I am enjoying...

this book: The Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater ( available at Amazon of course).

My sister got it as a gift and I have borrowed it for a little while. I know I'm kind of obsessed when it comes to food, but this is the type of book you could read like a novel. But then, I read cookbooks like novels too so I'm probably not the best person to make that statement!

I find his writing evocative. It is annoying that the seasons are all turned around for us in the southern hemisphere, but I've managed. There are a number of recipes I want to try and I'm pleased to see he uses lamb quite a bit . I do wish we had access to a Farmers Market near me that was open at a time I could go. The ones I know about are a bit of a drive away, and not on days that I'm able to visit.

It's that time of year. The rain is constant. The lawn is a swamp and all we need are some flax and pukekos and we'd have our own wetland out there. We wake up in the dark, and it doesn't get light until about 7.30am. Well okay - that's probably not so bad really. Imagine living closer to the pole - brrrrrr! Reading Nigel and the winter weather inspired me to make a spicy beef and carrot stew last night with apple & boysenberry crumble to follow. Comfort food. I made the stew using a recipe from Cuisine magazine and it was supposed to be for a pie filling, but I felt like having it with potatoes so I modified it slightly! Just as well our power was on unlike the rest of the city. Shocking really.

Spicy Beef & Carrot Stew
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Stewing beef (about 700g), chopped into large chunks
2 carrots, peeled, halved and sliced
1 tsp each of paprika, ground cumin and ground coriander
2 cups beef stock
2 T cornflour

Saute the onions in olive oil, and once the raw smell disappears, add the garlic. Stir a few times and then add the beef. Brown the beef (or at least stir it around so there is no red left). Add the spices and stir to cook them as well as coat the beef. Add the carrots, stir, and then the beef stock. Bring to boil then turn down to a low simmer. Cook, stirring now and again until the meat is soft. Mine took about 1 hr. Thicken with the cornflour and 1/4 cup water, and stir so the cornflour cooks.

Serve with mashed taters or rice. I also served it with cabbage lightly sauted with a few fennel seeds.

As for tonight - I've got some Boerwoers out of the freezer. I got them from a butcher down the way, so I hope they are "real" ones. They looked like it in the shop. Not sure what I'll do with them yet. Maybe Nigel will have a suggestion.