My lovely BF cooked for me last night (as he so often does) and it was gorgeous. This was just the starter, mackerel fillets over a tomato salad with french dressing (I made that bit). It was so fresh, light and delicious. The salad has all the ingredients we can grow in our new garden, fresh herbs, shallots and tomatoes.
Murray was hoping so hard that we would drop some fish ;)
Today for lunch I had a simple tortilla filled with refried beans and cheese and because I have to use them up, a few sausage rolls from the freezer :D Not gourmet, but still yummy and a little inspired by Ree from Pioneer Woman. Boy, does she know how to pile cheese and butter into her meals, but they do look good!
And then this arrived this morning, a lovely little book that I completely forgot I'd ordered online. I'd added it to my shopping cart a few days ago and when I clicked on something I really wanted, I accidentally bought everything in the cart. I'm glad I did as so far I find the writing engaging and informative.
I hope it carries on in this vein, unlike the other French book I bought last year that just made me want to hurl it out the window. I don't need more stress in my life and that book seriously raised my blood pressure as the author ranted about her neighbours and the slow and uneventful way of the French culture. Why did she move there then???
In my hunger for all things French, I've discovered almost no books (in English) relating to French gardens other than ornamental gardens. I want to know about growing vegetables and being more self sufficient but so far I've not found anything close to what I want. I guess I'll have to write a book myself! As for the title of this post, BF and myself have a 'grow it, cook it' dream and last year we did pretty well with the things he grew. I only managed soft fruits and herbs, but with more time I know I can do better. The fruits didn't go to waste as I bottled them in vodka and recently tried a drop; it's extremely pleasant :D
Hi Yarrow :) Murray is so cute, we call that "waiting for fallout" lol...once in a while they get lucky :)
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of grow it and cook it! I am working towards achieving that too, but I have to take baby steps for now. I've never had mackerel before, what's the flavour like?
The only book I've read so far that talks about French gardening techniques is the one I got a few weeks back, Eliot Coleman's Four-Season Harvest. I mean, they are from Maine, but he talks about being inspired by the French winter gardens. I'm only halfway through the book but it's inspiring me to learn more about hardier winter crops and how to produce enough for winter harvesting. Lol...I sometimes feel I need to write my own books too because I rarely find what I'm looking for! Fruity vodka! I love it! I have a recipe for Limoncello and I'm hoping my Meyer lemon tree produces some yellow fruit this summer so I can make some of my own!!
Hey Rain, I've put that Eliot Coleman book on my wish list as it's my Birthday next week :D
ReplyDeleteMackerel is really good, it's an oily fish with lots of flavour, we buy it smoked usually, but the fresh fish is lovely. I have a recipe for Limoncello too ;) x