I hold my hands up to not much cooking again this week. I've been rescued by forethought, or maybe thrift...
I can't bear to throw food away. So secreted in my fridge you may often find little bowls or zip lock bags containing indecipherable items that I've carefully reserved after over-estimating how much to make. I don't always label them, so it's a bit like dietary Russian roulette. I quite like the pot-luck element. The dish that I thought was wild mushroom barley risotto, once defrosted turned out to be butternut squash with puy lentils. The red contents of a Pyrex box, wasn't Bolognese but Ghemeh, Persian beef, tomato and lentil stew that with steamed rice made a hearty supper for meat eaters. On tired evenings, I'm very glad of my prudence...
also in the kitchen:
- A stolen moment Sunday morning read.
- Window ledge clutter: Seed catalogues and packets with the contents falling out. Plant markers and my scrap book. Fat with ideas, made when the rain turned torrential and sent me dashing inside from the garden with soggy seed packets to make a rough sketch. Treasures found in the soil, a fragment of glass from a medicine bottle, and tiny bits of blue and white china.
- A butterfly spied through the window. I'm so glad they are returning even though we've lost two, of the three butterfly bushes.
- Ahmad's medicinal prescription for a lack of vitamin B. He was genuinely advised to drink beer! Fortunately there are lots of great local beers made with amazing ingredients. Sometimes I can't resist joining him for a dram. Like when choosing books, I'm swayed by a cool label or intriguing title...They get me every time, the nicer the label the more expensive...But you can taste all that goodness...
- Speedy lunch. Rye crisp bread with crunchy fennel and salty sardines.
- Guacamole made with herbs from the garden and crunchy Cornish sea salt
- Chick pea, honey, olive oil and rosewater face mask
To make my mint and thyme guacamole you will need:
- A ripe avocado
- The juice of half a lemon
- A small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
- One small, or half a large ripe tomato, chopped finely. I like to use a flavourful beef tomato that has plenty of flesh
- Sea salt. I like to use crunchy Cornish sea salt for this recipe
- Chili flakes
- Fresh thyme and mint
Method:
- Cut the avocado in half and remove the stone. Scoop out the ripe flesh and place in a bowl. Add all the sea salt and lemon juice and mix well until the texture is spreadable but not too smooth.
- Add the diced vegetables and a little of the chili flakes. Remove the tiny leaves from the thyme and chop the mint and add these too. I also used chive tops. Mix again check the seasoning and adjust if necessary.
This is lovely served on top of crunchy toasted sour dough bread or crisp bread. It is my most favourite spring lunch...very more-ish. We don't produce avocados in the Uk so I make sure that all the other ingredients are as local as possible. Probably that's why I enjoy it so much...my guilty treat...
...do you have any guilty lunchtime treats that you'd like to share too?
debx
