Food, Men and the Weekend...

By Bhaskaranaidu

There's quite a crafty link between the food and men in my blog today.
My sister told me of a new way she'd tried of cooking cauliflower. It sounded so easy I didn't bother writing it down, so you can tailor the ingredients and method to suit yourself.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER
You'll need:
A large head of cauliflower
Olive oil
Juice of a lemon
Freshly-ground salt & black pepper
Plus any or all of the following: Smoked paprika, nutmeg,
chilli powder, and ground ginger.

Oven temperature 200c, 180 Fan, Gas Mark
Wash the cauliflower well, pat it dry and break the florets into bite-sized pieces.  Put them in a bowl, pour over the oil and lemon juice, then sprinkle over all the seasonings and spices.  Mix everything together really well. Put the cauliflower into a roasting tin, then tip any liquid remaining in the bowl over the top of it. Roast for about 20 minutes, or until tender.

We had this as a side dish, and it was delicious. I included some calabrese along with the cauliflower, and the contrast of green and white florets gave it extra interest. And now, get ready for the laboured link between this post's food and men, because...
...Calabrese features in one of the favourite dishes of Antonio Camilleri's fictional detective Commissario Montalbano. I'm working my way very slowly through the novels, and the TV films of the same name are a great favourite in Tottering Towers. We've just finished watching the final, final episode on DVD and at the end there's this fascinating look behind the scenes: br />
 I love insights like this into the creative process. It's good to know the cast get on so well together, too!

If you haven't met Montalbano and co. before, The Snack Thief is being broadcast on BBC4 at 9pm on Saturday, 28th June. It's the first episode in a re-run of the initial series shown here (although The Snack Thief  isn't the first book in Camillieri's series). Try it!

Food, Men and the Weekend...

Despite the poor start to the year, our garden ended up producing more fruit than it has done for a long time. The plum harvest was a good one, but because we had a downpour at the wrong time many of the fruits burst their skins. Although the plums tasted as good as ever they attracted wasps, and wouldn't keep. Rather than waste them, I adapted a recipe I normally use for blueberries. It worked brilliantly.

PLUM SPONGE
You'll need:
Prepared plums, washed, halved and with the stones removed.
6oz softened butter (or margarine)
6 oz caster (fine) sugar
6oz self-raising flour
3 eggs

Extra caster (fine) sugar to taste
Lemon juice (optional)

Heat the oven to 180ºC (Fan, 160 C) Gas mark 4.
Cover the bottom of a shallow ovenproof dish with the roughly sliced plums. Add a couple of tablespoons of water, and sprinkle them with sugar to taste. If the plums are already quite sweet, add a spritz of lemon juice.
In a separate bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, flour and eggs for a couple of minutes to make a smooth, glossy mixture. Spread this evenly over the fruit, and cook for around 35-40 minutes, or until the sponge is well risen, golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed.
Serve warm, with custard or ice cream.

This week's hero is award-winning Milos Karadaglic. He comes from Montenegro, and began playing the guitar as a child. A scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music brought him to London at the age of seventeen, and now he has an international career.





I'll be working on my Autumn newsletter this weekend, to be published the minute I get the draft artwork for Jewel Under Siege, which will be my next release.   If you want to be among the first to see it, click here to subscribe to my newsletter. Don't worry, I'll never pass on your details!

Food, Men and the Weekend...

Charlie Siem

If you follow me on other social media, you'll know I've had a few issues with a particular image of the delightful Dr Adam Rutherford. Whatever the subject, however many photos I've added to my blogs since he starred in FMATW, he keeps popping up to illustrate links I post to Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere. I'd say "randomly" but that's got a specific meaning for my OH, who tends to come over all Dr Sheldon Cooper when I use the word. If continuous appearance wasn't bad enough, it's too fuzzy, indistinct picture of Dr Adam to be worth repeating. 

Today's Man of the Moment, Charlie Siem, has a much better photo. It won't matter if this keeps reappearing! Charlie is a 27-year-old violinist from London who is a real force on the international stage. The first time I heard him play, he attacked Bruch's Violin Concerto with such vigour, I forgot I was sitting in a traffic jam. Then I looked him up on line, and discovered this picture. If all that isn't enough to attract your attention, his father is (allegedly) a billionaire, and Charlie plays the d'Egville Guarneri that once belonged to Yehudi Menuhin. Wow...

It’s been such a good year for fruit, we've got plenty of apples despite hungry deer invading the garden and the hedges are full of brambles. Here’s a really simple recipe for making the most of this hedgerow harvest. The amount and type of fruit can be varied according to what you have available. You just need to make sure you have about a pound and a half of it in total. 

APPLE AND BLACKBERRY CRUMBLE

1.5lbs peeled, sliced cooking apples and washed blackberries

Sugar to taste

4oz flour

3oz butter or margarine

2oz demerara (brown) sugar

3oz rolled oats

Put the prepared fruit into an ovenproof dish with sugar to taste and a couple of tablespoons of water.

In another bowl, rub the fat into the flour. Stir in the sugar and oats. Sprinkle this crumble mixture evenly over the fruit, making sure to cover it completely. Cook for around half an hour at 180°C, (fan oven 160°C) Gas Mark 4, or until the fruit is cooked and the topping is golden. Serve it hot or cold, with plenty of custard, cream or ice cream.

I'm going to be making blackberry and apple jelly this weekend, too, when I'm not trying to oust Dr Adam Rutherford from my picture gallery. Have you ever been haunted by anything you've posted on the net? If so, how did you exorcise your problem?