Saturday, April 18

A recipe, a movie and a book

Technology has failed me somewhat, but finally back online, so will post recipe as promised.
Sausage & Lentils...snappy title or what (serves 2)
Brown a couple of sausages per person ( I like the Pork Apple & Fennel or Red Wine & Venison from the Ellerslie Butcher for this, but whatever you like, just make them good meaty ones) then put aside. Using same pan fry off a couple of onions in olive oil with a clove of garlic, a chopped carrot or two and no cabbage (added nothing but a rank smell). Throw in a tin of chopped tomato's, 120 gr Puy Lentils (available at supermarket in a box usually, or food stores such as Sabato, Farro...) a couple of Bay leaves, and about 400ml liquid (water, stock, red wine, esp if using venison and red wine sausages) with some salt & pepper, and put in a oven proof casserole with a lid, along with browned sausages. Cook at 190 C for approx 1 hr, yummo with bread to mop up the sauce
My celery is nearly ready so that will go in next time. I don't actually like celery per se, but it does seem to add something to soups, risotto etc, so it gets a small corner of one of my raised beds. Was going to post a couple of pics of the garden in full autumn flourish, but of course camera battery flat....as always! Charging now, so will get snapping this afternoon.
No doubt you are sick of hearing born-again gardeners like me wax lyrical about the bounty of their plots, and the absolute succulence of every morsel, so fresh and fabulous it wanders inside and jumps into the pot all on its own.......so let me put it out there right now, that is not me.
I have had some success over my first summer, and more than my share of flops, tomato's being one (I know, who cant grow tomato's???), In fact the best thing I actually produced from my tomato plants was a green tomato relish, after I pulled all the mouldy mildew ridden plants out of the ground still with fruit attached. Actually if there was a prize for growing powdery mildew I would win that hands down.........but I persevere, experience must count for something, and I am getting my fair share:) My little baby cabbages are nearly ready which is encouraging given I appear to have a white butterfly colony in my back yard, these were recommended to me by my mother in law Florence, I cant remember the name, but they are about the size of a softball, which is prefect for two, and means leftover coleslaw does not actually go on into eternity......
Went to see The Reader last night at the Lido, great film, go and see it if you can. You may start out wondering why you should really care what happens to Kate Winslet's character, but by the end of the movie you will, she totally deserved that Oscar.....I have listed a book in my favs called A long Slow Affair of the Heart, by a NZ writer Bruce Ansley. I love this book, he has written about a year spent with his wife Sally on a canal boat in France, it is honest & sometimes very funny, and the absolute opposite of those 'run away to France/Italy and everything works out perfect in the sunshine" books, I am returning my copy (overdue!) to the Remuera Library today, so I know at least one will be available, or it is at Whitcoulls!
Ok, that's enough, off to Brunch:)

3 comments:

  1. I think you need to being a bit "International" with your food types as a bit tricky for me to get to the Ellerslie butcher from Bath!!!
    Very exciting read though!!

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  2. Gosh, me again, what a hoo ha getting permission and an account to actually be allowed to post comments - all done now though!!

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  3. Good point Tiff, although you have NO excuse not to make that dish, as I remember you showing me the fab butchers window in Bath, I even have a photo!

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