Mea culpa, how long has it been since the last entry? Too long. Cooking tonight was a bit of an operation, I was being extra careful with every spill and hot dishes, as we’ve done the kitchen worktops yesterday. They’ve been sanded, oiled and look absolutely smashing. So I thought it would be nice to make the kind of dinner that cooks itself in the oven- a stew. The idea came from one of Alice’s magazines, I read it, didn’t copy it, but the idea stuck in my head. I roughly chopped some pork, tossed the pieces in flour and seared, then transferred to the casserole, followed by sauteed onion, carrots, parsnip, a handful of dried mushrooms and drowned it all in a bottle of good cider.  And into  the oven for 2 hours. Towards the end I threw some chopped apple, for the extra character.  Served it with bacon and leek mash. Good flavours.