BRUSSELS SPROUTS & WASABI

Brussels sprouts in wasabi tempura batter

Recipe by Nigel Slater for the Observer

Sorry to appear insistent, but I must have my trinkets.  

This is the last chance. 

BLACKBERRY & WHISKY

Blackberry breakfast Cranachan (Serves 2)

* 40g barley oats

* 1tbsp flaked almonds

* 2 tbsp honey

* 2 tbsp whisky

* Natural yogurt

* 2 handfuls of blackberries

Toast the oats & almonds till slightly browning

Mix the honey, whisky & yogurt & gently fold everything together

I'll meet you by the statue before midnight.

CLEMENTINE & BLACK PEPPER

Clementine dipped in black pepper chocolate

Melt dark chocolate in a bain-marie and stir in some cracked black pepper & a pinch of salt

Dip the clementine segments & allow to dry

The relationship was built on the “ask no questions” basis.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS & HORSERADISH

Raw Brussels sprouts, bacon & pecans with a horseradish dressing  (Serves 2)

4 rashers bacon, grilled & chopped

200g brussels sprouts, trimmed & shredded
1 shallot, finely sliced

Small handful pecans, toasted

Dressing:

1½tbsp sour cream

1½tbsp natural yogurt

1tsp horseradish

½ lemon, juice

Celery salt & black pepper

She would sit & attack the modern shopping culture for having sacrificed the old values of personal service 

BANANA & SESAME

Toasted banana bread with tahini & honeycomb

* 50ml rapeseed oil

* 80g walnuts

* 2 mashed bananas

* 1 whole banana, cut into small chucks

* 100g soft brown sugar

* 2 eggs

* 100ml milk

* 190g wholemeal spelt flour

* ½tsp bicarbonate soda

* 1tsp baking powder

* 1tsp cinnamon

To serve

* 4tbsp tahini & 8tbsp natural yogurt mixed together

* Honeycomb

Preheat the oven 150°C. Grease a loaf tin.

Toast the walnuts in the oven.

Beat together the mashed banana, sugar & eggs

Drizzle in the oil & milk while beating

Sift in the dry ingredients & fold in the banana chunks & nuts

Pour into the tin & bake 1hour 20mins

Serve thick slices toasted with the tahini & honey

Kenneth More's name came up. Kenneth more was not an obvious choice. As an actor & a man he had a very conservative image.

Alan Bennett; Writing Home

PLUM & ALMOND

Plummy almond crumble mince pies (24-30 mini mince pies)

Mincemeat:

400g plums

100ml orange juice & zest 2 oranges

1 Bramley apple, 1cm cubes

100g chopped figs

200g raisins

100g sultanas

50g mixed peel

50g marmalade

100g Demerara sugar

½tsp ground ginger

1tsp cinnamon

¼ grated nutmeg

¼tsp ground cloves

25ml ginger wine

50g chopped almonds

30ml amaretto

Cook the plums & juice gently 20mins

Mix all except the amaretto

Leave 12 hours

110°C bake 2½ hours

Stir in the amaretto

Pastry:

200g spelt flour

100g cold butter

50g unrefined icing sugar

2 egg yolks

1tbsp amaretto

Rub the butter & flour together to make breadcrumbs, add the sugar, yolks & amaretto.

Roll into a flat ball & chill for 1 hour

Crumble:

60g spelt flour

40g butter

10g Demerara sugar

40g amaretti biscuits, crushed

25g flaked almonds

Rub the butter & flour to a crumble texture stir all together

Bake the mince pies 15mins at 180°C

There I go again!  Can't keep a story going in a straight line, can I?  Drunk in charge of a narrative.
Where was I?
There I was, one of the crowd, among the fairies, goblins, spirits
Angela Carter; Wild Children

SATSUMA & WINTER SAVORY

Satsuma, winter savory & caramelised almond salad 

* Vegetable oil

* 2 sprigs winter savory

* 2 satsumas, peeled & sliced horizontal

* 10 almonds

* 1tsp soy sauce

* 1tsp honey

* Pinch of ground ginger

* Pinch of chilli flakes

* Sea salt

* Olive oil

Heat the Vegetable oil till it is bubbling, fry the savory for 15 seconds & drain on kitchen paper.

Toast the almonds in pan then add the soy, honey & spice to caramelise. Chop in half when cool.

Lay out the satsuma slices, add the almonds, sprinkle over the savory, salt & a drizzle of olive oil

Historically what was once a three-dimensional object was now but a flat impression

CRANBERRY & CARDAMOM

Cranberry & cardamom sauce

250g cranberries

1 clementine, zest & juice

70g light Muscavado sugar

1tbsp port

3 cardamom pods, crushed

Simmer all for 10-15 mins

Served in a ham sandwich

You've changed, you have grown up, it's not just the lipstick & new fragrance.

CLEMENTINE & CARDAMOM

Baked Clementines with cardamom (Serves 2)

3 clementines, peeled halved

1 clementine, juiced

¼ vanilla pod

2 cardamom pods, crushed

1tbsp stem ginger syrup

1tbsp honey

Crushed biscotti / oat biscuit

Mix the clementine juice with honey & spices

Pour it over the clementines into a heatproof dish & bake 200°C for 10 mins, add the crushed biscuit & bake a further 5 mins.

Over the festive season bell ringing was the the preferred way to keep warm in that neck of the woods.

QUINCE & STAR ANISE

Star anise quince cheese

2 Quince

1 lemon

250ml water

2 star anise

360g caster sugar (450g sugar for every 500ml juice)

Wash & chop the quince, boil all except the sugar in a covered saucepan for 3 hours

Stir occasionally

Press through a sieve to extract the juice

Put the juice back in a pan with the sugar & boil till the mixture is thick enough to see the bottom of the pan when a spoon is stirred through

Pour in to moulds

Serve with cheese, terrines & pate

“Norwegian brown cheese; it’s like yellow cheese but in context” Fredricke

KALE & CHAMPAGNE

Kale, juniper & champagne (Adapted from Eat by Nigel Slater)

In some bacon fat or olive oil fry a sliced shallot with 2 crushed juniper berries.  Add a sprig of thyme, ½ glass sparkling wine & a handful of shredded kale & simmer covered 10 mins.  Season with with salt & pepper & serve with pork.

It would have been bitter cold, no stars, still pitch-dark. A cart went past with a load of kale; he got a lift a mile or two.

Wise Children, Angela Carter

GREEN PAPAYA & CARROT

Green papaya & carrot pickle

300g carrot, grated

200g green papaya, grated

30g ginger, fine matchsticks

50ml mirin

180ml rice vinegar

1/2tsp salt

1tbsp caster sugar

Warm the mirin, vinegar, salt & sugar till dissolved.

Cool & mix with the papaya & carrot

If there occurs an emergency at night it may take some time to make a light to light a lamp. But an ingenious man devised the system of impregnating little sticks of pinewood with sulfur and storing them ready for use. At the slightest touch of fire they burst into flame. One gets a little flame like an ear of corn. This marvellous thing was formerly called a "light-bringing slave", but afterwards when it became an article of commerce its name was changed to 'fire inch-stick'.

Records of the Unworldly and the Strange written by Chinese author Tao Gu

CUMIN & CURRANT

Cumin & currant potato cakes (Serves 2)

300g Maris piper potato, peeled, cubed

½ tsp curry powder

¼ tsp turmeric

75g spelt flour

25g currants

½ tsp cumin seeds

Salt & pepper

Polenta to dust

Boil the potato for 20 mins

Put through a ricer & mix all together

Shape into 4 cakes

Coat in polenta

Fry in butter 5-10mins each side till brown

Serve with chutney & salad. (Optional fried/poached egg on top)

A little rough round the edges but in a different way.

QUINCE & GINGER

Quince & ginger cake

*2 poached quince 1cm dice

To poach add peeled & halved quinces to 250ml water, 2tbsp sugar, 1tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp honey, grated thumb size piece of ginger

Simmer 30 mins

Preheat the oven 180°C.

Place the quinces in a baking dish with the cooking syrup

Add the honey

Roast for 30 mins until they are golden and really tender

*30g walnuts, roughly chopped

*Grated zest 1 lemon

*2tbsp ginger cooking syrup

*210g plain / spelt flour

*3/4tsp baking powder

*2 tsp ground ginger

*1/2tsp mixed spice

*45g ground almonds

*3 eggs

*180ml sunflower oil

*150g light muscavado sugar 

*3 balls stem ginger

*1/3tsp salt

Grease & line a loaf tin­

Preheat the oven 170°C

Mix quince, lemon zest, ginger syrup

In a separate bowl sift the flour, salt, baking powder, spices, zest, ground almonds and walnuts

Separate 2 of the eggs, mix the yolks with the 3^rd egg

Beat the oil and sugar for 1 min and slowly add the egg yolk mix

Quickly add dry ingredients, stem ginger and fruit

Whisk the egg whites and fold in

Bake 1 hour 30mins

It would not be much out of our way & it was certainly worth seeing

Alice B. Toklas 

SAGE & MISO

Sage, ricotta & miso broth
Recipe by Marente Van der Valk 

* A good chunk of good quality beef shank marrow bone

* 2 litres of water

* 1 onion, finely grated

* 2 big carrots, finely grated

* 4 stalks of celery, finely grated

* 5 cloves of garlic

* 5 parsley stalks

* 3 tablespoons brown rice miso

* One romanesco, cut into flowers

* 10 sage leaves

* A few tablespoons of Ricotta

Combining the water, marrow bone, the onion, celery, garlic & parsley into one big pot.

Simmer for 2-3 hours.

Put the romanesco flowers in the stock, add the miso & season to taste. The flowers will be cooked within five minutes.

Fry the sage leaves in a bit of olive oil until crispy, and serve these with the ricotta on top of the soup.

The Autumn Glory flower festival featured displays on autumnal events, like Bonfire Night, harvest and Remembrance, created by flower arranging club members.

The Rev Richard Burge, from the church, said: “We had lots of people through the doors and everybody who came down really enjoyed it. It was a phenomenal display.

“We are going to open for an extra day tomorrow from 11am to 2pm, so if anyone missed it, there is still a chance to catch the wonderful displays.”

The Spenborough Guardian

BEETROOT & TARRAGON

Roasted beetroot & tarragon salad

Roast golden & purple beetroot until soft.  Peel.

Salad leaves

Chopped tarragon

Chia seeds

Toasted buckwheat

Dressing

½ tbsp cider vinegar

1tbsp avocado oil

Salt & pepper

We had to tiptoe. There were umbrellas & a walking stick in a china holder in the hall.

Edna O'Brien; The light of Evening

TOMATO & MANGO

Tomato on toast with mango chutney (Serves 1)

* ½ clove garlic, crushed

* ¼ tsp hot paprika

* 1 large plum tomato sliced in half horizontally

* Rye sourdough

* Mango chutney

* S & P

Fry garlic & spices in olive oil

Place tomatoes cut side down & gently fry 15 mins

Griddle the bread & spread with chutney

Top with tomatoes & season

The furniture was 

always a continuation of 
the architectural design, 

never stand alone.

ELDERBERRY & BAY

Elderberry & bay compote on brown rice pudding

* 300g elderberries

* 1tbsp red wine

* 4tbsp honey

* ½ lemon, juice

* 3 dried bay leaves

Simmer for 10 minutes

From an early age, she was mesmerised with the Chinese art of silhouette puppetry. Even building her own puppet theatre so that she could put on shows for her family and friends.

SQUASH & SUN-DRIED TOMATO

Roasted Squash & sun dried tomato

Adapted from River cafe book two

* 6 patty pan squash

* 8 sundried tomatoes, quartered

* 2 garlic cloves, chopped

* 1 red chilli, chopped

* Handful of thyme

* Salt & pepper

Cut the tops of the squashes & scoop out the seeds

Fill & roast 200ºC covered for 25 minutes

Lower the temperature to 150ºC, uncover & roast for 15 minutes

Rough scribbles of abstract shapes started to take on new forms & meanings.  

MELON & THYME

Melon, thyme & autumn berry salad

* 50g sugar

* 100ml white wine

* Handful of thyme

* ¼ gala or honeydew melon, sliced

* ¼ cantaloupe melon, slice

* Handful of blackberries / elderberries

* Thyme leaves

Heat the wine, sugar & thyme & leave to infuse.

Cool & strain

Pour over the fruit & serve with thyme

I can’t be clever and stand-offish with you: I love you too much for that. Too truly. You have no idea how stand-offish I can be with people I don’t love. I have brought it to a fine art.

From Vita Sackville-West to Virginia Woolf

MISO & HONEY

Miso & honey ice cream

1 cup milk

2 cups cream

¼ cup miso

¼ cup honey

Serve with honey comb & drizzled honey

It started on a perfectly beautiful Sunday afternoon in July – the very first Sunday afternoon in july. Two or three chunks of cloud floated white & tiny in a distant corner of the sky,

Haruki Murakami; Blind willow, sleeping woman

GOOSEBERRY & HORSERADISH

Gooseberry & horseradish sauce with smoked mackerel

75g gooseberries

1tsp golden caster sugar

1tsp water

½ tsp grated horseradish

Pinch of sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Serve with

Smoked mackerel fillets

Watercress / rocket

Put the gooseberries,water and sugar in a saucepan over a low heat for 10-15mins till soft.

Stir in the horseradish & seasoning

Grill the mackerel for a couple of minutes till warm

Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may think without being disturbed

GOOSEBERRY & ORANGE FLOWER

Gooseberry & orange flower compote on yogurt

* 200g gooseberries

* 2tsp golden caster sugar

* A couple of splashes of orange flower water

* Natural yogurt

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. 

Scatter the gooseberries on an oven tray and sprinkle with the sugar. 

Bake for 30 minutes until tender. 

Splash with Orange flower water & slightly squash the berries leaving some more whole than others.

Spoon onto the yogurt.

I remember reading in my room a lot. 

HONEY & SALT

Clover honey & sea salt on walnut bread

She accused him of accepting neither responsibility nor work.

CINNAMON & PEANUT

Cinnamon & peanut butter on rye sourdough

He accused her of interrupting what had been a perfectly lovely breakfast.

AVOCADO & GRAPEFRUIT

Avocado & Grapefruit salad  (Serves 2)

* 1 ruby grapefruit, segmented

* 1 avocado, sliced

* Handful frisse lettuce

* 1 spring onion, sliced

* Grapefruit zest

* Pinch of chilli flakes

* Sea salt

* 1tsp white wine vinegar

* 1tbsp avocado oil

She played a gypsy, a gigolo, and a cat, a faun in a torn chamois loincloth; and an Egyptian mummy who comes back from the dead in a jewelled bra. Every time in later life that her name was proposed for some official honor, a chorus of elders protested.

A life of Colette

STRAWBERRY & RADICCHIO

Maria Elia's griddled radicchio and strawberry risotto recipe

That years best supporting actress was to go on to become the nations sweetheart.  

SAFFRON & RASPBERRIES

Saffron raspberries with dried apple & almonds (Serves 1)

* 1tsp brown sugar

* 10 threads of saffron

* ¼ vanilla pod

* 1tsp avocado oil

* 1 ring of dried apple, chopped

* 6 almonds, chopped

* ½ lemon zest

* Raspberries

* Natural yogurt

Bash the the saffron & brown sugar together in a pestle & mortar

Mix in the vanilla, oil, apple, almonds & lemon zest

Gently stir in the raspberries & serve on natural yogurt

’I must have my pillerbox red pyjamas’, ‘I have to stay in bed until the sun works round to the windows’, ‘I’ve absolutely got to drink champagne tonight’

Brideshead revisited; Evelyn Waugh 

WATERMELON & ROSEMARY

Grilled watermelon with rosemary salt

Cut ½” wedges of watermelon

Place on a hot griddle 5 minutes on each side

Sprinkle with salt & chopped rosemary

But I'm gonna be where the lights are shinin' on me

Like a rhinestone cowboy

Riding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo

Glen Campbell Rhinestone cowboy

TRUFFLE & CHIVE

Truffle & chive tagliatelle

1 medium egg & 90g 00 flour per person

Kneed for 15mins

Let rest for 30mins

Put through a pasta machine & dust with semolina

Leave it to dry for 30mins

Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water for 3 minutes

Meanwhile heat olive oil & 12g of finely sliced truffle per person

Stir in the drained pasta & chives

Serve with chive flowers & extra truffle slithers

It later became apparent that the excursion was a serious attempt at romance.

WATERMELON & SHISO

Watermelon & shiso lettuce wrap

* Baby gem lettuce

* Rice noodles

* Watermelon, cubed

* Bean sprouts

* Mint, chopped

* Red & green shiso leaves

Dressing

* 1tbsp tamari sauce

* 1tbsp mirin

* ½ lime, zest & juice

* ½ tbsp sesame oil

* ½ small red chilli

* 1tsp ginger, finely grated

* Sea salt

We absolutely must leave room for doubt or there is no progress and there is no learning.

You only think you know, as a matter of fact. And most of your actions are based on incomplete knowledge and you really don’t know what it is all about, or what the purpose of the world is, or know a great deal of other things. It is possible to live and not know.

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out; Richard Feynman  

MELON & ANISE

Galia melon with fennel seeds & Sambuca

Slice the melon, sprinkle with some crushed fennel seeds & drizzle over Sambuca

A game of scrabble that ended with the word 'Tmesis' & a bitter row.

CHOCOLATE & THYME

Chocolate & thyme frozen yogurt

* 10 sprigs of thyme

* 360ml milk

* 720ml natural yogurt

* 120ml agave syrup

* 3 tbsp sifted cocoa powder

Warm the thyme & milk & allow to infuse over night

Remove the thyme & mix all the ingredients together & churn in an ice cream maker, then freeze

Serve sprinkled with more thyme leaves

I have dear friends in New York who are almost ready to move to London for the sake of radio four.  
Diana Athill; Somewhere towards the end

FENNEL & PERNOD

Fennel, Pernod & lemon salad (Serves 2)

* 2 fennel bulbs, thinly slice

* Sea salt & pepper

* Juice ½ lemon

* 2tsp Pernod

* 2tsp extra virgin olive oil

Over the past few years the swimming pool has become more of a pond for local wildlife

LEMON & POMEGRANATE

Lemon curd & pomegranate porridge (Serves 1)

* ½ cup oatmeal

* 1 cup milk

* 1 tsp lemon curd

* ¼ pomegranate

Simmer the oats & milk, stir in the lemon curd, serve sprinkled with pomegranate seeds

Kathline's sour remarks on his choice of socks & sandals that morning were laced with a sweetness that allowed her to get away with saying pretty much anything.

TOMATO & POMEGRANATE

Tomato, pomegranate & sumac salad (Serves 6)

Recipe from Purple Citrus & Sweet perfume, Silvena Rowe

* 6 ripe plum tomatoes, sliced

* Seeds of 1 pomegranate

* 1 tsp sumac

* ½ tsp ground cumin (or cumin seeds)

* 4 tbsp olive oil

* 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

His goal was to see if he could live an outwardly plain life but inwardly rich existence

Alan de Botton; Status Anxiety

ALE & LEMON

Ale sorbet shandy

Sorbet

* 500ml Ale

* 50g Icing sugar

Gradually stir in the ale to the sugar, churn in an ice cream machine before freezing

Lemonade

* 1 lemon, squeezed

* Sparkling water

* 2 tsp honey

Scoop the sorbet into the homemade lemonade

If he walks too slowly in the middle of the road he will fall down in a heap and will have to be lifted into motion by some extraneous party. This is an unfortunate state the postman has cycled himself into, and I do not think he will ever cycle himself out of it.

Flan O'brian; The third policeman