 |
| Our beautiful chestnut tree, the main provider of lawn leaves |
 |
| Leaves - I did sweep them honest! |
The other beauty of autumn is the food … apples and pumpkins are autumn faves. Autumn is when I return to soups, chillis and stews after the salad and sandwich months. A friend has given me an old crock pot that I might start experimenting with, I love the idea of coming home when it is colder, having a hot meal all ready to go and being able to go right in to relaxation mode. Any crock-pot recipe recommendations?
We’ve
just started putting the fire on too, I love it! Our main living room in the house is far too
cold, so last year I spent most of winter in the kitchen area where the fire is. Not sure why the previous occupants decided that
the kitchen/dining needed a fire and a heatpump and the main living room needed
no heating whatsoever!? I’m much more prepared
for winter this year than last, the kitchen now has a TV, chairs and
a bookcase by the fire, I don’t think it will be much longer before I say goodbye
to the big comfy sofa and big screen TV until spring though … one day we’ll get
some decent heating installed.
Colder
weather means I’ll be spending less time in the garden and more time
quilting. I’m currently working on a
monster quilt for our bed that I started a couple of years ago and then left
unfinished while I made a baby quilt for a friend and then got caught up in the
excitement of a new house. I re-started
this one a couple of weeks ago and am hoping to get it finished in time for
winter proper as it is so warm. I’ve got
the feeling that we are going to get a proper Dunedin winter this year after a
mild one last year, eeek!! Cats and quilting really are NOT compatible though,
Maggie is very good but she can’t resist trying to play with the thread, after
being told off a few times she will curl up and just watch the thread with
longing eyes. I think she approves
really though as she will sleep on it if I leave it still long enough where she
can get on it. I’ve got a few other projects waiting in the wings too so I had
better get a move on, hopefully there will be a bragging finished quilt blog very
soon, though as this is all done by hand it won’t be that soon!
I'll leave you with my favourite weekend winter warmer recipe, great with couscous or mash, some green veg and a bit of coriander on top (optional):
Morroccan Lamb and Apricot Tagine
Serves 2 - cooking time 1.5 hours, plus at least an hour for marinating
Ingredients:
- 1 tsp each of the following: ground ginger, ground cumin, ground paprika
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 50 ml orange juice
- 250g lean lamb cut in to cubes (around 5cm)
- 125g button onions or shallots, peeled but left whole.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tsps plain flour
- 2 tsps tomato puree
- 125 ml lamb stock (chicken or beef is fine, a mixture of the two is better if you don't have lamb stock)
- 50 g dried apricots
- 300 g canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- salt and pepper
Put the spices in a large bowl and pour the orange juice over them. Add the lamb and mix well, cover and leave in a cool place for at least an hour, or preferably overnight in the fridge.
Preheat the overn to 180 / 350 / Gas Mark 4
Heat the oil in a large, flameproof casserole. Remove lamb from the marinade and pat dry with kitchen paper. (keep the orange juice and spices for later!). Brown over a high heat, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Reduce the heat slightly, adding a little more oil if needed, cook the garlic and onions or shallots until just beginning to brown. Return the meat to the pan and stir in the flour and tomato puree. Cook for 1 minute.
Add the marinade to the pan with the stock and seasoning. Bring to the boil then cover and place in the oven for 1 hour. After the hour, ass the apricots and chickpeas and cook for a further 15 minutes. Remove and serve with over your couscous or mash and a nice glass of red wine! J
I'll leave you with my favourite weekend winter warmer recipe, great with couscous or mash, some green veg and a bit of coriander on top (optional):
Morroccan Lamb and Apricot Tagine
Serves 2 - cooking time 1.5 hours, plus at least an hour for marinating
Ingredients:
- 1 tsp each of the following: ground ginger, ground cumin, ground paprika
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 50 ml orange juice
- 250g lean lamb cut in to cubes (around 5cm)
- 125g button onions or shallots, peeled but left whole.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tsps plain flour
- 2 tsps tomato puree
- 125 ml lamb stock (chicken or beef is fine, a mixture of the two is better if you don't have lamb stock)
- 50 g dried apricots
- 300 g canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- salt and pepper
Put the spices in a large bowl and pour the orange juice over them. Add the lamb and mix well, cover and leave in a cool place for at least an hour, or preferably overnight in the fridge.
Preheat the overn to 180 / 350 / Gas Mark 4
Heat the oil in a large, flameproof casserole. Remove lamb from the marinade and pat dry with kitchen paper. (keep the orange juice and spices for later!). Brown over a high heat, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Reduce the heat slightly, adding a little more oil if needed, cook the garlic and onions or shallots until just beginning to brown. Return the meat to the pan and stir in the flour and tomato puree. Cook for 1 minute.
Add the marinade to the pan with the stock and seasoning. Bring to the boil then cover and place in the oven for 1 hour. After the hour, ass the apricots and chickpeas and cook for a further 15 minutes. Remove and serve with over your couscous or mash and a nice glass of red wine! J
No comments:
Post a Comment