In fact I can’t actually recall when I last felt jaded the morning after a dinner party. But I certainly wasn’t at my best when I woke this morning. Fortunately after a couple of hours I was back to my usual self and the ‘tiredness’ had gone. Last night Dave, Pat and Kate came for dinner with Fred and Sofie. I decided to make spicy parsnip soup, followed by linguine with a sauce of olives, capers, anchovies and tomatoes and then a citrus syllabub with raspberries in kirsch (I’d never made a syllabub before). Obviously cheese followed.
I have to say that it was quite a memorable evening which started at 1830 and ended after 0030 when Fred made the point that they had to go to work in the morning.
Before I go to bed I usually make sure that everything is cleared away and the only things left out would be some dishes that wouldn't fit in the dishwasher. In fact the dishwasher was full and there was so much left that I abandoned it and was probably asleep before Fred got home.
This morning I rather wished that I hadn’t abandoned my usual practice.
It's nice to see your counter in such fine shape :) - still in no comparison to mine after a normal evening dinner with all of these guys I live with....except for the wine glasses.
ReplyDeleteSome evenings, I am just to tired...way too tired to bother, some evenings take us directly to the ball field, only to return after the usual bed time.
Hey...it looks a bit like the sun was trying to shine in your windows, or is that a bit hopeful eyesight?
Heather, I appreciate where you are coming from in that when I'm in NZ I see your situation with Wendy and Martin and their four!
ReplyDeleteBut in my house there is just me. Well most of the time. Yes. I was in two minds about posting all those glasses. I have to amit that some very good wine arrived with my guests and we did enjoy rather more than usual.
And, yes, the sun was trying to break through. It's been a bit of sun, a lot of cloud, a bit more sun and so on all day. But I did get my washing dried.
I'd say that for a full kitchen countertop that still looks very neat and orderly! I have no dishwasher and the sink is rather small so inevitably from time to time I end up with a number of things on the worktop. (I do usually wash up daily though.) I still "envy" you that view from the kitchen. Well I do have quite a nice view from my favourite place at the kitchen table... but I don't see that from the sink!
ReplyDeleteYou've mentioned parsnip soup before, although I think you said that the last one didn't turn out quite right.
ReplyDeleteIan is very fond of parsnip soup so if you think this one is worth repeating I'd really appreciate the recipe. Thanks.
Helen. Recipe? Hmm. Well. It went something like this (bear in mind I made a huge pot full but this should be it scaled down):
ReplyDelete1 onion
2 cloves garlic
about 750 g parsnips
1 baking apple
1 tablespoon medium curry powder
1+ litres of veg stock (I like mine fairly thick and then add more stock if needed when I've whizzed it).
Soften onion and garlic in olive oil in the pan for a few minutes then add chopped parsnips and apple and stir for 5 mins. Add stock. I never add salt and in this case I wouldn't add pepper either.
Blend with a stick blender or liquidiser when cool.
I serve with soured cream or yoghurt on top.
It really is yummy.
Wonderful :-) Thanks GB. Will definitely try this and I'm really pleased that it isn't a soup based on cream because Ian is trying not to eat much dairy at the moment. Thanks again, xx
ReplyDeleteI don't make any soups based on cream. Recently I've been into carrot and orange, chestnut and (because it's Pat's favourite) leek and potato. A standard of mine is Kumera (sweet potato) and butternut squash - that's really yummy.
ReplyDeleteWhat a good eveing it was too.
ReplyDeleteIt is always a joy to eat at Tigh na Mara - looking forward to the next time!!
Oh come on, that bench top doesn't look too bad. It's just a good reminder of a happy night! You probably have a happy thought for each glass.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I finally found the mouse's head in your previous post!
Paline, when I got up yesterdy that benchtop looked pretty bad to me. But then ....
ReplyDeleteI'd just keep looking at that gorgeous view outside your window and the dishes would do themselves. :)
ReplyDeleteYou should post some of your wonderful recipes for us, Graham :)
ReplyDeleteI'm very impressed with this one.
That's very kind of you, Heather. A lot of the time my recipes have been 'adapted' from the original and are rather hit and miss. Fortunately I'm lucky enough to hit more than I miss!
ReplyDeleteMy real fortune was that I never had to cook to order day after day for a family. So I cook for the pleasure of it now.