What's been cooking...

...and why I am going to try to get back to Substack...

I won’t start by saying ‘regular readers’ because I don’t really have that many (3 or 4?) on this platform, but the few of you that do pop by will have noticed another long absence. This is mostly due to the three fantastic months we spent in Europe (go to my blog Thistles and Kiwis to read all about Hamburg, a day trip to Lübeck, Stockholm, a long weekend in Copenhagen, a day trip to Uppsala and a holiday in Portugal) and the fact that the Substack app doesn’t seem to allow you to add photos (necessary for a post I wanted to do about Swedish supermarkets), and the laptop I had with me was my work one and I don’t want my private stuff to be on that. Anyway….we have been back a month, so where is the excuse now.

It has been great to be back in my own kitchen, and not have to deal with blunt knives (Hamburg) or the lack of wooden spoons (Stockholm). We missed feijoa season (shock! horror!), but are back for yams (oca), citrus fruits and all the lovely winter root vegetables. I spotted some Jerusalem artichokes in Moore Wilson last weekend, and while a bit pricey, add in a couple of potatoes, and you have a gorgeous soup. I use this recipe from The Hairy Bikers as my starting point. The picture does not do it justice - it is dark when we eat dinner so have to have a light on - the bacon and cream look a little odd - but it was such a good soup. The bread needs a mention too, a gorgeous rosemary and potato bread from Wellington Sourdough. It was a simple and elegant feast.

Thursday was Matariki, the Māori New Year, and we marked the day with a long lunch with friends. Sharing kai (food) is one of the ways to celebrate, and having missed Easter with the same friends, we decided this was the time to enjoy their company as well. There was a platter of mini melba toasts and patés, smoked salmon, smoked mussel and chicken liver, to start, then I made two shepherd’s pies, one with lamb and a vegetarian version with lentils, spinach and mushrooms from dish magazine that was topped with kūmara (a sweet potato – I used the orange ones which are the nicest as well as most colourful) rather than potato. I couldn’t find the right goat’s cheese as called for in the recipe so just used the same cheese I used on the meat version.

As usual, we added the small garden table to make more space. I served a broccoli salad (with almonds and cranberries), peas and mashed ‘neeps’ or swede as side dishes. We had a delicious chocolate pear cake made by my friend for dessert, along with a selection of cheeses and oatcakes

I might still post about Swedish supermarkets….let’s see!