Robin Ellis's Carrot, Apple and Ginger Soup; a guest Sunday Dinner by Celia Wakefield

 
Good morning dear JR writers and readers. It’s Sunday, its Julia’s week on though she is busy being me in the past, organizing the disposal of her father’s house. Just a brief segue; wouldn’t our lives be so much easier if we chose to do a trial move into senior living when we get to the age of needing help, rather than having it forced upon us. I think this is a question that I need to sit with as leaving my lake would be so hard. 

However as I mentioned earlier, it’s Sunday, it’s Julia, and I am the cook today. We had agreed on a to die for chocolate dessert which is very simple but I have run out of time to work it up so it’s soup again, which with the promised temp dropping below freezing tonight is what we need.

Back in March Debs wrote about Robin Ellis who was touring in the USA at the time promoting his new cookbook, Mediterranean Vegetarian Cooking. Robin was the original Poldark on telly back in the day and I remember devouring the series. I even had the Poldark cook book. I was intrigued with Robin’s story of diabetes, so I ordered the book which duly arrived ahead of publication which was lovely.

It’s what I would call a visually stunning book on cookery. So many books in this genre have gorgeous photos of the food, usually enough to put off a home cook from trying out. But Mediterranean Cooking shows Robin’s enjoyment and Meredith’s *photographic skills in neighborly way. One can imagine being able to make food that looks like theirs. Now all this coupled with my results from my recent physical showing teetering on the edge of the diabetes pool, tells me that I need to a) get on my new little Cubii and cycle away and b) as my Doctor reminded me, “back off the empty carbs”. (I don’t think he meant vodka, did he?).

Many of you know that I come from England. I was born in London during WW2, and have lived in a variety of countries before washing up in Maine. However, my heart belongs in Cornwall as well as Maine. My parents chose Cornwall for their retirement. I remember a holiday in Cornwall in 1954. We stayed in a cottage on the edge of the harbor in Mousehole,

((/ˈmaʊzəl/; Cornish: Porthenys). (My first catch, probably pilchards. Left sister, Ros, bro, Andrew, my mum, me) My parents finally put down roots on Feock on the edge of the Carrick Roads close to Truro, so often seen in Poldark.

Checking my facts, it appears that Poldark was set by Winston Graham throughout Cornwall from Bodmin Moor (Jamaica Inn is still there) to the Lizard. Robin posted photos of the original Poldark cast of forty-five years on his blog this week. Which brings us to the recipe though it is rather a spider’s web of memory links by me that are hopefully, helped by a large warm helping of Robin’s carrot, apple and ginger soup

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Carrot, Apple and Ginger Soup from Mediterranean Vegetarian Cooking - Robin Ellis - 2020
 

(I did make some changes to the recipe which are mentioned below)

(Serves 4)

 
2 Tbsp. olive oil       

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 tsp. chopped ginger root, (I use 4 Trader Joe’s frozen ginger cubes)

1# carrots, peeled and chopped, ( I have organic carrots from my CSA so just scrape them)

  Plus 1 carrot peeled and halved

2 Fuji apples, or apples of choice, (I had local apples to use, they are smaller so used 4)

  Plus 1 apple finely diced

4 cups veggie stock (I used Dashi stock which is a Japanese stock derivative of seaweed, dried fish etc.)

1 tsp salt

A few dashes of Tabasco (optional)

A bunch of chives, or a little flat parsley, to serve

Heat the Olive oil in a casserole over medium heat. Add the chopped onions, garlic and ginger and cook 3 plus minutes. 

Stir in the carrots and apple setting the diced apple aside, then add the halved apple and Stock 

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer partly covered for 30 minutes 

Remove the halved carrot with a slotted spoon, chop it into fine dice and reserve. 

Use an immersion blender to puree the mixture Reheat if necessary and add salt, pepper and other seasoning to taste 

Serve the soup, garnished with apple, carrot, and herbs.

BON APPETIT!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Dinner: Hub Style

Jenn McKinlay: Not to be all braggy but I haven't cooked a meal in 161 days. Cooking in our house has long been divided into me cooking Mon-Thurs, takeout on Friday, and Hub cooking Sat and Sun as his musician schedule would allow. 

Hub (aka Chris Hansen Orf - the long haired guitarist on left) playing with Honeygirl & the Boys in Mexico 2/20.

For many years (20+), that schedule worked. Then came the pandemic and Hub no longer had to jet out the door to gigs and rehearsals four-five times per week. His days were long, he was bored bored bored, and suddenly he needed something to do. Enter Chef Dad.

(Yes, in a fit of pandemic boredom, he cut off all his hair. Ah!).

Without any prodding from me, Hub volunteered to take over the cooking. As I am still working ridiculously long days to meet deadlines, craft new plots, promote, etc., I said, "Yes, please!" (I might have wept a little with joy, too) and never looked back.

Here's the interesting thing. I spent my cooking years, catering to the overall family's likes and dislikes. Hooligan 1 loves shepherd's pie, Hooligan 2 is more a roast chicken and quinoa guy, and Hub is meat - all meat - all the time. I crafted the family menu around the communal likes and dislikes, often sacrificing my own desire for the random cauliflower side dish in favor of the universally acceptable corn. 

Hub did not approach the family menu like this at all. He simply decided what he was going to cook and we could eat it or go hungry. Y'all I was so over cooking that he could have served up deep fried rattlesnake and I'd say "Thank you." Amazingly, the Hooligans reacted the same way (Were they bored with my cooking??? LOL!) so we have been eating all kinds of crazy dishes. From shakshuka to shrimp scampi to mediterranean chicken and so on.

So, since it's Sunday dinner time, I'm sharing one of my absolute favorite meals that he's made: Greek Spaghetti (the recipe given to  him by another band wife, Chris Speros)!

Ingredients: 1 lb. Spagetti 1 & 1/4 sticks of butter 1 lb. of ground beef 1 onion, diced Parmesan cheese (I generally use about 1-2 cups of freshly grated but this could be done to taste or omitted) 2 tsp. ground cinnamon (use 1 tsp in meat and other in burnt butter) 2 tbsp sugar 1 Can tomato sauce (about 15 oz) Salt and pepper to taste Garlic powder or salt to taste (optional)

tsp Greek Oregano (optional)

Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning (optional) -This is one of the best all purpose seasonings, I use it almost in everything I cook. It can be found at Safeway and most grocery chains. Sauce Prep: Lightly sauté diced onion in 2 Tbs. of butter then add the ground beef. Season meat with salt and pepper.

When meat is browned, add tomato sauce, 1 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp sugar and any other optional spices chosen from above (I use all) Let this simmer until meat is completely cooked. Taste, then add more seasonings or spices if wanted (remember you will be adding additional cinnamon to butter) Pasta Prep: Boil Spaghetti in water - You want the pasta slightly overcooked (not al dente) While pasta is cooking, melt the butter (butter needs to be burnt so cook until it's turning light brown) When butter is burnt add tsp cinnamon and set aside When Pasta is fully cooked, drain water and put pasta back in the pot Toss the pasta with the burnt butter and cinnamon mixture until pasta is evenly coated Grease baking pan (butter or PAM) and preheat oven to 350 You will then layer the pan - Put half of the pasta/butter mixture, top pasta with half of the meat sauce and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Repeat the layering using the remainder of pasta, sauce and cheese Bake for about 30 minutes

So, how about you, Reds and Readers, how have you managed your boredom during the pandemic?

Sunday Dinner for Father's day: Sesame Noodles with Sate

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Happy Father's Day! It's Sunday, and I'm at the helm, which means it's time for honorary Red Celia Wakefield to give us another fabulous recipe/cooking lesson. She made these Sesame Noodles with Sate on Friday, when my whole household was over to swim at the lake (and do a couple outdoor chores.) It was easy, inexpensive, and so hearty it filled up three hungry twenty-somethings as well as the three oldsters with plenty left for the next day!

I won’t start by stating the obvious, but I do want to give a shout out to Julia.  She has been one of the very few life lines for Victor and I during our current living situation. If you know Julia you will agree with me that she has a way of engaging, entertaining and managing to stay positive, finding a good laugh in almost any situation. 

And, I am once again delighted to join in the JRW blog, with another recipe which is well suited for our current living. It’s also a great meal for Fathers Day. Happy, happy Fathers Day to all the guys who visit Jungle Reds, to our husbands and our fathers. I have a recipe from my father, Douglas Constable, to share with you. 

Food, cooking in particular, was a place where father and I met on equal terms. In fact I may have had the edge on him there. After the Second World War, my father didn’t follow the drum, but did follow colonial ancestors by working all over the world. Our family time in Ceylon (Sri Lanka nowadays) offered curry in all its forms and he loved it. Curries were his favourite foods to cook. People in for a drink? Father would hurry to the kitchen to make up some curry puffs. Most of his cooking involved deep frying and after he painted the hall ceiling greasy black from leaving a pot of oil on the stove without turning it off, my mother banished his culinary exploits to the garage.

Late in his career, he and my mum were in Indonesia, where of course, he fell in love with the food. My mum recounted their arrival where my father was to be head of an FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization, one of the special agencies of the UN) mission in Surabaya. The house had been set up with servants etc. But their language was Dutch. My mum, understanding she was being asked what she wanted prepared for lunch, said the only food word she knew, “rijsttafel”. Which a couple of hours later appeared on the dining table. This is a very complex and complicated dish where one is offered choices which include nasi kuning or regular steamed rice, accompanied by dishes such as satay, rendang, gado-gado, grilled chicken rica, red snapper in yellow acar sauce, fried shrimp in sambal, potato perkedel kerupuk and tempeh. (Julia's note: the poor staff must have thought Memsahib Constable was going to be very high maintenance!)  Kerupuk, the tasty shrimp crackers, was my father favourite drinks snack, served with Sate sauce, deep fried of course and hence the banishment from my mothers kitchen.

I wish I could make a rijsttafel for everyone, but let’s make sesame noodles with sate sauce.

This is my fathers’ recipe and serves 6-8 hearty eaters:

In addition for dinner we added these ingredients:

1 1/2# Spaghetti

1 Cooked chicken

Bunch of scallions, chopped small

Tamarind* is available in Asian markets, as are the other spices. The one ingredient not on fathers list is Chinese noodles, or as we say in Maine - Spaghetti. I doubled the Sate recipe. As we had a mix of veggies and carnivores, I got hold of a cooked supermarket chicken whose meat I shredded, which would normally be served on top of the noodles. Julia and I assembled the ingredients and followed his directions.

1)          Put on the water for the pasta

2)          Measure all the sauce ingredients into a pan except for the peanut butter and heat.

3)          Start adding peanut butter once the water boils. Turn the heat down and stir.

4)          Watch out because the sauce will thicken and needs to be thinned with more water.

5)          Peanut butter is oil, so if it splatters, it burns, Ouh!

6)          Cook the noodles or pasta as directed

7)          Drain noodles, dress immediately with sesame oil and pepper oil 

8)          Pour the sauce over the noodles and mix in well.

Add the shredded chicken and chopped scallions when ready to serve. Sesame noodles can be served at room temperature or chilled. They make great leftovers too for a lunch box.

*After tasting the tamarind, I thought freshly squeezed orange juice would be a good substitute - J.

JULIA: Here is the happy result, dear readers, with a quick slaw on the side and lashings of extra sauce, which, by the end, the kids were scooping onto crackers and stuffing into their mouths. Accompanied by a gin/vodka and tonic (the grown-ups) and ginger ale (the kids) it was a perfect meal to enjoy outdoors on a hot summer night. 

Below, we've got videos walking you though the whole process in inimitable Celia style. Take a look, and after you're done, join us in the comments with your own exotic food adventures!




 

Comfort Food for Sunday: Creamy Risotto

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I'm in New York today, enjoying my Christmas present from my girls: tickets for the Tony--award-winning revival of OKLAHOMA. But don't worry, you're in better hands than mine when it come to cooking: here's Celia Wakefield with another amazing recipe.

With the New Year, JRW resolve rather than resolution, plus Saturday's real resolutions; it is time for comfort food. There is nothing more comforting (well maybe soup and grilled cheese), than a delicious risotto. I wanted to try very slow cooked onion, which is great, but there's no need to cook the onions quite as slowly as I did. Just don't let them brown. In addition, no need to sauté the fennel separately; just add it to the onion mix.  There is always risotto rice my store cupboard. I'll use bought stock if I have to. But if you have time, this is a gentle delicious dish,

Veggie Risotto feeds 2-3 people

Prepare;

1 large / 2 small - medium onions, chopped finely

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1 Leek, cleaned and chopped finely, (optional)

1-2 fennel bulbs, chopped finely, to give at least 1 1/2 cups

2 tblsp. olive oil

3 large cloves of garlic, chopped

Approximately 2+ tblsp. Fresh Rosemary and Thyme

Method:

Melt the butter over low heat in a heavy pan. Add the onions, keep heat low, no browning preferably, and cook, stirring every 5-10 minutes. The idea is to get onions to a jammy consistency. Add leek and mix in once the onions turn translucent. Add garlic with everything on a low heat.

In a second pan, large enough to cook the risotto, heat the olive oil and gently sauté the fennel till part cooked and then remove from pan, saving the olive oil for the rice

This can all be done in advance. While the onion mixture is cooking, chop the herbs as finely as you can

No prep needed here:

1 cup risotto rice

1/3 cup Marsala or white wine

3+ cups good Chicken / Turkey stock, warmed

1/2 - cup grated Parmesan

Olive oil if needed

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat your oven to 325 degreesF

Heat the the pan in which the fennel was cooked, adding a little more olive oil if necessary.

Add the dry rice and spread.

Cook the rice, stirring as necessary until it becomes cloudy. Try not to brown it.

Pour in the wine, bring to the boil

Add the onions, leek, fennel and garlic, mix in

Add approximately half the warmed stock, mix well in including any rice stuck to the side

Bring to the boil, stir, then put the pan in the heated oven

Set your timer for 15+ minutes and return to your book

When the timer goes, add at least half of the remaining stock and the herbs, reset timer

Risotto rice takes approximately 25-40 minutes to cook. Test a grain by breaking it in half, or tasting it. If wished some of the cheese and a small amount of heavy cream can be added here as cooking finishes to add an extra creamy taste.

Serve from the pan and offer the remaining parmigiana to taste.

JULIA: Celia made this for me and Youngest and I can attest 1) that it's care-free enough to make while having a drink and chatting with friends and  2) it's ridiculously tasty and perfect for a cold night. Celia and I agreed it could be made vegetarian by substituting vegetable stock for chicken stock.