My riff on Scottish “Cullen skink”.
I mashed the potatoes with a Chinese wire skimmer and got these patterns
Overhead view
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Awesome taters.
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The four year old and I got one good day & night of camping before ditching to avoid forecast storms tomorrow. Dinner on the camping night was quick pickled cucumber and okonomyaki - I was running out of kewpie hence the unattractive splodge
On the way from the camping spot to our holiday apartment we’re now holed up in is a cute little village with an excellent butcher and baker. Lunch today was black pudding and cucumber in baguette all purchased there.
Dinner is a freezer dive I packed in the chilly bin that defrosted while we were camping - baccala Mexican style ( more leftovers from the Mexican themed Christmas). http://www.mexicoinmykitchen.com/2014/12/mexican-style-salted-cod-bacalao-vizcaina-mexico.html?m=1 Baguette on the side. Grapes from the parent’s vine and passion fruit for dessert.
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To start… classic prawn cocktail
To continue …pork chops with a wine/cream/mustard sauce (Nigel Slater recipe from Kitchen Diaries), new potatoes, steamed grated root vegetables
To conclude…fruit salad, ice cream
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Looks like the boneless short ribs I bought at Costco a few years ago.
Tonight’s dinner, Ottolenghi’s parsnip dumplings in broth. TO BE CONTINUED in the Cooking of the month: Cooking-of-the-month (Jan-Feb 2016)- Dumpling
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Today was Mom Shopping Day. No, I wasn’t shopping for a new mom. Mine is perfect the way she is. 
Took her shopping for baby gift items (her 5th great-grandchild is due in about 2 months) and books for the new mom to read to the baby. I also picked up some books for my gift to my step-niece: The Story of Ferdinand, Harold and the Purple Crayon, and (new to me), Corduroy. My niece has always been a reader; I’m sure her new child will be as well!
We also stopped to find Mom some shoes. The store name is strange (Hyman’s Pennyworth’s), but they had some good sales going on (half off the New Balance Cobb Hill boots I ended up buying). They’ve been around since the early 1900s, and they’re still a store where they’ll measure your foot and get you the shoes. Great customer service. Rare in shoe stores nowadays.
A quick sandwich lunch, wrapped the books (Mom will take mine to the baby shower), and I was off for work-related errands. Home again, home again, jiggity-jig.
7-bone chuck roasts were on sale at my local stupidmarket, so that was dinner. Salt/pepper/dried thyme was liberally sprinkled on both sides before searing the beef. Nestled the beef into beef stock, red wine, tamarind concentrate paste, minced garlic and caramelized onions, covered and into a 350° oven for a couple of hours, turning once.
Boiled taters and carrots alongside. And the rest of the Stella Montepulciano D’Abruzzo red wine was poured and enjoyed. Twas all good.
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It will be grazing for the four year old and I this evening after a large, excellent lunch at our favourite vineyard. http://www.ransomwines.co.nz
Their platters are always a treat. Today we got both the standard platter which has meats, spreads, salads, cheese, fruits, breads and olive oil and the sweet treats platter. Platters are such a wonderful way to eat but such an effort to prepare at home. In saying that our grazing may well consist of a simplified platter of chopped cucumber, carrots and tomato with some more of the baguette we bought yesterday, some oil and some dukkah. There will be wine for the adults as we lament Sunday sliding into another work week.
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Upcoming…Nigel Slater’s recipe for linguine alla vongole.
Before that we’re off to a Sunday market in a nearby town. We’ve never been before - apparently it’s a combination of farmers market and craft fair, so we should be able to do some modern day hunter-gathering.
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My son and I have spent some enjoyable time cooking together again this week. Thursday night we hit up one of our wonderful Armenian markets to make a quick za’atar-spiced burger topped with their amazing red pepper, whipped feta and garlic spread, a quick pickled turnip relish, tzakziki and a splash of leftover tahini sauce served as a wrap on their spinach-feta flatbread. Totally over-the-top and very busy, but really delicious with a few grape leaves to round things out.
Friday night he made a very intense mushroom sauce with a bit of cream served over crispy polenta (cheater, from a supermarket roll) while I roasted up some green beans and scallions. Very tasty and satisfying.
Last night for movie night with my husband I pulled some puttanesca from the freezer to be served over fresh linguini with a quick chicken Milanese on the side for some satisfying crunch and some broccoli sautéed with garlic, crushed red pepper and lemon for good measure. No pictures because I didn’t want to miss the movie (and my son wasn’t there to actually make the pictures look appetizing.)
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WFD: 1.) Chicken Sandwich. Dijon mustard; mango chutney; a tsp of garlic powder. Worcestershire sauce; sliced cooked chicken, lettuce.
2.) Green Beans, steamed.
3.) Chopped Roasted Beets with Spicy Mala Dressing. This is a chance I’m taking here but I’ll probably abstain. Back to basics for tonight, except for the beets.
WWFD: I’ve been slowly weaning myself from the BRAT to a more complete meal. Last night we had a lovely full-flavored dinner of roast chicken with ghee sauted shredded cabbage and chopped onions w a bit of sugar, and S & P, tossed with egg noodles. Good Lord that was so delicious ! It’s amazing what happens to taste buds after being denied for a couple of days.
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I was talking to a friend yesterday and somehow rice a roni came up in conversation- it’s likely been several decades since i had it, my mom would make it randomly but i have very fond memories.
And suddenly that was All I Wanted.
But the ingredient list isn’t pretty and the store near me didn’t have a vegetarian version. The Google helped me find copycat recipes and i did a hybrid of several using BTB chickenless base and also added in a good amount of nutritional yeast to add that umami factor. Couldn’t say how close it was to the original but turned out very tasty.
I added edamame to the not rice a roni when it was done and filled up a roasted bell pepper. Side salad of arugala, cherry tomatoes, capers and dijon vinegrette.
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Last night we had a bunch of friends over for a game night, and the first bunch of arrivals shared fried chicken from a fairly new local place http://www.mymychickensc.com/#Menuwith us. Mac & Cheese, pinto beans, and cole slaw on the side. We got 2 whole chickens, one spicy. 'twas good, and we have two breast pieces leftover for dinner tonight, as well as some of the mac & the beans. My man’s gonna finish off the mac as a side for his burger, and I’ll get the leftover fried chicken once I return from tonight’s shift.
This afternoon, we attended a mushroom cooking demo & tasting at a local inn & spa. It was nice & made me want to make more mushroom dishes in the future.
Pickled enoki w/lotus root
Miso-shiitake soup
Fried maitake ravioli (a favorite)
King oyster terrine with goat cheese (would’ve been better at room temp)
Chanterelle buttermilk soup (crème fraîche would’ve been better)
Porcini & black trumpet dusted sea scallops, respectively
Morel tiramisu
Overall, the dishes were a bit lacking in seasoning - salt, for the most part.
Happy Sunday, y’all!
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A rare miss from Mr Slater, IMO. Just wasn’t at all interesting. Not vile, of course, but really not something I want to repeat. Mrs H left most of hers saying she was bored with it - I just about managed not to sulk.
Bacon features tomorrow. It is impossible to fuck up dinner if bacon is involved.
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Today’s grey, wet weather matches my mood. Something comforting with bright flavours is in order to beat blues and cloying humidity.
After being inspired by a thread here I’m trying my hand at pho ga - chicken pho. Chicken frames are being parboiled clean, onions and ginger are blackening on the BBQ. Smells good already.
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Holy moly! Jealous.
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No Oscar-themed food for me. Spent a quiet day reading and watching a movie.
Made individual baked mac & ham & cheese that was mostly cheddar cheese but had a sprinkling of grated aged gruyere cheese on top before the panko/garlic & herb topping.
A salad of red leaf Romaine, radishes, tomatoes, English cukes, and croutons with a blood orange vinaigrette.
Wine.
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'Same about the linguine and clams, Harters. I have not read Slater’s take on this classic but I have my own tried and true recipe. i.e. my mother’s. Essentially like most of her simple/quick fish sauces. Garlic, olive oil, red pepper flakes, a hit of anchovies, and tinned clams w their juices. Minced parsley over each serving.
I have made the dish with clams in their sells but this alternative is surprisingly delicious.
You get clams in a tin? A particular brand. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them that way.
i kept moving the curser to the end of the text and it kept doing it…
