• cooking them in two separate pans at the same time;
• cooking and serving one, then the next
• making one large omelette in a bigger pan.

But to no avail. The omelette gods mock me from above.

There are so many good cooks amongst you, do you have any suggestions?

It’s always puzzled me that so many people strip away all of the green part of cauliflower and just use the florets. So much of the flavour and colour is in those leaves. In fact, it’s sometimes hard to find cauliflowers with a generous helping of leaves, too many of the supermarkets strip them before putting them on sale but when you do find them, here’s the bestest way to cook it.

Mashed cauliflower

1. Buy a nice, fresh cauliflower with plenty of green leaves.
2. Pull the leaves off from the base, peel the soft leafy part and keep in a bowl of water. Discard the thick stalks.
3. Chop the white florets, rinse and put into a saucepan. Add the leaves.
4. Add water and salt, bring to the boil then keep on a rolling boil for about 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the cauliflower.
5. Drain the cooked cauliflower, add a generous knob of butter (and optionally some ground pepper) and mash lightly
6. Serve as an accompaniment to just about any meal.

I’d like to tell you that this is a really good alternative to mashed potatoes and it is… but the truth is if I’m cooking a roast dinner I cook both. And roasties too. So there.

Where was I? Oh yes, I could really get into the idea of unusual sandwich feelings. I think it runs in the family – my grandfather loved condensed milk sandwiches and a cousin’s daily breakfast as a child was sugar sandwiches dunked in tea (bleugh) but for when I’m short of inspiration, do you guys have any ideas?

I was going to cook this recipe yesterday but it rained non-stop and I had a yen for a bit of comfort food so decided to turn it into a quiche of sorts. And boy oh boy, is this one a repeater.

Red onion, tomato and goats cheese quiche

3 large (or 4 medium) red onions
3-4 medium tomatoes, sliced (or a good handful of cherry tomatoes, halved)
1 fresh Welsh goats cheese (100-200g, 3-6 oz)
1 tablespoon sugar
Olive oil
250ml semi-skimmed milk
4 tablespoons double cream (heavy cream in the U.S.)
4 lightly beaten eggs
Salt and black pepper
Half packet shortcrust pastry (or of course you can make your own)

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, gas mark 6).
2. Heat the olive oil in a large pan or wok, slice the onions and add them to the oil.
3. Cook on a low heat until tender (about 40-50 minutes).
4. Add salt and pepper and a tablespoon of sugar.
5. Grease and lightly flour a deep 10 inch (25cm) diameter pie dish, roll out the pastry and line the dish, trimming off any excess.
6. Put the cooked onions on the bottom layer, follow with sliced tomatoes (or halved if you’re using cherry tomatoes) and then the crumbled goats cheese.
7. In a separate bowl combine the milk, eggs and cream, season, then pour over the onions, tomatoes and cheese.
8. Cook for about 30-40 minutes or when the filling is golden and the smell is driving you mad with hunger.
9. Serve warm from the oven with a side salad and (this is compulsory!) a generous helping of mango chutney. Really. Mango chutney was invented to go with this dish.

Variations

I’ll try it with a mature cheddar next weekend and maybe add some basil in there. Oh and mushrooms. And I might try switching the red onions for sauted leeks and spring onions (scallions). Mmm….

In the middle of making a leek and potato soup earlier today I realised that we had too many leeks and a spare bag of onions that needed using up so I did what any sensible chef would do, I checked the internet for some ideas.

Bill Hughes’ recipe for leek and onion tart hit the spot and I didn’t let the fact that I was temporarily mushroom challenged deter me. The daisy mantra: if in doubt, double the leeks!

Ingredients :

• 2 oz (50g) butter
• 2 leeks sliced (the whole leek)
• 2 medium onions sliced
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 6 mushrooms sliced*
• 4 eggs
• 75ml double cream
• 4 oz Cheddar or Gruyere, grated
• Shortcrust pastry
• Dried parsley (optional)
• Seasoning

* If you don’t have any mushrooms use an extra leek or onion.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C (375F, gas mark 5).
2. Roll out your pastry and line a lightly buttered quiche dish / flan dish, pushing gently into the ridges and trimming off any excess.
3. Melt the butter in a heavy frying pan (or wok) and sauté the leeks, onion and garlic until soft.
4. Add the mushrooms and cook until dark and the flavours start to mix. Season well, taste and adjust seasoning until to your liking.
5. Add the mix to the bottom of the pastry case, spreading evenly.
6. In a bowl, beat the eggs lightly (like making an omelette) then add the cream. Make sure the mix isn’t too thin, it should be gloopy.
7. Spread the grated cheese over the leek and onions, then fill the pastry case with the egg mixture. Season again and sprinkle some dried parsley over the top.
8. Bake for about 30 mins, checking that the top doesn’t burn as you get near the end of the cooking period, but cook well as the pastry on the bottom should be soft but firm.

We’ve just had a slice of tart and a bowl of soup for supper (leek nirvana!) and I’ll definitely cook it again, maybe together with a nice tomato salad. Yum.

As you’ll see from the pictures, I seem to have over compensated for the lack of mushrooms and ended up with too much mixture for the flan tin so I used a little more pastry to line a small dish and put the overspill in there. Double yum.

Later that same evening…

On reflection it might have been a little rash to eat two leek dishes together. It’s like downtown Chicago here.

For Birdy, Mary and Em, here’s the easiest and yummiest recipe for leek and potato soup you’ll ever find. It’s based on Nick Nairn’s recipe but it’s cheaper and has seasoning (I can’t understand why the original doesn’t). I’ve not bothered making the croutons because I’m lazy it’s so filling but do have a look at that page because you might like them. Anyway, on with the recipe. It serves four hungry people.

Ingredients

60g/2oz unsalted butter
2-3 large potatoes, peeled and diced
3-4 leeks, roughly chopped (use the whole leek)
2 vegetable stock cubes, each dissolved in 1 pint of water (ignoring the packet instructions)
100ml/4fl oz double cream (single cream also works well, as does long life cream from the store cupboard**)
About a teaspoon of salt (depends on how many potatoes you use) and pepper
A tablespoon or more of dried parsley (or 2 tbsp fresh flatleaf parsley, chopped)

Method

• Peel and dice the potatoes, chop the leeks (see picture 1).
• Gently melt the butter in a large non-stick saucepan and sauté the potato and leeks for 3-4 minutes.
• Pour in the vegetable stock, add the salt and pepper, bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
• Stir the cream and fresh parsley into the soup and then remove from the heat (see picture 2).
• You can eat this immediately but it is hugely better if you let it cool, pop it in the fridge and reheat later.
• Serve with fresh crusty bread or with the croutons as in the original recipe (see picture 3).

I’m off to see if I’m not too late to add this to BW’s Blogichef extravaganza.

** Thanks to our favourite peace chick Mary for guineau pigging and letting us know that half n’ half cream works well stateside.

Update, March 2006: I’ve started using more than 4oz of cream, probably more like 60z. It makes it much creamier soup but of course it’s still delicious with the lesser (and healthier amount). I’ve also added carrots a couple of times, also delicious.

Next thing I know I’m being gently moved to an upright position and a sea of faces is peering down, apparently trying to clock a glimpse down the front of my school shirt.

And there’s a river of rice pudding the length of the bus.

I never liked nutmeg anyway.

Is this is a(nother) sign of rapidly approaching old age, that I can remember things that happened 28 years ago more clearly than what I had for breakfast yesterday? Oh Lord…

As I was copying and pasting the recipes into a document to (hopefully, when I remember) put in my bag ready for the next supermarket trip, it suddenly occurred to me that you all might like a copy, so – would anyone like a PDF of the complete set of recipes?

Here is… *roll on drums* Emrys‘ recipe for Lentil Lasagne:

Lentil Lasagne (makes 2 large portions)

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
3oz green lentils
1 tbsp chopped parsley
sheets of lasagne (duh!)
seasoning
1 small onion, chopped
1 small carrot, diced
1 tbsp tomato puree
1/4pt vegetable stock
8oz grated cheese

Preparation

• Boil the lentils for 25 minutes to soften.
• Heat oil in frying pan – add onion and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes.
• Add carrot, cover and cook gently for 3-4 minutes.
• Add lentils, tomato puree and parsley. Cook uncovered for 2-3 minutes.
• Stir in the stock and seasoning to taste. Cook uncovered for 3-4 minutes to thicken sauce.
• Preheat oven to 90 degrees C/Gas Mark 5.
• Assemble the lasagne: pasta + 1/2 of the lentil sauce + 3/8ths of the grated cheese + pasta + the rest of the lentil sauce + 3/8ths of the grated cheese + pasta + the remaining grated cheese.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cooked.
• Eat it and say “Mmmm. Thanks, Fat Man. That was scrummy.”
• Give money to charity every time you enjoy it.

• Elisabeth’s OMG Soup
• Pennie’s Cocoa Fudge
• Mary’s Key Lime Pie.
• Maria’s Mexican Mole
• Donna’s Long Island Iced Tea
• Jo‘s Cavatappi Affumicati is in the extended post to make it a little easier to read than in the comments while her Sole, Florentine Style (Sogliole Alla Fiorentina) can be found here along with many other divine recipes
• Kimberly’s recipes for Chicken and rice mushroom casserole, Balsamic, Garlic and Rosemary Chicken and Quick and easy Americanized Shepherd’s Pie are all here
• Katherine has a lovely vegetarian recipe – Pumpkin, butterbean and sweet potato stew

The men have made a rather poor showing this time, eh boys? Huwge will be along soon with one of his scrumptious creations [he's currently writing some excellent pieces following the appointment of the new US Attorney General]. But I’m disappointed that Richard hasn’t swooped in with one of his cake or scone recipes, Emrys with his famous lentil lasagne and Manly‘s sure to have some kind of spud recipe up his sleeve. Or elsewhere about his person…

So – the challenge is still on!

Jo‘s Cavatappi Affumicati

Note: Cavatappi are the corkscrew shaped pasta. You could use fusilli.

• Start a big pan of water boiling and salt it well.
• Taste your water and make sure it tastes salty. Too many people only put a tiny amount of salt in the water. Restaurants add enough to make the water taste salty.
• In a saute pan heat up 1 to 2 TBS olive oil.
• Add half a minced onion and cook until the onion is translucent.
• Add 2 minced garlic cloves and stir for 1 minute, add 1/2 cup of dry red wine and cook 2 – 3 minutes more.
• Now add either a tin (say 16 ounce for one serving) of good chopped tomatoes with their juice or if in season, 3 – 4 fresh ones, blanched, peeled, seeded and chopped.
• Cook this mixture for about 4 – 5 minutes.
• Add your pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente.
• Meanwhile take a few leaves of fresh basil and roll them up like a cigarette.
• Using a knife cut across into thin strips (you could also tear your basil, but never mince it).
• Taste your sauce. Add salt and pepper. If the sauce is too dry, add a bit more wine or some chicken stock.
• Lastly add the basil. Shut the heat off.
• Cube some smoked mozzarella (this is a firm mozzarella that has generally been smoked over pecan shells. You can generally find it in most supermarkets now).
• Drain your pasta and tip it into a warmed bowl.
• Add the smoked mozzarella cubes and toss a few times.
• Now pour the sauce in, toss again.
• Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan.

I know, you’re all rolling your eyes heavenwards, muttering “not that bloody haddock chowder recipe again daisy” but trust me, you’ll like this one. Today’s Blogliner is:

Let’s have a recipe exchange.

Post your favorite recipe on your blog and as you visit your favorite reads throughout the day, leave your recipe in their comments and ask for them to return the favor.

So a repeat of the (in)famous haddock, leek and potato chowder recipe is in the extended post and I’ll be haunting your blogs on Friday asking for your favourite recipes. Jo, Huwge and Allan – look out!

Currently listening to: Jason Bradbury’s Tsunami ‘Gadget’ Song. Will Des ever forgive my fickle heart?

p.s. Did no-one spot the unintentional slip in the last post? Listing indeed.

Ingredients
1 tbsp (15ml) vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed (I used 3 cloves because we love garlic)
3 large leeks, finely sliced
4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 fish or vegetable stock cube made up to 600ml (1 pint) with boiling water
300ml (1/2 pint) milk
326g can sweetcorn
500g (1lb) undyed smoked haddock fillet, skinless and cut into chunks
About half a packet of frozen peas/petits pois
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley to serve (optional)

Method

• In a large pan, heat oil and cook garlic, leeks and potatoes over a low heat for 5 minutes.
• Stir in stock and bring to boil.
• Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper (go easy on the salt, remember that the haddock can be quite salty)
• Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
• Add milk, sweetcorn, peas and haddock and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the fish is cooked through.
• Stir in parsley and serve with fresh crusty bread.

Stats
Serves 6
Preparation time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Cost per portion: about £1/$1.80
Calories per portion: approx 274
Fat per portion: approx 6g
Carbs per portion: approx 36g