Since The Dear Leader (may those who oppose her crumble into dust) became 98.75% vegetarian I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of cooking what I hope is interesting food that fits the bill. Given the alternative was banishment to the ice planet Hoth, that's good.
Our regular 600 kcals Monday is a reminder of the bang you get for your vegetable (and fruit) buck. One dish in the evening was a real winner, roast butternut squash with orange segments and thinly sliced onions, served as a warm salad with the orange juice and two teaspoons of olive oil as a dressing. It will appear again on a non-fast day.
I often now envy what TDL gets served as a vegetarian when we are out and about: last weekend at Higham Hall the food I had was well cooked but frankly rather dull - basically meat and gravy, two veg, spuds; on the Saturday she had a nut roast that smelled wonderful, receiving the thumbs up from the supreme ruler. This evening she is at an event in Manchester complete with full fig dinner, and I'm fascinated to find out what they will give her, partly because it's often so much more imaginative than the corporate rubber chicken or overdone beef; partly because I am happy to nick good ideas for the future.
That said, Sternest Critic and I will be having a very blokey blowout tonight - well-matured Aberdeen Angus ribeye; mushrooms; corn on the cob; peas; tomatoes; and an avocado as a starter. I don't want to give up the pleasure, and the health benefits (B12 fix, zinc, etc), of occasional carnivorous indulgence. But it will be noted that where once we'd also have been enjoying sausage, kidneys and a chop with our steak as a mixed grill male meal the bulk of what we're getting outside tonight is vegetable - and if you're picky about toms and avos, fruit. And grain for the corn. And fungi for the 'shrooms. It isn't meat anyway.
Showing posts with label avocado. Show all posts
Showing posts with label avocado. Show all posts
Wednesday, 16 October 2019
Saturday, 6 October 2018
Red in Tooth and Jaw
I had to apologise to Sternest Critic this week. When we were talking about making risotto he asked if red wine could be used at the start of cooking the rice, rather than the standard white. Out of prejudice rather than knowledge I said probably not. Days later I came across, by chance, a risotto recipe using red wine.
The picture accompanying that recipe was so strikingly colourful, and having some cooked beetroot (a main ingredient) to use up, I tried it, or my own version at least. The taste was good (infusing the oil for it with rosemary, sage, bay and peppercorns helped hugely), but the colour was amazing.
That beetroot was to hand as I'd made a sort of borscht the day before - The Dear Leader, clearly targeted by the GRU or CIA, strained her jaw eating corn on the cob several weeks back when we had a bunch of friends over for a mezze-type meal, so she's to avoid chewing until it's better. That too was vibrant, the trick being to simmer the raw veg various (beets, turnip, onion, the last of our summer squash) together, then when it is liquidised add a cooked beetroot. Followed by a leafy salad with tomatoes, roasted pumpkin, and avocado (guess which wasn't home grown) that was equally bright, it has been a good couple of days at the table for the eyes as well as the taste buds.
My pretend borscht wouldn't have suited one good friend of ours, who dubs beetroot 'the devil's vegetable', and dislikes soup as a concept. We could never have made a couple. Beet at a pinch I could forego; soup never. I'm not a big fan of chilled soups, maybe making them once or twice at most through the summer. But autumn, winter and spring in this household will see three or four a week served up.
Perhaps the problem with her dislike of soup, and we're back to the colour thing again, is that so often it can be murky brown, camouflage green, or vaguely red. In another post somewhere I have written about French hotel soup, delicious and economic (stock from the previous day's or days' meat leavings and bones, and veg a little past their best), something I love but which it has to be admitted is never a delight to the eyes. But it doesn't have to be that way, surely? So my tiny personal task over the next few weeks is to make Technicolour soups. First idea - avocado and green chili. We'll see.
The picture accompanying that recipe was so strikingly colourful, and having some cooked beetroot (a main ingredient) to use up, I tried it, or my own version at least. The taste was good (infusing the oil for it with rosemary, sage, bay and peppercorns helped hugely), but the colour was amazing.
That beetroot was to hand as I'd made a sort of borscht the day before - The Dear Leader, clearly targeted by the GRU or CIA, strained her jaw eating corn on the cob several weeks back when we had a bunch of friends over for a mezze-type meal, so she's to avoid chewing until it's better. That too was vibrant, the trick being to simmer the raw veg various (beets, turnip, onion, the last of our summer squash) together, then when it is liquidised add a cooked beetroot. Followed by a leafy salad with tomatoes, roasted pumpkin, and avocado (guess which wasn't home grown) that was equally bright, it has been a good couple of days at the table for the eyes as well as the taste buds.
My pretend borscht wouldn't have suited one good friend of ours, who dubs beetroot 'the devil's vegetable', and dislikes soup as a concept. We could never have made a couple. Beet at a pinch I could forego; soup never. I'm not a big fan of chilled soups, maybe making them once or twice at most through the summer. But autumn, winter and spring in this household will see three or four a week served up.
Perhaps the problem with her dislike of soup, and we're back to the colour thing again, is that so often it can be murky brown, camouflage green, or vaguely red. In another post somewhere I have written about French hotel soup, delicious and economic (stock from the previous day's or days' meat leavings and bones, and veg a little past their best), something I love but which it has to be admitted is never a delight to the eyes. But it doesn't have to be that way, surely? So my tiny personal task over the next few weeks is to make Technicolour soups. First idea - avocado and green chili. We'll see.
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