Experimental dinner

I spend quite a while cooking today. Lynne is a wonderful cook who has given us some delicious meals so I wanted to repay her generosity by taking trouble to cook a tasty dinner for her and Gavin. They did appreciate it. Mr C did at the time but as he’s left with the debris to clear up he might not feel the same now.

The starter was a salad of figs, Parma ham, bitter leaves, tomatoes, Gorgonzola, capers and I can’t remember what else.

I made a very different main, the recipe for which was in Feast in the Guardian a couple of weeks ago. It was Middle Eastern I think. The base of the pie was made from squash and bulgar wheat and an onion. The squash was boiled then blitzed and then the other ingredients added before baking it. The topping was caramelised red onions, pomegranate molasses and spinach with some pine nuts and chives on top. We also had green beans with a toasted peanut, ginger and garlic topping and a soy and honey glaze. I also did a crushed roast potato dish with spring onions, radishes and blue cheese.

For pudding we had dried apricots poached in a syrup flavoured with vanilla pod, cardamom, cinnamon stick and lemon peel. They were filled with clotted cream and a walnut. We had a bit of homemade lemon meringue ice cream with it.

It’s so nice when guests appreciate the flavours and don’t just gobble the food. (I tend not to go to too much bother for them!)
We also had good conversation so it was altogether a lovely evening.

#2 daughter and family were late getting off the boat in Amsterdam so after stopping in Lille for food shopping, they didn’t arrive at the camp site till 7.30pm. Luckily the boys were good in the car, the site is excellent and they had a quick dip in the lake before finding their way to the play park.

I even managed a sunny 4 mile walk up on the moor in the afternoon. It’s bed soon as I had a disturbed night, being awake from 2.10 till nearly 6. After that I seemed to spend most of the time evading erupting volcanos.