Check out this recipe for leek and smoked cheddar tart (found via the Guardian website). Doesn’t it look amazing, and utterly perfect for Spring? I’m sorely tempted to scrap tonight’s dinner in favour of trying this out – cheese, leeks and pastry…what a combination. I think I’ll resist, however, until next week – I’ve got big plans (and most of the ingredients) for carrot and coriander soup and another cheese-laden pizza tonight. I also don’t think I have the right kind of baking tin to attempt something like this with any recognisable degree of success. So it’s with a heavy heart that I have to say beautiful tart, you do look delicious, but sadly you will just have to wait.
Anyway, it’s a pretty dismal Thursday here in Edinburgh – it’s raining, but it’s that kind of wishy-washy drizzle that I always find difficult to deal with. Give me big, fat, voluptuous drops over this anyday! It’s one of life’s little conundrums – on the one hand you feel like a berk holding an umbrella because the rain is so light but on the other, if you are umbrella-less you somehow still end up completely drenched. Nothing is ever simple is it?!
Nevertheless, contrary to most other rainy days I’m actually quite open to this one. I’ve been teetering on the brink of finishing my current book (The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver – reviews here) for a few days now and this type of weather provides the perfect opportunity for going home after work, indulging in some hearty comfort foods and several cups of tea and settling down to nothing but a few hours of uninterrupted page-flicking. I’ve been reading constantly for the past few months but nothing has really captured me in the can’t-put-this-down sense for a while (with, perhaps, the exception of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi). Although it took me a while to get into The Poisonwood Bible it has turned out to be a remarkable and beautifully-written story about postcolonial Africa, the Belgian Congo and the devastating destruction of an entire family. Sad, but incredibly poignant nonetheless. I’ve no idea how it will end (perhaps I will tell you tomorrow) but I’d highly recommend a read to anyone wishing to learn a little about Africa’s complex but intriguing history.
Also, as the conclusion of Lent appears on the horizon I’ve thought of a couple of things I’d like to get my hands on once I’m free to spend again. All non-frivolous purchases, of course! First off, I’m going to invest in a three-tier steamer for cooking vegetables and potatoes and almost anything else. I don’t know why this idea hasn’t occurred to me before but I have used a friend’s steamer several times now and I have to say that they are totally genius inventions. They save bucketloads of energy (think one hob instead of three) and they are also a much gentler way to cook. I’m sure I read somewhere that steaming allows vegetables to retain more of their nutrients than boiling does. If you’re going to be good enough to eat the darn things in the first place you might as well get the full benefit of them!
Second and third on my wish list are a proper pizza tray and a roller-type cutting device which will both, hopefully, help to further my currently infantile pizza-making expertise. I can’t seem to achieve all-out crispiness of the base at the moment, which I’m putting down to the trays I’ve been using having no holes in the bottom and I’m also having some difficulty hacking the things up with a bread knife which I think a proper cutter might solve. No longer will I be serving half-mangled doughy slabs but perfectly crispy, even triangles which you might be forgiven for thinking came straight from Italia herself. Here’s hoping anyway.
Roll on Good Friday!
PS: As a follow-up to yesterday’s post about breakfast, this morning I had a raisin, apple and cinnamon bagel with lots of cream cheese and a glass of pineapple juice. Different and interesting! I’ve decided to canvass Lidl on my way home later for interesting cereals and some Deutsch-themed pizza toppings!
Image above courtesy of Flickr – tworm.
