Z looks busier than Z actually was. Apart from the garden stuff, obvs. And sorting out the dishwasher.

Having been thwarted of my holiday, I said that meals would mostly involve no cooking and be very simple. A fail there, yesterday. Not that there was a huge amount of cooking, but more than I’d intended.

Lunch was more preparation than actual cooking. To start with, I had to roast a whole bulb of garlic. In fact, I roasted three, because that was no more bother than one. Then I peeled six small cucumbers and liquidised them, added yoghurt and some crème frâiche, squeezed out the flesh of the garlic and added that, quite a lot of mint leaves and some seasoning. So little cooking and not really much actual work, but it still took a while. I chilled it and we ate it with naan bread that I’d taken out of the freezer and we followed up with some St Helena cheese from Jonny’s farm. He lets other people use his dairy and his cows’ milk to make their own cheeses.

I’d got one chicken breast. Tim, reading the Guardian, found a recipe for which we had all the ingredients. So I grated ginger and garlic, added mustard powder and lemon juice (should have been lime) and bashed the halved chicken with a meat mallet, then spread on the mixture and left it to marinate. I quartered peaches and grilled them, grilled some tomatoes from the greenhouse, chopped chilli and shallot, cooled and peeled the peaches and tomatoes and added those. At the last, i added more lemon juice and olive oil to make a salsa. I floured, egged and breadcrumbed (home made sourdough breadcrumbs) the chicken and fried it. Also sautéed some courgette from the garden.

After we’d eaten, Tim said “I thought you weren’t cooking?” D’oh. Today, we finished the soup and salsa and, for dinner, we’ve had scrambled eggs and smoked salmon. I’m not very good at not cooking. i’ve fed the sourdough starter and may well make a loaf tomorrow/Tuesday. I’ve realised that the slower bread is made, the better it is. I’m in no hurry nowadays.

Friday was the 35th anniversary of moving to this house. And yesterday was Ronan’s 37th birthday. Time doesn’t seem to have much meaning. Memories blur time.

2 comments on “Z looks busier than Z actually was. Apart from the garden stuff, obvs. And sorting out the dishwasher.

    1. Z Post author

      It was, really, the ingredients for tatziki or possibly raita, just more liquid. Yes, the salsa was good. The recipe had maple syrup in it and I didn’t have any, but I think it would have been too sweet. The peaches were ripe and maybe if they hadn’t been, a bit of something sweet would have been good. I’ve rather lost my sweet tooth over the years, so it’s not easy to tell.

      Reply

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