What are you cooking now?

[Pulcinella]

I'm pretty sure that it's nothing more fancy than 'petit pois sec'.

Mushy peas aren't that petit though, surely?

ff: Splash out and get yourself a hand blender (and you'll probably splash the kitchen walls too) if you like making soups.
No need to blend the whole lot if you still want some chunky bits.
Ours is cheap and cheerful (don't run it for more than a minute at a time; let it rest!) but it does the job:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Russell-Hobbs-Collection-Blender-22241/dp/B010FMO1XO/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3E85OOD8IJBV3&keywords=russell%2Bhobbs%2Bhand%2Bblender&qid=1688396563&sprefix=Russell%2Bhobbs%2Bhand%2Caps%2C75&sr=8-2&th=1

[HighlandDougie]

Mushy peas aren't that petit though, surely?

Indeed not - big muscular peas left in the pod until they are rather mealy then left to dry out even more until just right to be used as ammunition in a pea-shooter. But garden peas (marrowfat or not) are as a generality referred to as 'petit pois' in French. As opposed to, say, 'pois chiche'.

[teamsaint]

Asda sell frozen mushy peas.

How do I know ? Good question. Interesting process to cook them.

[french frank]

Monday, Monday. Time to empty the fridge of food which has reached its Use-Now-or-Throw-Away stage. This was a surprisingly tasty soup inspired by Aïgo boulido and Soupe au lait, unlikely to be replicated by me or anyone unless they happen to have the identical ingredients needing to be used up.

Ingredients were: Half a pak choi, two spring onions, green leek tops, half a packet of coriander (bought mistakenly for parsley), garlic, some bits of red pepper (always need something red), fat/oil, stock cube, bit of oat milk, four slices of baguette (rock hard), some grated Parmesan, toasted almond flakes.

Method: Slowly stew the vegetables, all chopped very finely, in pseudo-butter, add the stock mixture and when nearly cooked add the bit of milk (for colour). Put the slices of bread in a bowl and cover with grated cheese. When ready pour all the soup mix over the bread and top with very lightly dry-roasted almonds (my favourite soup topping).

[Joseph K]

Spanish Lentil Soup with Vegetables -



Recipe here -

Sopa de Lentejas-(Spanish Lentil Soup with Vegetables)? – Plant Based And Vegan (plantbasedandveganism.com)

Oddly, the picture on the website looks like there are green beans in the dish, but there is no mention of them...

Incidentally, I added fried smoked tofu and a couple of veggie sausages and as you can see, had it like a stew with basmati rice. I also added a bit of Kashmiri Chilli Powder.

While making this, we listened to The Beatles' Love album, which I enjoyed a lot - in many respects renewing/refreshing my appreciation for them.

[FFAdminMKS]

Oddly, the picture on the website looks like there are green beans in the dish, but there is no mention of them...

An inadvertent omission, probably. This version mentions them (judías verdes).

(ff on admin duty!)

[Joseph K]

An inadvertent omission, probably. This version mentions them (judías verdes).

(ff on admin duty!)

Thanks, FF - sadly my Spanish is nonexistent.

[FFAdminMKS]

To be clear, my Spanish didn't entirely cope with it (and it was my secondary degree subject ), but I spotted the green beans in the picture!

Sorry: Forgot I was on admin duty again. Annoyingly there are things french frank is not allowed to do

[french frank]

As I mentioned anomalously elsewhere, I had poached nectarines as a dessert today. I don't often makes desserts because I have fresh fruit. But sometimes I have fruit which is not yet ripe, not soft or juicy, usually pears (can be turnipy), or nectarines/peaches (not juicy and flesh like cotton wool). I destone or core the fruit and cut into four pieces, then poach in a syrup for ten minutes or so, covering the pan once the syrup is hot (fruit doesn't have to be cooked). If the syrup's too thick I add a bit more water and if too thin I add some more sugar. For pears I like to add a stick of cinnamon, for peaches and nectarines I add a couple of vanilla pods. Today as I didn't have any cream I added kefir which was quite good. Maybe a squeeze of lemon juice would improve the syrup?

[Joseph K]

This afternoon I made this:

Veggie Stew – Plant Based And Vegan (plantbasedandveganism.com)

Except I didn't use white wine, only used one potato and (instead) used an XL block of tofu, which I fried in olive oil before adding. I also added a tablespoon of miso paste. It was delicious, I had it with basmati rice and fresh coriander on top. Nutmeg is a good ingredient.
As for music, I left a 'my mix' on youtube from my phone via a mini speaker - which was mostly cuts from John Coltrane's Interstellar Space, but also some John McLaughlin, Miles Davis, Allan Holdsworth and other Coltrane... I could do this because my mum was away for football then lunch at my sister's.

[french frank]

Sounds good, JK. You're right, nutmeg is wonderful. I made my creamed nettle sauce today with freshly grated nutmeg on top of it. As there was too much, I added the nettle blanching water to the remains and tomorrow shall serve it as cream of nettle soup (may add a stock cube; and some more crème fraîche). I may also add some more nettles. The recipes are probably correct: nettles may be tastier in the spring though I only used young tender leaves.

Monday: In the end I didn't add the stock cubes or more nettles. I just reheated the remains of the sauce/soup and ladled it on to a slice of bread and grated Parmesan (as for aïgo boulido). Then, after the cheese course (yes, more cheese) I stewed the second helping of blackberries with some sugar, and added some left-over crème fraîche from the soup.

[french frank]

Worth delaying pudding for: just poaching a Williams pear in a cinamon syrup. I'd like some cream on it but will have to make do with kefir. Lunch was cold rillons de Tours with salad. To drink: Spanish white with the rillons, Spanish red with the Brie de pays (not bad but the white would have been better, Brie was so-so). I'd like a nice liqueur with the pears but I haven't any (as usual). Hoping the pears will redeem all.

[smittims]

I'm afraid I don't really 'cook' at all, despite having married a cook 38 years ago. We just heat things up.

I read recently that sales of cookery books are at a high, but surveys show that fewer Britons actually cook than before. Curious...

[french frank]

I'm afraid I don't really 'cook' at all, despite having married a cook 38 years ago. We just heat things up.

What do you heat up? I wouldn't be able to find the food I enjoy already cooked ready to reheat. Isn't that what they're calling 'ultra-processed' food?

I read recently that sales of cookery books are at a high, but surveys show that fewer Britons actually cook than before. Curious...

I can understand that as I have a number of cookery books which I read (or used to) though I don't use them when I'm cooking because I just decide what I want to cook and cook it

[cria]

I read recently that sales of cookery books are at a high, but surveys show that fewer Britons actually cook than before. Curious...

I buy them for pictures of Nigella's bum & front bits

[smittims]

Hmm...

Yes, I suppose reading cookery books is a bit like reading maps of the west of Ireland when I'm never going to go there. I remember a R4 discussion on ghost-writing where Mariella Frostrup claimed to be surprised to hear that cokkery books aren't written by the celeb chefs who appear on the front cover :

'you don't really believe that Jamie Oliver, who said on Desert Isalnd Discs "I do't read books" would write one?'

'Yes , but they are his recipes aren't they?... Oh, I'm so naive...'

When I said ' I just heat things up ' I didn't mean 're-heat'. I meant taking two rashers of bacon out of the fridge and putting them under the grill, ad boiling an egg. I dont call that 'cooking'.