Asparagus lasagne.

I had some lasagne sheets sitting in the fridge. But I didn’t fancy the traditional, meaty lasagne, wanted something different. I looked up a few ideas on food.network. co.uk, and came up with a green lasagne, not quite a veggie one, as pancetta is involved. I fried it first, then threw a good few chopped tomatoes, seasoned it well and then put the asparagus on top and covered the pan, just to cook it very,very lightly. Not that it needed it, I decided later.  I made the bechamel usual way and a little layer of whizzed basil and sun dried tomatoes and pine nuts, as suggested in one of the posts.  It didn’t contribute massively to the flavour overall, but must have been tried.

It was more filling than I expected, we have half of it for lunch tomorrow, but quite pleasant overall. Nothing beats lasagne bolognese though.

And it’s difficult to make it  look pretty on the plate!

DSC_4566

 

Russell’s Fish & Chips.

I felt like good fish and chips for the whole day. That place in Broadway came to mind straight away, recommended by lots of people, plus young Matt is moving there in less than a month and good for him!

I approve of this place. I do. Lovely service, friendly, polite. Loooooooovely chips, fried on oil, greasy and flavoursome, just what I wanted. Lovely haddock, as pictured, nicely presented, fresh and for less than a tenner. Definitely going back.

photo

An apple pie that needed more sugar.

As I’m eating it and writing, I can’t stop thinking about my Mom’s apple pies. It can’t be just apples, Mom’s pastry is just so much better than mine. I must give her a call tomorrow and find out the details. For my pastry today I used 250 g of flour, 125 g of butter, 2 egg yolks and 50 ml of cold water. According to GF, it is supposed to be a universal recipe, for sweet and savoury dishes. Bollocks. It needs sugar. And I’m going to add it next time. My apples, Bramleys, I flavoured with brown sugar and lots of cinnamon, threw a couple of strawberries for the colour, not – I must say- amazing addition. I pre- baked the base a little to avoid the soggy bottom, that worked nicely. A little bit of egg white spread on top before baking made it lovely and golden.  It is nice, but it’s not sensational. To be improved.

DSC_4565

Al fresco dining.

We’re enjoying a heat wave for the last few days, lovely. I spent a few delightful hours this afternoon sipping Sangria and frying me very front and reading.

Dinner must have been eaten in the garden. Just simple chilli garlic marinated shrimps( soy sauce, sesame oil, chilli garlic paste and brown sugar in random quantities) with loadsa coriander, served on pea rice. Yum.

DSC_4509

Salmon teriyaki.

Made this evening as an experiment, to see if I can change my mind  about not liking cooked salmon. For years I’ve been of the opinion that salmon is best as sashimi or sushi, no need to spoil it by cooking.  But the fillet Ocado brought me was not fresh enough to wrap in nori, so I griddled it, well seasoned plus a splash of sesame oil. My teriyaki sauce worked nicely with the usual recipe. The extras on the plate involved rice, cooked with a dash of turmeric, some French beans and a simple cucumber and apple salsa, for the crunch.

I quite liked it, Florian said the teriyaki was lovely, but the smell of fried fish bothered him. Yet he ate it all. I will share my leftovers with Stefan the cat, whose owner Becky is mentally disturbed( not Stefan’s fault). 🙂

DSC_4375