Posts tagged with “Food”

December 09

Marriages and mobiles

A thrilling weekend for many reasons. Most noteworthy giving notice of my marriage next May to the wonderful, inimitable Aero! A happy coincidence is that this will be ready for us to collect on the 24th December, I cannot think of a nicer Christmas present to us both! Also the unlocking, finally of my old V3i so that I can relax again away from the chirpings and perpetual low batteries of my cursed "3" Blackberry curve! It felt like coming home, ridiculous and a final marker that I have dropped off the tech curve I guess. On a lesser note my first beef stew was cooked to greet Aero's return from visiting her sister, a much needed constitutional boost for us both. More excitingly I have on order a pair of BLUE pedals to (almost) complete the prettifying, nay _beautifying_, of DG! Also a summer Brixton Cycles cycling jersey was in stock and is reserved for me! Thrilling times indeed!
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October 27
quinces.jpg
### A Good Start in the kitchen There cannot be much more evocative than smells in the kitchen, and I hope for some readers this picture will evoke special smells. The cafetiere and butter dish in the background are smells one might readily recognise, but in the foreground is another. Just this morning I unpacked a carrier bag of quince which a friend kindly gave me a week or two ago, gathered from a discovered quince tree in their garden. The subtle aroma released was most pleasant and quite intense in the first moments of releasing the fruits from their carrier. My intention is to make a paste now which I hope will last through to be enjoyed over the festive season and, if successful, shared with the friends that gave me the quinces! The size of the fruits could make this a slight challenge, but we shall see...
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October 22

Nice sweet starter

### "Whole Buttered" Onion Soup Here's a radical new way to make onion soup. There's no slicing, dicing, or stirring. Instead, whole buttered onion bake for 4 hours, oozing luscious juices that caramelize like toffee. Ingredients 3 pounds medium yellow onions, about 10 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, sliced thin 3 tablespoons Madeira 1-1/2 tablespoons wild-flower honey or truffle honey sprigs of fresh chervil for garnish Instructions Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Peel the onions. Place in a 6-quart Dutch oven. Top with the butter. Cover and bake 4 hours, until very soft, turning the onions after 2 hours. Transfer to a large bowl. Pour 4 cups water into the casserole and scrape up the browned bits. Add to the onions. In 2 batches if necessary, purée the onion mixture in a food processor until very smooth. Pour through a sieve placed over a medium saucepan. Mash down to extract all the juices. Save the pulp. Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and add the Madeira and honey. Simmer 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and garnish with a dollop of onion pulp and chervil. Serves 4
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