It's Always More Complicated

Last week's bread appeared to be holding out but then developed mould spots - didn't seem worth making bread at that point in the week and there were still rolls left over.

Friday night supper: penne with Peppadew Roasted Red Peppers whizzed in the blender and heated while the penne were cooking.

Saturday breakfast rolls: adaptable soft roll recipe, light spelt flour, maple syrup, cranberries, turned out quite nicely.

Today's lunch: venison haunch steaks, beaten out a little and rubbed with cut garlic clove and crushed 5-pepper blend, coriander seeds and juniper berries (this was perhaps a bit coarse), panfried in olive and butter and deglazed with madeira, served with La Ratte potatoes roasted in goosefat, slowcooked tenderstem broccoli (this turned out rather better than sometimes) and a rather small salad of some leftover pomadoro tomatoes halved and sprinkled with a little salt, sugar and Amonia berry balsamic vinegar.

This week's bread: I actually set out to make a Standen loaf, and discovered when I was already into the process, warming the milk and water, stirring up the yeast, etc, that I did not in fact have any buckwheat flour. So what I made was a loaf of 4:1 strong brown/einkorn flour, with maple syrup and Rayner's barley malt extract, which actually turned out quite nice.

Friday night supper: ven pongal (South Indian Khichchari).

Saturday breakfast rolls: basic buttermilk: 3:1 strong white flour/buckwheat flour (in this week's grocery order): nice.

Today's lunch: asparagus steamed and tossed in lime butter, Dulce Deliciosa Vine tomatoes roasted in olive oil with thyme, golden butternut squash roasted in toasted pumpkin seed oil with paprika, and aubergine slices grilled and then splashed with tamari/mirin/lazy ginger (memory said this was nicer than this turned out, a bit dry?)

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In accordance with tradition for my natal day, I pass round virtual rich dark gingerbread (and also gluten-free, diabetic-friendly, etc, versions), sanitive madeira (eschewing rather tired Duke of Clarence jokes) and other beverages of choice, and lift a glass to my dr rdrz.

Last week's bread developed mould: made a loaf of Country Oatmeal aka Monastery Loaf from Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno's Bread (2:1:1 wholemeal/strong white/medium oatmeal) and perhaps because I actually did the slow rising and proving for once, it turned out very nice indeed.

Friday night supper: as I had the best part of a small jar of Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Mezze Dip left over from last Sunday, I thought this would go rather well over pasta, and had it with penne. I was right.

Saturday breakfast rolls: brown grated apple, strong brown flour, maple syrup, a dash of ground ginger (a bit fugitive) - came out a bit dense, possibly because they did not get taken out of the fridge until just before baking time (rather than recovering at room temperature for an hour or so).

Today's lunch: seabass fillets rubbed with salt, ginger paste and lime juice and left for a couple of hours then panfried, served with La Ratte potatoes roasted in beef dripping, fine green beans roasted in pumpkin seed oil with fennel seeds and splashed with Aronia Berry (apparently this is aka Chokeberry?) Balsamic Vinegar, and padron peppers.

This week's bread (last week's having developed mould, chiz chiz): a loaf of Matthews Cotswold Eight-Grain Flour, as ever v nice.

Saturday breakfast rolls: adaptable soft rolls recipe, 4:1 strong brown/buckwheat flour, maple syrup, dried blueberries, perhaps a little on the heavy side.

Today's lunch: beef short ribs casseroled in red wine with garlic, 5 pepper blend, bay leaf and thyme, served with Red Velvet sweet potatoes peeled and cut into chunks, parboiled for 10 minutes, then roasted in a mixture of avocado and roasted pumpkin seed oil in a hot oven for 30 minutes turning occasionally, and sugar snap peas stirfried with star anise.

Last week's bread developed mould, so I made a loaf of Dove's Farm Organic Seedhouse Bread Flour, as always v nice.

During the week made some Famous Aubergine Dip to take to coughingbear and hano's party for Saturday (it is good to make a day or so in advance to allow the flavours to develop).

Saturday breakfast rolls: basic buttermilk, 3:1 strong brown/dark rye - I am finding this dark rye makes the result turn out rather heavy.

Made foccaccia for the party: did not turn out terribly well, ? something went wrong with proportions? or maybe atmospheric conditions?

Today's lunch: bozbash with aubergine (baby aubergines have been largely absent all summer), baby courgettes, Romano peppers, okra, dried cranberries, fresh basil and green coriander, and Belazu Gordo Especial Chickpeas (highly recommended).

Last week's bread held out pretty well, and there was even sufficient left to make frittata for Friday night supper.

Saturday breakfast rolls: the ones loosely based on James Beard's mother's raisin bread, with Strong Brown Flour.

Today's lunch, hake fillets, cooked as for plaice in coriander butter, took Jane Grigson's advice to sprinkle the fillets with salt an hour or so before cooking, think it improved this rather dull fish, also the new lemon zester is a vast improvement, and I used fresh dill and tarragon, though possibly not quite enough butter; served with slowcooked Bellaverde sweetstem broccoli, healthy-grilled asparagus (did not have room on the hob to steam) and sticky rice.

This week's bread: Len Deighton's Mixed Wholemeal Loaf from The Sunday Times Book of Real Bread, 4:1:1 wholemeal flour/strong white flour/mix of medium oatmeal, coarse cornmeal, and I intended wheatgerm but it was rather past its best before and looked weird and clumpy, so I scooped it off and substituted bran, splash of sunflower oil; turned out nice but going a bit crumbly towards the end of the week.

Saturday breakfast rolls: basic buttermilk, Light Spelt flour, very nice.

Today's lunch: venison haunch steaks, beaten out a bit, rubbed with a cut garlic clove, and then with 5-pepper blend crushed with coriander seeds, juniper berries and salt, and left for a couple of hours, panfried in butter + olive oil, deglazed with madeira, this reduced for a jus; served with miniature new potatoes in their skins tossed in 2 teaspoons of olive oil, 1 bunch of tarragon snipped, and salt, and roasted for an hour in a hottish oven, turning after half an hour (based on a recipe in Anna's Kitchen) and green beans roasted in toasted pumpkin seed oil with cumin seeds and splashed with the dregs of elderflower vinegar*.

*Demijohn not only have this and gooseberry back in stock, they have been running a discount code this week, yay.

Last week's bread mostly held out.

Friday night supper: ersatz Thai fried rice with pepperoni.

Saturday breakfast rolls: eclectic vanilla, possibly a little on the stodgy side, but possibly the latest type of vanilla extract makes them more vanilla-y?

Today's lunch: chestnut mushrooms in olive oil, steamed asparagus in melted butter, Dulce Joya Vine Tomatoes (red and yellow) roasted in olive oil with basil, and cornbread (a little heavy: I think the baking powder, nearly at its use-by date, was possibly affected by weather/atmospheric conditions).

Last week's bread developed mould in the humidity, so I made the Country Oatmeal aka Monastery Loaf from Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno's Bread (2:1:1 wholemeal/strong white/medium oatmeal), a bit dense but tasty.

Friday night we were OUT.

This also meant no making rolls, so we had toast for Saturday breakfast instead.

Today's lunch: lemon sole fillets spread with salt, chopped remains of fresh green coriander from last week, ginger paste and lemongrass paste, folded over, placed in a greased baking dish, drizzled with sesame oil, sprinkled with breadcrumbs and some rice wine splashed in, covered with foil and baked for 20 mins in a moderately hot oven, served with sticky rice with lime leaves and tat soi stirfried with garlic.

Last week's bread held out very well:

There was even enough to include in a frittata, along with red bell pepper and pepperoni, for Friday night supper.

Saturday breakfast rolls: basic buttermilk, with Marriage's Golden Wholegrain Bread Flour

Today's lunch; a stifado-type casserole of diced beef, served with slowcooked Bellaverde broccoli, baked San Marzano tomatoes and sticky rice.