Wednesday, September 29th

Artichokes

Boil artichokes in cold water for 30 minutes. Drain. Return hot artichokes upright to warm pot.

Pour salad dressing into each artichoke.

Leave to cool down completely before eating.

Tuesday, September 28th

Dense, dark cake

400g Dark chocolate

250ml Water

50g Cocoa butter

400g sugar

Melt together on low heat in large pot.

9 Free Range Eggs, beat for at least 10 minutes

15ml Orange liqueur

Stir beaten eggs into chocolate mixture, add liqueur. Pour into oiled or lined pan. Bake at 140C for 1 hour. Switch oven off, leave cake in for half hour more. Cool down completely before removing from tin. Top with condensed milk mixed with freshly squeezed lemon juice and serve with fresh berries.

Monday, September 27th

Adrian Fisher's The Amazing Book of Mazes is rather fun, but I was sorry to see the nasty Rosamund/ Eleanor of Aq story included. Lack of index always a black mark.

I initially disliked The Philosopher's Cookbook by Martin Versfeld, mainly because of the immense amount of footnotes, but it grew on me. I agree with his food philosophy; a meal can never really be recreated and so cookbooks are futile...

Aubergines in yogurt

250g Baby aubergines, boiled

250ml Salad dressing; pour over hot, drained aubergines and leave to steep

1kg Bulgarian yogurt, pour over cold aubergines

15ml Garlic, minced, add to yogurt mixture

30g Mint, minced, add

100g feta, finely crumbed, add

Check flavourings, add as needed. Serve at room temperature.

Thursday, September 23rd

Pea shoot Pasta

Make pesto from 100g Pea Shoots

Cook 300g Fresh Pasta, drain

Melt 300g Feta in hot pasta pot, add pesto, stir, add pasta and stir through. Serve with asparagus, lemon and black pepper.

Wednesday, September 22nd

After reading almost a hundred chocolate mousse recipes in my quest for the perfect baked mousse recipe, I noticed that old recipe books invariably melt chocolate with water. I tried it yesterday when desperate for an instant dessert and was pleasantly surprised at how well it works.

Melting Chocolate

Put about 1cm of water in small container, add lots of chocolate, any spices wanted, microwave for 60-100 seconds, stir to remove lumps.

For an instant treat, pile onto shortbread or other biscuits.

Tuesday, September 21st

I wanted to read a novel last night and started reading Brian Aldiss's Harm, but it was too depressing. In the end I read A Different Light by Elizabeth A Lynn.

Mushroom Salad

lunch for 2

1 Small cos lettuce, cut

120g Rocket, cut

100g Gorgonzola, cubed

50g Salami picante, finely sliced

250g Mushrooms, quartered, fried in butter

250g Asparagus, if very fresh use raw, chopped

4 Free Range eggs, boiled, peeled and quartered

Finish with squeezed lemon juice and ground black pepper

Monday, September 20th

Nikolski by Nicolas Dickner was a fun read.

Kassler stir fry

200g Kassler chops, cut all fat off, put half the fat in a hot pan, leave for a minute, then add:

200g Baby spinach leaves, stir until wilted, set aside, add other half of fat to pan & add:

300g Button mushrooms, quartered, brown, set aside

Now add Kassler chops, fry for 4 minutes, remove from pan, cube, return to pan with mushrooms & spinach, stir quickly to heat, then serve with

100g Grano Padano, coarsely grated &

Persian Pomegranate Concentrate or Balsamic reduction