Easy gingernut dessert

Last night with the help of Sebastian and Joanna, we recreated a dessert I'd had many years ago at my godparents' house.

All you need is a packet of gingernut biscuits and some whipping/double cream.  Start by whipping the cream with a generous splash of alcohol - we used whiskey, but rum would probably have been even better. Whip till holding it's shape, but be careful not to overwhisk.

Pour a little more of the alcohol into a shallow dish and the quickly dip both sides of a biscuit into it.  Spread a little of the cream onto one side of the biscuit. Dip another biscuit into the alcohol and sandwich together.  Place this on a service dish or plate with the biscuits standing.  Continue spreading cream and sandwiching together the biscuits until you have a long sausage of sandwiched biscuits.  Allowing a 4 to 5 biscuit portion per person, make it as long as you need. 

Spread the rest of the cream over the top of the sausage and if desired, grate a little dark chocolate over the top.  The longer you leave it to stand the soggier the biscuits become.

It is a quick and easy dessert to make, but be warned: it is VERY rich and remarkably intoxicating!!

Unfortunately, no pictures...

Samosas and vegetarian cooking

Unfortunately due to my father being hospitalised for the past 3 weeks and my visiting him daily I have had little time for inventive cooking, and Jim has been working so hard on our Weight Loss software that even when I have created something he has been too busy to get the camera out in time!

While the first to admit to being a true carnivore, I have come to realise that as I go to quite a bit of trouble to prepare interesting and varied veg to accompany the meat of the day, I could actually quite happily do without the protein and just enjoy the green stuff. 

I was really surprised by the attitude of the carnivorous contestants on the recent episode of Masterchef which focused on vegetarian cuisine; they seemed daunted by the task of making tasty, attractive food without meat - don't they ever put tasty vegetable side dishes together to accompany the protein?

On a whim I bought some filo pastry the other day.  I decided to make large samosas.  I have only ever used filo pastry once before and all I could remember was painting the sheets with melted butter.  All the recipes I found on the internet this time said to brush them with beaten egg, which is what I did.

I made a delicious mix of chopped aubergine, peppers, chilli, onions, garlic and loads of spices.  When cool I dolloped a large spoonful on the top of a half sheet of pastry (cut lengthwise), then folded down making the recognisable triangular shape.  It took two half sheets to make a strong enough wrapping. 

I then deep-fried each large parcel in hot oil.  Sebastian made me a spicy mayonnaise and we served them up with a green salad.  Delicious!

Next time however, I will go back to the melted butter; the egg made the layers of filo taste like one thick sheet of pastry, while the butter would retain the individual crispiness.

Roast pigeon

Has anyone seen the pigeon?

Smoked mackerel kedgeree with broccoli

Smoked mackerel for dinner but no idea what to do with it that would be yummy and exciting (I usually put it in pasta with a creamy sauce, but had a creamy sauce last night).

Found the above recipe on the web. First hitch was that it required pilau rice, so looked for a pilau rice recipe.  Had the wrong type of rice (basmati required) and the wrong spices (no cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks or saffron threads) but did have ground fenugreek, coriander and cumin, so substituted.

For the main bit I had to sub spring onions for the bigger, rounder variety... but I was able to conjure up some hard boiled eggs.

VERDICT: The rice was absolutely delicious and I will definitely be doing that again and on the whole the dish was pretty good, but the smoked mackerel did overpower all the other flavours, so I can't say that I'd recommend it.

My two wonderful boys

While popping tonight's dinner in the oven - beef silverside stew with onions, carrots and mushrooms, which has been filling the whole house with the most wonderful aromas all afternoon, I thought of what Sebastian, my soon to be 18 year old, often says: The thing he looks forward to most all day is coming home for dinner.  He says he thinks about it from the moment he gets up, wondering what I'll be cooking.

It's lovely to know that the effort you're making will be so appreciated!

I'm very lucky with both my boys.  They both love food; while Sebastian's interests definitely lie in eating it, Blaise, his 19 year old brother, is equally interested in cooking it.

This is his 2nd year at uni and since he moved into a proper house this year with 3 friends, he has become quite a proficient cook.  He often prepares a roast dinner at the weekends, makes cakes for birthdays, concocts various fusion dishes and hand-crafts wonderful chocolate truffles, which he rustles up as a gift if going to someone's house (he also makes a mean margarita!).

While his friends imbibe their student loans down the pub, Blaise is to be found in M&S, seizing up the deals and planning the next menu.

I fear that Sebastian is relying on finding a mother substitute when he goes to uni this September - a good old fashioned girl who'll take pity on him and feed him, but I wonder if such girls exist anymore?