Tuesday 11 November 2014

Wet and Windy days…

… are something to celebrate as they give me an excuse to watch cooking programmes, and plan warm, sumptuous meals.

Because Toby is grounded to due to bad weather (no fun sitting on the decking in the rain and there really is only so many hours one can spend in a pub playing Uno and listening to music which isn’t your bag !).

In bad weather he likes to cook !! Well as long as it involves some kind of technology – the blender is proving very versatile in this respect.

Last week we had Chicken Provencal (courtesy of Rachel Khoo), Madeleine’s and my take on Orange and Cointreau Icecream – Pernod and Elderflower – yummy was the verdict.

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Recipe for Chicken Provencal:

Bed of Onions, Fennel Bulb, handful of raisins, one red pepper, 1/2 bottle of white wine, seasoning to taste.

Stuffing – 1/3rd small bottle of olives, three preserved lemons, blitzed and then stuffed (to Toby’s great amusement) under the skin of the chicken (or as he liked to say up its bum !!).

The chicken is basically poached on the bed of onions et al, for about 1 1/2 hours. 

 

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This week we played with the mashed potato – au gratin (my version contains pumpkin seeds and oats as well as diet cheese).

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So – off to do housework and think about some menus for next weekend… one of the bonuses of daytime TV, like having a seminar in the comfort of your own home.