Our Back Garden - 7.30am 2 Dec 10 |
So, after last week's menu culminating in the singularly disgusting effort which was supposed to be Lemon & Chilli Chicken Noodles, but which turned out to be Yuk-in-a-bowl (see illustration), I'm not holding out much hope. Some Twitter pals have asked what the problem was with the Chicken Noodles and all I can put it down to is that the stir-fried vegetables, in retrospect, should have been removed from the pan prior to cooking down the sauce.
Unappetising, innit? |
Tuesday should have been Bacon & Leek Pasta. However, I had a sudden attack of "meh!" and could hardly be bothered to pick up the telephone and ring for a curry. So hubby did. LOL I consulted the Twitterverse first and asked for recommendations in our area. Quite categorically, the vote was 7:1 for the Himachol on the Ashley Road, Poole. We couldn't ignore such a vote of confidence, and ordered our favourites on the reckoning that if a Restaurant can turn out your favourite dish well, then getting adventurous next time around would be a potentially rewarding experience. They had a lot to live up to, as every takeaway we've had since being in Poole (and it's not many!) has always been measured against our nirvana of Takeaways, the Golden Curry in Chatham.
Curry c/o The Himachol : recommended! |
We were all agreed that we'd be going back to the Himachol, the next time we're looking for a takeaway - or the next time I have an attack of "meh!". *chuckle*
What a whopper! |
Rather than having to buy some chicken breasts for the soup, I made it using drumsticks and thighs. I browned the pieces before sweating off the onion and garlic, adding the glorious stock I'd made at the weekend and all the vegetables. We had leek, celery, a turnip, potato, red lentils and parsnip, all of which combined in a wonderfully chickeny soup. I think because I poached the chicken bone in, removing the bones prior to serving and breaking up the chicken, it all added to the chicken flavour. I do think that a chicken soup should taste of chicken! Hubby and son were a bit challenged by the leg meat of the chicken, which if I do the same thing again, I'll chop a lot more finely. I can also confirm that the soup tasted just as good the next day, when I ate the leftovers for lunch.
Thursday - or tonight, as I write this post - is a "boys night", when they are having Spicy Chicken portions with potato waffles and peas. I'm having a Southern Fried Chicken rather than the spicy version, which always leaves me feeling a teensy bit nauseous. It's an easy dinner to prepare, which will be nice considering we've been having a relaxing "nothing" kind of day, spent watching it snow!
Presuming the snow will either have gone, or the roads will be clear, tomorrow we'll head off for some more shopping with Alfie the Skoda singing Skoda War Songs as he forges his way through the snow. It doesn't matter if we don't get to shop until Saturday, as we can just have the Bacon & Leek Pasta that we were due to have on Tuesday!
Orzo - rice shaped pasta |
Now Saturday is going to be a terribly exciting day, as we're off to Tansy Austin's Pop-Up Restaurant in her living room. For further details, see her blog here. I'm really looking forward to this, as I love the idea of pop-up restaurants and it will be such fun to be at Tansy's inaugural one. I have also never tried Enchiladas, or Mole, or Tamales - so it will be such a voyage of experience. You all know how much we enjoy spicy food, so we've no worries about the degree of chilli that's being employed! We'll hopefully be meeting up with Sam from the Bournemouth Echo there, too - which for me, just puts the icing on the cake.
[Shoot! I've just visited Tansy's blog to discover she's cancelling owing to the weather. Darn! Maybe that Bacon & Leek Pasta will get trotted out after all.]
Sunday and I'm planning a Bacon Pot Roast, with roast potatoes & parsnips together with carrot & swede mash and a green vegetable yet to be decided. This week, I must try not to let the roast parsnips dehydrate to the state of small pointy biscuits!
I'm also going to have a go at a Honeycomb Mould for dessert. Now this is something that harks back to my childhood, as I can remember my Mum making Honeycomb Mould quite regularly. I discovered the recipe in a book and am curious to see whether I can turn out something that rings those bells from so long ago.
Finally, Monday brings hubby back to the kitchen when he's planning a Prawn & Wilted Little Gem Lettuce risotto. This is a recipe all of his own, which sounds absolutely delicious. Let's hope he doesn't lose faith in his recipe and we wind up having the Bacon & Leek! I'm sure it would be very nice - but nothing like as nice as the Prawn recipe he's got in mind!
So there we have it - a busy, flexible-of-necessity week!
Yet again, what a wonderful read......
ReplyDeleteAs l've said before....ALL round to Jenny's for tea.....!
Curry, well, l've said this before, if you want a good curry, make it yourself. Though if you find a good take-away, stick to it.Lot of bad ones out their. I know, l've worked in a couple.A lot of them just take your order, shove it in front of your face, take it away as soon as you put your fork down,with the bill in the other hand. No! not for me thanks.
If l'm going to spend money on food, l want the service. But generally, l steer clear of them.
And,make my own. And, l could supply references about my curry nights. mmmmmmM! Lovely.
Well, must get on, got a couple of ducks to do. The local shoot have gone out to-day, so there will be 'birds' about tomorrow, still keeps me busy. :0) Ciao......!
Jenny...How do you do all of this...
ReplyDeleteWonder Woman Jenny!!
You had my mouth watering while reading this today..
that Honeycomb Mold / Mould ? looks like it would be DELICIOUS !!
hugs ~ Maria
Maria, I'm honestly not a wonder woman. I'd say that hubby is the wonder man, as he's busy doing all the housework, taking care of son and running the house while I'm sitting tap tapping at the computer. The most I ever do in a day is cook the evening meal - and he often helps out with the chopping and the serving. So without him, I'd be unable to do what I do. :)
ReplyDelete