Fiction, Food, Faith and everything in-between

There is something deeply comforting about meat and potatoes. Whether it is roast, fried, boiled, sautéed or barbecued, a meat and potato combo = comfort.  It is even more comforting when the meat and potatoes are wrapped up in pastry. A good pie is just right for wet, wintery weather. I made this meat and potato pie from a Paul Hollywood recipe. It was lovely but I think I prefer pie crust at the bottom and the top. In this recipe the pie crust is only for topping. I made the filling and added extra herbs and seasoning but I should have left some of the sauce in the pie. I managed to make a decent pastry. I am not a great fan of making pastry.  but this turned out ok. I didn't trim it. When the pie was ready I just broke of the edges and ate them. Why waste good pie crust? All in all it was a very nice dish, and delicious with broccoli 🥦 😋 👌.

I have had a number of mishaps in the kitchen today. I think it is because I am preparing for my new role and cooking at the same time. I decided to cook a loaf of  Cholla for a friend and added two lots of salt by mistake. I then made a quick soda loaf so that I would have something to give her.  The Cholla was much too salty. The soda loaf was ok but a bit underdone in the middle. I discovered this because my friend didn't turn up and I cut the loaf in half so that I could put it in the freezer. I saved it by sticking it back in the oven.  I also decided to make Blondie Cake from the Jamie Oliver 'One' cookbook. Alas I left it in the over too long. Happily it still tastes fab! Who knew that plum jam and crunchy peanut butter could be so delicious in an overbaked cake!  A couple of days ago I tried to make Samosas for the first time. The pastry was too thick and the Samosas didn't hold their shape but once again they tasted great. ...

I made a sausage roast for the first time ever. It is a Tom Kerridge recipe which I saw him make on the food channel. I also made roast potatoes and roast broccoli. There is something so comforting and so traditional about a roast meal. It always feels like coming home to me. It reminds me of my childhood and sitting round the Sunday dinner table with my parents and two sisters. I loved those meals which often ended up with apple pie and ice cream 🍦. Apple pie and ice cream, and a nice roast dinner are my favourite foods.  I also made squid and chorizo. I love chorizo and squid but I don't really know how to cook squid well. I am getting there though.  A couple of weeks ago I had jerk squid at a restaurant and it made me realise that cooking squid nicely is actually an art form. The restaurant failed because their squid was dry, fried to death and tasteless. Why have something on your menu if you can't cook it properly? In any case my new challenge is to learn how...

I love to spend time in the kitchen over the weekend before the hassle of the week. I like to batch cook during the weekend and it means that I don't have to cook again until the end of the week.  One thing the lock down enabled was the ability to slow down because we were not racing to the office. I want to hold onto that sense of slowing down timeven though I will soon be starting a new and demanding job. I think planning and batch cooking can help with this. Good cook books and easy recipes can also help. I have some of these Emmental pastries in my freezer and also a few odd loaves of bread. Sometimes I eat these when the busyness becomes unavoidable and other time they make nice gifts for friends. This Paprika Chicken from Jamie Oliver's One book was very easy to make. Being able to make quick dishes is often so much better than local takeaways and also cheaper.  I do love a takeaway but I do prefer my own cooking. Planning ...