Experiment, week 16. This week’s five things which have made me happy or for which I’m grateful.
This week has been full of food and family history!
- Fish Display. I just love the displays of fish at our local Waitrose. These are just a couple of photos I took earlier in the week.
- Joan’s Cherry Cake. Our neighbour across the road is in her late 80s and is beginning to lose her sight. So several of the neighbours keep half an eye on her, help her with errands and do bits of shopping for her — as much as she’ll let us because like all “old ‘uns” she’s fiercely independent. Every so often she insists on making us a cake. It’s very sweet of her and entirely unnecessary, but she enjoys doing it. This week she made a very nice cherry cake which was much appreciated for afternoon tea.
- Trout. At the same time as taking the fishy photos above we bought a couple of gorgeous large trout for dinner yesterday. Very simply baked in foil parcels in the oven with a bulb of fennel and lemon juice; served with plain steamed new potatoes and mushroom sauce. Yummy!
- Naval Family History. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve continued to investigate the naval connections of my family (for the start of the story see here). It’s proving immensely interesting to see what ships the guys served on and where they went. I’ll probably write more details about it when I’ve done more research and (hopefully) tied up some of the loose ends.
- Prawns & Pasta. Another simple but satisfying meal tonight which took minutes to prepare and cook. Here’s how (you can do the quantities!). While preparing everything else, cook the pasta; when done drain it and keep it warm. Sauté some finely chopped onion and garlic in olive oil until going translucent. Add a quantity of thawed, uncooked king prawns; sauté for a minute then add some sliced mushrooms, tomato paste, half a glass of white wine and the juice of a lemon; plus a dash of chilli and/or chopped herbs if you wish. Mix together and cook for 5-6 minutes with the lid on to ensure the prawns are done. Near the end season to taste and add a bit more tomato paste if desired: the sauce should be thick and almost non-existent. Add the pasta and toss together for a minute or two. Serve with Parmesan (optional) and devour greedily!