Tea on a proper cold night

Now, I'm not one to whoop about spring coming and everything being all right now that soon we won't be cold, as I love winter in Britain and always have -- much as I relish warmth on my back, butterflies on buddleia and  and bees on thyme bushes when we have the balm of those first warm days. But I like cold, frost and winter mornings and fires in the evenings. And I love winter food. Try this followed by this.

SAUSAGES ALL IN -- IN THE OVEN

Buy as many sausages as you think you will eat, which is to say allow two per person and then probably another one each. For two, that is what I did. Get the best sausages you can find. Pork ones from happy piggies. Then stick them in a big roasting tin WITHOUT having pricked them. No no no. Never do this with a sausage, otherwise they won't get properly sticky. Add to the pan some diced unpeeled potatoes, some peeled chunks of swede, ditto of celeriac, some chunks of  carrot, a couple of good pinches of red chilli flakes, ten cloves of unpeeled garlic, a teaspoon or so of cumin seeds and a glug of sunflower oil or a mild olive oil. This goes into a medium hot oven and, about an hour later, emerges to warm you through to your toes. It needs, though, to be well cooked and hopefully the vegetables should have caught a little here and there. Serve it with some green vegetables. I'd favour some wedges of a dark green brassica. How about some savoy cabbage?

Pudding. I hope this does not offend. I see that it is a little unsophisticated. Offer up a bowl each of some good thick Greek yoghurt --low fat Greek yoghurt can be pretty good-- with a dollop of the best strawberry jam you can find in it. But get this wrong and it'll be way too close to your primary school dinner. So good ingredients. You could add some lemon zest and some grated ginger or nutmeg, if you like.

I was very happy with this.

OOOH, SPEAKING OF OVENS...I have just purchased a new one after one false start and some  unexpected plumbing issues. I became sadly, sadly obsessed over the choosing of said appliance because, this time, I was going just a little upmarket and trying to buy something that was, in fact, rather beautiful. This is not something British cookers do well. And cheapo ovens? Caveat emptor. But this one. Well, I am sure I am boring you, but I went not for the biggish range of my dreams, but for the smallish, compact champagne coloured baby range and....I will be stroking it when I am alone. It is a Stoves mini range dual fuel in, well, champagne. With big knobs.

Just a little thought

Hello there.

First of all, here is a site which I recommend to you. http://www.localfoodadvisor.com
This site has enthusiastic contributors, strong ethics and I bet you can guess what it is about. Have a look!

Second, I am delighted to see that this blog has a strong panel of readers across the US, the UK and Europe more widely. I've also got readers in Lebanon and Argentina, which pleases me. If you really enjoy this blog, do write to me as I would enjoy adding any food suggestions you have. Or hit the follow button!

BUT you'll be needing something to eat, so I'll just tell you what to do for a simple cooked breakfast for one, two or twelve. This is what we had today.

Just.....select as many sausages as you think you would like to eat. Get them from a local producer, if you can, and the type of sausages you are after would be meaty and not those with fussy ingredients. So, pork sausages with plenty of  fat to meat and only a little seasoning. Now, split each sausage down the middle, give it a thin spread of Coleman's English mustard, and grill. Do NOT prick those sausages. When your sausages are done, just put each sausage in a soft white bap and eat with a big mug of tea and maybe some orange juice if you have children about (yes: go easy on the mustard with them, although I must say that my boys tend to lap up anything with a mustard tingle or a chilli heat: they've got me as a mother, after all).

The beauty of this --quirky as it is is-- is that it reminds me of the Sunday morning breakfasts of my childhood, it's soothing in the weekday rush, you can leave the sausages under the grill --not too hot, now-- while you go and make yourself beautiful and yell at the children to remember to put BOTH socks on and also this breakfast feels like a treat. I also find the warmth of the mustard gives me a little stimulation at breakfast. Go on: try it.

And while I am at it, if you would like some wonderful Chorizo, look here.  http://www.thebathpig.com/index.php/home

mcuun934 at www.flickr.com Thank you!  I loved this photo because the photographer in question has made their own sausages!

We are down South: biscuits, sausages and red eye gravy.

That'll be the Southern U.S. My husband is from Georgia and needs to be kept ticking along with soul food like cornbread and, for this dinner anyway, biscuits. I've been enoying the tour of Atlanta, Georgia over at Flickr. Here we have something dear to the heart of this household: cornbread (note the butter!) and a big glass of iced tea. Thank you to Jasonlai: I've been enjoying your pictures.

But back to the biscuits, sausages and red eye gravy.

Now, biscuits: not cookies, but something more like a scone, served with savoury food as an indispensible starch. If you care to go back through the blog, you'll find a biscuits recipe (courtesy of the Virginian mother in law -- although I've decided that you'll need a little more milk than is stipulated in this recipe). Just find the July the 4th section and you're away.

So, make your biscuits and, while the dough waits for a little while to one side, begin to cook your sausages. Really, I'd stipulate patty or bulk sausage, which is to say sausage meat shaped into a fat rissole. It's worth undressing some good sausages for this, if you cannot find decent sausagemeat. On this occasion, though, I used some sausages (as in links) from some proper outdoor piggies and they were just dandy.

Right: put your sausages on to cook. On the hob is best, but because I'm zealous about econonomy right now, I did them in the oven because it was going to be on for the biscuits. Cook your sausages for about twenty five minutes in a hot oven and then put the biscuits in the oven. (The biscuits will take ten to fifteen minutes.) When both are done, keep the biscuits warm under a tea towel and then drain off about half of the fat from the sausages and scrape at any tasty-looking residue left in the pan. If you cooked them in the sort of pan which can also go on the hob, great; if not, transfer this fat and all the juices to a small saucepan and then add a roux made from a tablespoon or two of the juices and a heaped tablespoon of plain flour. Heat it gently and then add --HERE COMES YOUR RED EYE GRAVY---- 120ml of water and 120ml of coffee. By coffee, I mean 120ml of water with about a teaspoon of instant coffee granules added to it (or the same volume of filter coffee). You can also use tea, made with a teaspoon of tea (strained) or one tea bag. So, stir well, bring the lot to the boil and check for seasoning. Then serve with your sausages, the biscuits and, if I were you, some well-cooked greens. We had spinach. I suspect the husband would  have preferred collard greens that I'd cooked with a ham hock for about three hours -- just like his granddaddy.

And the boy was happy. Have you met my husband, by the way? Bath City fan extroadinaire: you can find him at.
http://nedvedsnotes.blogspot.com/

FURTHER NOTES:

*Oh and the sauasges: never prick a sausage of note; just lay it down to lie in a dish or frying pan and cook it for longer than you would think. That's how you get a sausage with a perfectly sticky skin. I've said it before, I know: small but significant detail.

*Red eye gravy is also made with country ham, for which I refer you to Damon Lee Fowler's Classical Southern Cooking.  (Crown, New York, 1995.) Many more to enjoy from him, though. http://www.facebook.com/people/Damon-Lee-Fowler/729229387

And just one more: when the Georgian husband and I are in Atlanta, here is somewhere I always want to go: the Varsity. Elvis ate there once, you know. It's huge. I love it. http://www.thevarsity.com/