The weekend has been a bit of a weird one, hasn't it? I'm actually perfectly capable of not leaving the house on Saturdays through choice, but it's rare, and I don't actually like being in the house all weekend. It's definitely been a comfort food weekend though! I've made soup, I roasted a chicken, I made risotto, and even as I type there's a crumble in the oven.
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| Leeks and potatoes slowly sweated with butter and cumin seeds |
Soup: This was one of Saturday's tasks, a method very similar to Sarah's here except that mine was Leek & Potato with some cumin seeds chucked in. My mum makes a lot of soup, even now when she doesn't cook as much as she used to, so it made me think of her and the kitchen in the house I still think of as home - even though my parents moved in 2010. It was home for nearly 30 years, so dammit, that kitchen is what I picture. They moved because my mum couldn't manage the house anymore (she has MS) and of course that leads to additional worries at present because compromised immune system PLUS now age. My dad is in his 80s but incapable of retiring, so that was a cheery conversation when I rang for Mother's Day. Cross everything you have that he'll start to stay at home slightly more when cases in the Highlands start to rise and he realises that "at risk" really does mean them. Pictured - very slowly sweated leeks and potatoes, just as Mum taught.
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Nigella's Bar Nuts
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In preparation for Cocktail Hour, I made Nigella's New York Bar Nuts - whatever raw nuts you have, chucked in the oven for ten minutes to roast then stirred through melted butter, salt, sugar, rosemary and cayenne pepper. Incredibly more-ish, we had to put them in a different room to ensure we didn't eat all of them in one fell swoop.
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| Risotto with pepper and sugar snaps |
And that brings us to Sunday evening, and another risotto. I am a sad individual who makes proper stock when we have roast chicken and freezes it (in takeaway boxes - v handy), so that got defrosted and I picked the leftovers from last night's roast chicken off the bones. I chopped a shallot (yes, V Middle Class, but I bought a bag for a particular recipe and am still working through them), a pepper and some courgette, plus a sprig of rosemary from the garden and voila, basic ingredients sorted! A splash of Vermouth after I added the rice and it was good to go. Some cheery music whilst I stirred, and I felt a bit better about life. I threw in some sugar snaps at the end to make sure that we're getting sufficient veg.
The crumble in the oven is rhubarb - there is a massive and indestructible rhubarb plant in the garden that was here when we moved in. I don't actually like rhubarb very much, but my husband does so I've made the crumble for his benefit. It's a lot pinker than it looks in the photo! Chop your rhubarb into thumb length pieces, place in a pan with sugar (I use the amounts here) and simmer for 15 minutes. I also added some root ginger. Put the oven at 180C and make your crumble topping to your preference, making sure you don't over-rub the mixture, put the rhubarb in a dish and scatter the crumble on top. Bake for about 30 minutes then watch other people eat it whilst you eat the ice-cream that is kept in the freezer for exactly this scenario.
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| Slightly too liquid Rhubarb Crumble! |
This is impressive stuff. I want crumble now, but that's a small side complaint.
ReplyDeleteVery excited about the bar nuts recipe. I have endless part-packets of nuts in the fridge, getting aged, so I shall try perking them up when I have the oven on sometime.
But why won't parents understand they are old? And demonstrably at risk? Mine will talk endlessly about their treatment, but still are reluctant to believe they need to stay inside now. Yes, even from the flower shop. And the fruit stall. And, and, and... sigh.