy Italians, from Delicious, June 2011, p38