GREEN TOMATO & LEMON

Green tomato and lemon marmalade

*1 lemon, thinly sliced and seeded

*550g green tomatoes, thinly sliced

*1.5 cups sugar

*1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

*Pinch of salt.

*Crystalised ginger, chopped

Bring lemon slices to a boil in a pot of water. Drain.

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, and bring to a simmer, stirring, to dissolve sugar. Cook at a bare simmer until tomatoes and lemon slices are translucent and syrup thickens, 40 minutes. Cool completely; store in refrigerator.

François’ brother tries to turn his backyard garden into veritable country wilderness, oblivious to the sight of three giant high-rise buildings that have sprouted only a kilometer or two away.

Agnès Varda’s 1964 Le bonheur (Amy Taubin)

GREEN TOMATO & PEANUT

Green Tomato Salad

*1 red onion, halved then thinly sliced

*2 tsp peanut oil

*25g peanuts, very finely chopped

*2 tbsp freshly chopped Coriander

*Green chilli, finely chopped

*1 tbsp lime Juice

*20 baby green tomatoes, halved
*1tsp fish sauce 

*Salt

Mix the ingredients, and serve with rice noodles

The routine was to get up before the others & paint the cities turquoise, emerald and azure domes.  The end result was usually a disappointment but after contemplation over drinks at the end of the day there was a renewed belief in tomorrow’s attempt.   

PEAR & AMARETTO

Pear & Amaretto crumble cake (Adapted from Ottolenghi cookbook)

*100g bramley apple, peeled, 1.5cm diced

*150g pear, peeled, 1.5cm diced

*30g walnuts, roughly chopped

*Grated zest 1 lemon

*2tbsp amaretto

*210g plain flour

*3/4tsp baking powder

*3/4tsp cinnamon

*1/2tsp mixed spice

*45g ground almonds

*3 eggs

*180ml sunflower oil

*200g golden caster sugar

*1/3tsp salt

Crumble mix

*50g plain wholemeal flour

*25g ground rice

*25g golden caster sugar

*50g butter, cold and cubed

Grease & line loaf tin

Preheat the oven 170°C

Mix Pear, apple, lemon zest, Amaretto

In a separate bowl sift the flour, baking powder, spices, 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 and fruit

Whisk egg whites and fold in

Top with crumble mix and bake 1hour 30mins 

The noble facade of the cathedral is not spoiled by the modern haberdashery.

Camillo Sitte; the art of building cities

WHISKY & SWEET POTATO

Sweet potatoes with whisky, coffee and maple

*2/3 cup strong hot coffee

*2 tbsp pure maple syrup

*2 tsp (packed) dark brown sugar

*1/2tsp of instant coffee

*2 tbsp whisky

*1 tbsp butter

*Sea salt and black pepper

*4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 2 1/2-inch–3-inch pieces

*1 tbsp olive oil

Stir coffee, maple syrup, sugar, and instant coffee over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil 6 minutes.  Remove syrup from heat; add bourbon and butter. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until sauce is reduced, 40-45 minutes.  Toss sweet potatoes in oil, salt and pepper. Roast 220°C, 35mins shaking pan often.  Drizzle some warm sauce over ad put in the oven a couple more mins.

Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales began in a pub, the Punch and Judy publication developed in a pub, trade unions were formed in pubs, political groups and societies met in pubs.

Scottish highlands website

CARROT & CHESTNUT HONEY

Carrot & chestnut honey porridge (Serves 1)

*½ cup porridge oats

*½ cup milk, 1 cup water

*1 carrot, grated finely

*3 dried apricots, chopped

*Pinch of ground ginger

*Pinch of cinnamon

*Chestnut honey

Cook it on a medium heat until the oats start to swell up.

Turn down the heat to low & stir until it’s thickened

Drizzle over honey & milk when serving

He wanted to take up bicycle polo… it was a shame the local sports centre didn’t offer it. 

APPLE & PEANUT

Baked peanut butter apples

*Bramley apples

*Peanut butter

*Cinnamon

*Brown sugar

Core the apples leaving the base in tact

Score round the middle of each apple & fill with the peanut mix

Bake 200°C for 30-40 minutes

A Seed

To fashion a Tree in due course of time;

Tree with rough bark and boughs' expansion,

Where the Crow can build his mansion,

Or a Man, in some new May,

Lie under whispering leaves and say,

"Are the ills of one's life so very bad

When a Green Tree makes me deliciously glad?"

William Allingham

AVOCADO & SUMAC

Avocado & sumac dip

*1 mashed avocado

*½ tsp sumac

*½ lemon juice & zest

*1 garlic clove

*salt

*2tbsp tahini

*Hemp oil

'Thanks so much for this; you're a real friend for helping me out. I don't feel comfortable leaving the flat for so long, not with the cats... You'll like it, it's a nice flat.'  

Will Wiles : care of wooden floors

SWEDE & VANILLA

Swede chips with vanilla mayonnaise

Cut Swede into batons, toss in oil & salt

Bake at 200°C for 45 min

Mix vanilla beans with mayonnaise

There are many realities, not just one.

I like the fact that there is always another way of doing something, never just one…

Dunhill advert

SHRIMP & APPLE

Cider & brown shrimps on toast (Serves 2)

Jamie Oliver recipe

*200g brown shrimps

*Knob of butter

*100ml cider

*Black pepper

*Toast

Heat the butter in a pan & add the shrimps.  Pour in the cider & bring to the boil.  Simmer for 3 minutes. 

Season with black pepper

Serve on toast (with good bottle of cider along side)

At the time I didn’t think I would remember or romanticize about that afternoon.         

ORANGE & ROSEMARY

Orange & rosemary drizzle cake

Drizzle cake sponge with grated zest of 3 oranges

For the drizzle:

*3tbsp golden granulated sugar

*125ml water

*6 sprigs of rosemary
*(Boil and let rest 30mins)

*4tbsp orange juice

Skewer the cake in the tin when it comes out of the oven & pour over the drizzle and juice.

Garnish with extra sugar and rosemary sprigs

My first impression was that he was knowledgeable, sincere, veering on the melancholy side.