What We've Been Eating

Do you ever wonder whether people who blog about food actually eat how they say they eat? I can promise that we don't eat as these pictures show every day, but it is a very rare evening that we don't sit down together to eat, and that means a proper meal one way or the other. On Tuesday, faced with a cabin-fevered child and a forecast of good weather to end soon, I packed a picnic and decamped to the lake for the evening. The only thing made by me at that meal was an improvised spinach-artichoke dip leftover from a barbecue party the previous weekend, but everything else in the basket was a "real food", with three ingredients or less (and most with none). We ate it in shifts, but we were all there.

As promised, the weather has turned again and there'll be no more lakeside picnics for a while. Tonight will be my favourite high-return/low-input meal: roast chicken. But promises of future foods are less revealing than pictures of past foods, right?

Grilled lamb liver with carmelised onions and peppers, and a mixed salad. We don't have a real barbecue, so this was done on an ex-boxer-type grill (if you get my meaning). There's no temperature control, so I've got to be careful, but in this case it worked out really well.

How great is the gel on this beef stock?!

Bacon-wrapped turkey loin (a la Saltimbocca) with cherry-pomegranate-habanero sauce, served with green beans in sage butter, and a mixed salad. I used serrano ham - rather than prosciutto crudo or bacon, despite what I may call the dish - and just peppered the meat before wrapping it up and cooking in a covered pan on the stovetop. The sauce is exactly what it says on the tin: frozen cherries, whole pomegranate juice from a bottle, and a slice of the habanero we didn't use for the molesque stew, simmered and with some thyme added (and the habanero removed) before blending. You may wish to leave the pepper in and the herb choice may be improvable; if you have suggestions put them in the comments!
Yes, those are beans, and yes, I eat primally. Sue me. They were delicious.

Tonight's supper started from beef entrecote on sale, and a wilted half package of arugula. Why arugula (or rocket) is sold in 500g packages, I'll never know - who can eat that much bitter, peppery greens before they go off? A little Googling turned up this version of a Greek rocket pesto, and with a bit of nut substitution (nutstitution?) we were off and running. I took a page from Jenny's book and pan-seared the steaks before popping them in a warm oven with a little red wine, beef stock and tomato paste as gravy. My salad-pro husband provided the side dish.

P.S.: We're not the only ones eating in the kitchen; this is what a happy venus flytrap looks like (who knew?):

 

What good things are coming out of your kitchen these days?