Friday, May 21, 2010

I wanted...I bought....I made

This weekend we are mostly having sunshine. Don't care what next week brings.

I think we'll have a cold supper Saturday - I fancy a fish terrine could not have been more disappointing - I bought a good piece of cod from Devon fish, put it in the processor with egg whites, made a smooth paste, then added the cream and turned the processor back on which - obviously I now realise - made the cream turn to butter thus ruining the dish, I was gutted at such a stupid mistake as the lot went in the bin, I HATE wasting food because my pea shoots are thriving in a bucket outside the kitchen door and I want something interesting to go with them for the first - and obviously every - meal we make with them. Asparagus too, to make the most of it finally had the asparagus with new potatoes and hollandaise and the first pea shoots and it was a delightful supper. Sunday I hope it will be too hot for roast so salads, leek and cauliflower with butterbeans again with spiced roasted chicken, a perfect match, Monday is theatre, Tuesday is the man's birthday so we are out for dinner to a glamourous awful Korean restaurant, Wednesday pasta risotto with chicken and peas and stock all from the freezer and a garnish of my pea shoots, Thursday stir fry burgers and salad and Friday an experiment to see if I can steam eggs in the shell as a dressing to asparagus omelette and salad.

Blue skies, light breeze, full sun. All this on a Saturday. Wah!

Confusing start to the Market - didn't need to go to Ginger Pig, though I did wave to Charlie as we walked past, and couldn't think for a second where to go first. Wanted fish so went to Devon fish where I bought a lovely piece of cod that the monger filleted for me. Was really distressed to discover that this was to be there last day at Borough - seems that the Trustees are adamant that they must sell Thursday, Friday and Saturday which involves a 400 mile round trip each day. But certainly Thursdays and mostly Fridays is about tourists at the market, not shoppers or people looking to buy fresh fish so Saturday they have a good trade but Thursdays they make about £40. The Trustees seem so intent on only catering to the tourists with scant regard to the producers or to those of us who use the market to do our shopping - the two groups who have made Borough a viable Market over the last decade - that now we are losing a good sustainable source of fish. Madness. Protest to the Trustees or soon the market will be only for tourists buying flapjacks. Anyway - the fish was £7 and after all that I ruined the terrine, all I made was an inedible mess

While I was busy chatting the man discovered a stall selling plants nearby which had cucumber plants - I have been seeking one or two for weeks as my seedlings don't seem to be sprouting sadly. Grew some last summer and they were a real delight - you can actually see them get bigger almost daily. £2 for 3 seemed a bargain.

Then to the asparagus people where this week I bought a bunch of seriously thick choice stems for £3.90 and had the pleasure of a free sample of their lovely cream of asparagus soup and a delightful Saturday supper
Next it was eggs from Wild Beef for hollandaise amongst other things who were at that moment in full sun - not ideal for selling fresh meat so the drapes were up over half the stall to keep it all cool - £1.50

Over at Ted's Veg they had lincolnshire new potatoes at £3.50 a kilo, plus I bought radish, cucumber, onions, carrots and leeks - £8.20

From Gastronomica I bought a plain rocchetta - £5.50

Smoked salmon from muireen - £5 - Sunday breakfast treat

Coffee from Monmouth - £10

At Neals Yard I bought milk, cream and yoghurt - £8.05 which made me realise they don't automatically price everything at something 95 pence

From Bill & Tony I bought 4 lemons £1

That was the lot - and still the sun shone - spent £52.15

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