A little bit of life in the overflow…
One day a week I cook at a restaurant. Anthony Bourdain in ‘Kitchen confidential’ talks about a kitchen with a vibe, a kitchen that rocks. You cook better with cool music, a glass of wine or beer or a joint in one hand and a hilarious gay kitchen assistant grooving right beside you. Sometimes it flows like a finely choreographed ballet, you are in the zone, you are sweating out those meals, and you get the biggest buzz.
Today I made the sweetest roast tomato and basil soup with toasted garlic oatbread…
- (Delia recipe…) blanch tomatoes, skin them, cut in half, put in baking tray, cut halves upwards, put basil leaf on each, a few cloves of garlic with skins on, slather with olive oil. Roast for one hour.
- 40 minutes later: peel and chop a potato,boil in water until cooked, and add tomato purée. We had some fennel stock so I added that too.
- Then pour contents of baking tray into it. Squeeze the garlic out of the skins. Liquidize with a hand blender.
The delicious bread was made by the bakers at Pogo cafe.
Autumn vegetables with a pomegranate and maple syrup glaze.
- Do the usual roasting thing…this time I used parsnips, leeks, sliced corn on the cob, butternut squash, red onions.
- I then got a small pan and simmered pomegranate syrup, garlic and maple syrup. You can add red wine, but I didn’t have any.
- When vegetables have roasted, I poured it over them.
Kale/mushroom and cashew curry with brown basmati and spiced coconut lentil cake, mint yoghurt dressing and home-made tamarind and walnut chutney.
The curry was similar to previous curries. Except with Kale, which I’m not mad about but we needed to use it up.
I don’t really like English seasonal vegetables. I know we are supposed to be concerned about food miles and all that, but my thinking is, it’s not my fault I’m English is it?
A painting by Naked John, soon to exhibit at Pogo’s café.
delicious
Thank you. So when are you coming to dinner?