On a Soup Roll 2

Okay, people in this house are on the brink of colds, so I took it as my mission to stop that nonsense in its tracks.

The Get Better Bacon Soup:

1 large red onion, large chop
4 large cloves of garlic, chopped
thumb of fresh ginger, chopped
olive oil to cover and saute

salt, pepper
sage
2 dried red chili's

add water and stock to taste

simmer it for a bit

chop 1/4 rasher of bacon and pop it in

simmer it for another bit

Serve with a beautiful sunflower shaped pull apart bread from L'Epicerie deli on the corner, along with a dish of olive oil for dipping, with 4 cloves of chopped garlic sunk to the bottom of it, salt and pepper. And Whitstable Ale, the get better beer.

Feeling better already!

6.6.08 before we begin

I hope this doesn't "jinx" our culinary efforts, but here's what's for dinner before we make it:

chicken marinated in fresh lime juice, tarragon and olive oil
skewered with cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and capsicums

big, big, big baked (jacket) potatoes

a friend is coming for dinner who must forgo the worlds' best thing on a baked potato - butter, of course - so we're making a caramelized onion sauce with fresh dill and chopped, roasted almonds and pepitas for the topper

fresh green salad

So that's very nearly a five (vegetables) in one as well as being a delicious meal with guests (we hope). Right...off to the kitchen.

P. S. my favorite french deli on the corner, L'Epicerie, was out of pain au chocolat...as was the coffee shop across the road, Venetia's. What is the world coming to when you can't buy a pAc after 10:30 in the morning?!

20.4.08 still working off last week's joys

I'm still in a happy glow after a great evening at L'Epicerie last Thursday. And since there's only rice in the fridge, I will live in the past (but not in leftover land).

19.4.08 either too full or too empty

When other bloggers take a day or three off, I wonder where their commitment lies. I mean, honestly, how hard can it be to keep up a blog?
Um.

I have dropped the ball. Rather than gazing at my navel, a much-beloved sport of mine, about why I've fallen off the blogging track, I will stay focused on my belly and what goes in it.

It's been a fabulous few days in food for me. A couple of nights ago we were celebrating with some colleagues at L'Epicerie, my favorite deli on earth and just around the corner. Our staff and friends had the place to ourselves after hours. I didn't go outside to look, so happy was I with my shaved Italian and Spanish hams and smelly cheeses, but I know what it looked like anyway because I've seen these happy little occasions from the bus window and been jealous. Glowing shop windows, the place a warm beacon against not just the cold climate but the cold disconnection of the city; friends inside laughing and lifting their glasses to this shared joy or that fond memory. Sigh. And then it was me on the inside! Yippee! I'd do that every night of the week, if I could.

The next night I nearly did. We treated friends from Oz to home cooked bangers and mash; topped off with rhubarb from the garden in a crumble. Again the windows were aglow. Lovely.

And tonight, another meal cooked here for friends. A cuban theme since we found the Crystal sauce the other day. I think that was the last day I wrote. If I were to analyze my reasons for not posting, maybe I was just letting Crystal have the last word. Maybe.

Maybe I'm just dead tired from all the gorgeous food and friends. Yep, that's it. Good night and good food tomorrow!

25.3.08 leftovers aren't so bad

Tonight I'm finishing up a rhubarb cobbler made from the fresh spring crop in my garden. And some homemade fried rice fried again.

I spent 2.80 on food today, and it was two items of 1.40 each. It's amazing how different the value of something can be. One lot was for an instant cappuccino at the Kew Gardens station because the cafe was so cute. Cute only goes so far. The other was for a beautiful baguette from L'Epicerie. If I were down to my last 1.40 and dying of thirst or a caffeine headache, I would still buy the bread.

listing keeps me sane:
lemon in hot water
coffee with milk and a little bit of cream
muesli and milk with the dregs of evil crunchy nut clusters
pumpkin seeds on the train
baguette
brie
gouda
dark, wrinkly olives
bad cappuccino
chocolate covered peanuts
tea
fried rice
czech budweiser
about to have rhubarb crumble and cream...

13.3.08 flapjack folly

I can't believe I've been back in the UK for three weeks and I haven't had made flapjack. Ah, today! Buying my first green can of Lyle's Golden Syrup and watching the beautiful amber liquid - and struggling to get a spoon through it - what joy.

To borrow from Einstein,

In the matter of physics (or flapjacks), the first lessons should contain nothing but what is experimental and interesting to see. A pretty experiment is in itself often more valuable than twenty formulae extracted from our minds.

In other food news today:
coffee with milk at home
almond croissant from L'Epicerie
cappuccino from the local organic shop
a couple of Halal snacks at the job fair for the 2012 Olympics
toast
curry from the freezer, rice
a single dolmade
Czech beer

and during our meeting at the house tonight, we'll crack into the flapjack.
sweet.