Lurching (Happily) From Meal To Meal

Tune of the Moment: "Joy Spring" by Clifford Brown played by Clifford Brown and the Max Roach Quintet. I wish it was a bit cooler (although some may argue that "I am a very hip cat for checking out such a burning tune") but I cannot lie. I am in the midst of learning this joyous song, as well as Clifford and Harold Land's solos (with Jon Hendricks' vocalese). So repeat play is the order of the day.


I have been eating such an array of delicious food-both homemade and restaurant made. So there is much material for this blog. Almost too much. Where to start?! Let's backtrack to Wednesday's dinner...


I was on cook duty and decided to make fish of some sort, veg (remembering to include a carb because I forgot this on Monday's dinner and Dr Knee had to make do with a single steamed potato-sadness), and, of course, something green. I picked up some salmon fillets, baby potatoes, parsnips, baby peppers and some green veg (purple sprouted broccoli and broad beans). I got quite excited about the broccoli because I don't think I've ever eaten the purple variety. And it was so incredibly beautiful:

As for the rest of the ingredients, the salmon was adorned with a splash of soy sauce, finely chopped fresh ginger, a squirt of lemon juice and some pepper. The baby peppers were tossed in olive oil and sea salt and put in the oven to roast slowly, and the potatoes and parsnips were parboiled before joining the peppers in the oven. The visual result:

A big chunk of this blog should be devoted to cousin Mama Bear (I nearly called her Baby Mama but that she most certainly is not!). Mama Bear (M.B. from here on out) cooked a delish dinner for Dr Knee and me last night (Friday night). She has been working sooooo hard this week (as has Dr Knee for he is a doctor and all doctors work v. hard while juggling covert affairs, looking good in tailored scrubs, dealing with lesbian partners, working on Alzheimer trials and trying to make babies...woopsy daisy. Grey's Anatomy isn't real life, is it?) but still managed to create a yummy dinner. Her go-to bible is "Nigella Express" penned by the ultimate domestic goddess, Nigella Lawson. This recipe book (which should be a staple in all cookbook collections) was actually a gift from me. However, M.B. has surpassed me in using it (up until recently I'd merely made the "Noodle Soup For Needy People"....several times....which tells you oodles about my psyche). She has made the breakfast bars, the corn chowder (not v. successful apparently), the marmaladey pudding thingy, and a host of other dishes, including "Rapid Ragu"-the centerpiece of last night's meal. Not only did I read the recipe beforehand, but I watched M.B. cook the whole thing. So I can most definitely attest to it's speediness and moreish-ness. We made it with beef mince (instead of lamb mince) because that's what Dr Knee ordered when he did the Ocado online food order (yes, Dr Knee is as dashing as his name suggests and he is, perhaps, the ultimate hubby). In the future I will no doubt try this with minced turkey and the result will be, no doubt, not nearly as good as when M.B. prepared this with beef and her special brand of cousinly/motherly love.

Here it is with Nigella's own foreword:

Rapid Ragu

Much to my husband's horror, when I am feeling fragile and in need of cosiness and comfort, my favourite supper is a helping of minced meat with some grated cheese on top, eaten by greedy, grateful spoonful out of a cereal bowl.

I have dispensed with much of usual, necessary chopping: I use cubes of pancetta and a little caramelized onion out of a jar. This is everything you could hope for, sweetly salving and as undemanding to make as it is rewarding to eat.

2 x 15ml tablespoons garlic oil
125g cubed pancetta
2 x 15ml tablespoons garlic oil
500g lamb mince
75g caramelized onions
80ml Marsala
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
75g green lentils
125ml water
50g grated red Leicester or Cheddar (optional)

-Heat the oil in a wide, medium-sized saucepan, or the base of the Flameware small tagine, and fry the cubed pancetta until beginning to crisp.

-Add the lamb, breaking it up with a fork in the bacony pan as it browns.

-Tip in the caramelized onions, Marsala, tomatoes, lentils and water and bring the pan to the boil.

-Cover with the tagine lid, if using, and simmer the ragu for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with the cheese (if using) before serving.

And there it is-served with a green salad and a side of lurve.