I have become my own worst user. When searching recipes on the internet, I skip right past all the wordy bits, and jump straight to the recipe.
So, let us just get that out of the way, I do not mind if you do that also. 😉
I have written a number of the late-night red wine philosophical debates in the last few posts, so let me change the pace with some kitchen practice.
Yes, I am barefoot most of the time.
(Did I tell you about that time I was stuck in my car, before a meeting, because I had forgotten to bring shoes. Not that I had on sneakers, and had forgotten office shoes, I had NO shoes. Perhaps a story for another time.)
Yes, I am in the kitchen most of the time.
(Did I tell you about that time I nearly clobbered my particularly good friend Anthony: How do you get a woman out of the kitchen – you lengthen her leash…..)
When you do not feel the mood, its hard to create something inspiring to mind, body, soul, and stomach. But, when you match the oddest ingredients, it turns into magic! And that is what I like about ready, steady, cook.
On the farm, you are forced to create with what is in the kitchen. You can try your luck with the nearest neighbours, which in the second least populated country in the world, is not a practicable solution. And I am not driving 2 hours to the nearest mall, for crème fraiche.
Nar Eksisi 
As I mentioned, we have really learnt to live off the land. When the bounty of the land is in abundance, you pickle/preserve/experiment to last you the year. Thanks for the bounty of our ex-neighbour turned friend, Marc.
Not sure if this is the correct term, but my good friend Elodé introduced me to this Syrian/Turkish? condiment. I love adding it to especially mince dishes, for an exotic flavour. I was trying to make Pomegranate molasses, so let me just say, adding sugar and reducing on the stove top, by 40%, does not create molasses. But it is a great tasting concentrate. Can even use it as a refreshing drink with soda and lots of ice.
The lesson learnt here, is how to juice a pomegranate. https://familyspice.com/how-to-juice-a-pomegranate/. Thanks Laura. This bowl of fruit yielded eight cups of seeds, and just over four cups of juice.
Top and tail the fruit, then score the skin (quite deep) along the ridges in the fruit. Break into parts and use your nimble fingers to loosen the seeds.
Here you can see our fruit do not yield that deep ruby red colour, but this pale pink palette means your fingers do not appear stained.
Juicing consisted of a mixer blade (to break the juice sacks, without breaking the pips), followed by a last squeeze through a sieve.
Patty pan pleasure
My childhood memories of patty pans are limited to: boil them up, grate cheese over, and you are ready to sit down to dinner.
However, accidently getting caught up during sundowners, I had forgotten that the Patty pans, shallots, garlic, and all kinds of fresh herbs, was roasting under the grill. What a lucky accident that was. The caramelised brown (OK, black) bits added a “deliciousness” of note to this dish.
Sweet potato gnocchi
There is a reason that this does not feature highly on Italian restaurant menus. Perhaps because they do not have sweet potatoes in Italy? But more likely that mashed sweet potato is too wet and does not make such a malleable dough as mashed potatoes do.
Nonetheless, the Gnocchi had a hint of sweetness, and served with a garlic & herbs butter, it was a great (good for diabetics) side dish.
Pizza plan
Pizza has a dual benefit. I make a large batch of pizzas on the weekend, so that I can get away with a 30 min timetable when it is my turn to cook during the week.
The second benefit is that I use pizzas to empty the fridge. You know all those half jars of all sorts of snacks, pickles, and left-over cabbage….. they find a great home on a fresh pizza base.
This version had (if I recall)
- Base case tomato relish
- Game mince (always finished off with a tablespoon of fish sauce)
- Onion & garlic mix
- Fresh tomato
- Artichokes
- Pan fried red cabbage with balsamic and carraway seeds
- Peppers (green/red/whatever is available)
- Mushrooms
- And probably a few other surprises (chilli, pickled onions and so on)
Wild Rocket Pesto 
I make a vegan pesto. Not because I do not eat meat, but because parmesan is so awfully expensive locally. The ratio is more or less, 100g handpicked leaves, 100g cashew nuts, 125m olive oil, pinch salt and black pepper, clove garlic, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind. Blitz. Taste, add a little something. Blitz again.
That’s it.
And that is it. If you had read to the end, you have found the red herring, and you may claim your portion of the next experiment when we next meet.