Saturday 23 November 2013

Weekend = FOOD!!

So I did manage to do my food shopping in the end today though it was a mad dash around Sainsburys due to loads of other annoying life things that were going on. I was absolutely delighted to find that they stock Venison. Steaks, and diced, and even sausages! Plenty of gorgeous, warming and succulent casseroles this week. I did order a veg box online, it was so much cheaper than I thought it would be., And is being delivered on Wednesday. I can't wait! My daughter Bea wants to try liver, so liver and bacon my way will be on the menu at some point this week.
Tomorrow is Sunday, my fav day of the week, I will spend most of it in the kitchen with Planet Rock on the radio, while cooking up a glorious feast or 3 for the family. Actually, some of it will be started tonight. I have a lovely pork shoulder for The Main Event tomorrow, a roast is simply my most fav thing to cook, but I couldn't resist a little joint of Beef brisket while shopping today, so I shall stick that in the slow cooker tonight so its ready for tomorrow. I put the brisket in with onions, garlic, a couple of tablespoons of molasses, a good seasoning of old bay and some salt. Cover it with plenty of beef stock and a splash of red wine vinegar. I'll put it on at about 10pm on low and after 10-12 hours the beef will be a dark brown/burgandy colour and will just fall apart. Beautiful.
Its nice to just have a bit of this for a snack during the day, my children are always hungry (?) and a chunk of this usually keeps them quiet for at least half an hour!  Sunday night is special sarnie night for me and my man though, we rarely want a big dinner after The Main Event (massive Sunday lunch) so I usually knock up an interesting sandwich. The brisket is lovely if its almost 'pulled', mixed up with plenty of mayo and a bit of american mustard, and then used to overfill a crusty roll with plenty of rocket leaves and finely chopped fresh tomato and cucumber. Yummmmmm.....

Old Bay seasoning is an essential ingredient in my kitchen, I get it from Amazon as have never seen it in the shops anywhere though I believe it is popular thing in the states. I use it in everything from soups, casseroles and even potato salad. I may have to make a potato salad to go with our sarnie tomorrow night!

Claire's Potato Salad recipe:

This is plenty to feed 6-8 as a side dish!

5 Hard boiled free range eggs
1 kg salad/waxy potatoes
good quality mayo, use a jar, it will help the salad last longer
Old Bay seasoning or celery salt (to taste)
2 sticks celery (finely chopped)

Halve the potatoes and boil them until tender, drain and leave to cool (slightly open windows work wonders)
Peel and finely chop the eggs, literally put all the ingredients together and serve! This will happily survive a couple of days in the fridge (covered, I don't understand how People survive when they put cooked food in the fridge uncovered!) Obviously it wont ever make it to the fridge because it is gorgeous! Its great as an accompaniment  or as part of a buffet.

If i'm having family over for lunch I don't always cook a big plateful, i'll do a bit of a buffet/variety. This potato salad works great with cold meats, sticky sausages, chicken satay, deviled eggs, and even my famous meatballs. I'll post some buffet menus soon.

I have a well stocked kitchen, not always of easy to cook stuff, but I can usually create a yummy dish or 3 by just having some basics. Seasoning and stock are always essential. Herbs and spices. Oils and vinegars. Potatoes, Chicken (chicken is so versatile), flours, eggs, sausages, celery. Garlic and the glorious thing that are onions. I use so many onions. Mushrooms. In fact how many meals can you think up just by having a few of these? They are all long lasting and relatively cheap considering how little you use and how long they last. Add some cream and you could make Dauphinoise Potatoes or mushroom Stroganoff. With just the basics you could make soups, meatballs, bread. With a little bit of savvy and some basic skills, no one need ever go hungry, and food need never go to waste.

Good food is wonderful. It is so good for the body, but is also so fabulously amazing for the soul. Its like an aromatherapy oil for me, food, feeding people, the smells, occasions, just excuses for being happy, relaxing, contentment satisfaction.

Onions + Thyme. Oh my, feeling an urge to make a french onion soup now... another thing for the menu this week (and so cheap!)

Tonight though, is Saturday night, I will be cooking all day tomorrow and tonight is mine (and my husbands) so a night off is called for, except for putting the brisket on. I think its a chow mein night and i'm gonna pay for someone else to cook it and bring it to us :)

C xxx


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