December 2022 - we had a gathering where everyone brought a little plate of something to share and Lin told us all about her experience with a certain famous chef! .
November 2022 - This months recipes included celeriac and potato gratin from a recipe in the Times, and Mary Berry's smoked haddock and celeriac fish pie.
October 2022 - we tried some recipes from Kwoklyn Gok's recipe book using his parents restaurant recipes. We mad Hot Sin Chicken, Beef with green pepper and black and a Chow mein, all of which were delicious!
September 2022 - this month we made 2 very fast salads. One that used grapes, fennel and Taleggio. The other was apple and blackberries with chicory and a walnut vinaigrette.
Then we tackled a recipe that used butterbeans, with spinach, bacon, tarragon, and cream. Delicious!
August 2022 - we tried recipes from a new cook book out - Home Cookery Year. My copy is bristling with Post Its of the recipes I want to try! We made a pasta salad with Sicilian Flavours - my favourite of the session. We also did a Courgette, Black Olive and Rice gratin. The courgette can be changed up to many other vegetables, so a versatile recipe. No courgettes from my garden though, I've had none so far.
Then we tried a Runner Bean Curry from BBC Good Food. Normally at this time of year, my garden is bursting with runner beans and I'm looking for ways to use them. This year, just a handful to date!
July 2022 - This month we made Cipolline Agrodolce (sweet and sour onions), lemon and mint pesto, Kounopidi Tiganito (Greek battered cauliflower) and a quick pickle. All of which were very successful - we haven't had a failure yet!
June 2022 - fried spaghetti, and erm, what else?!
May 2022 - the group has asked that we make unusual things. So, each month I ransack my extensive cook book collection, and the internet, in search of something unusual. No shepherds pies or pizzas for us! This month we made Date chutney, sliced carrot chilli and cauliflower tots
This month I found Chilla's - an Indian pancake, often eaten for breakfast, made with pulses and vegetables. Delicious! Very variable and I will be exploring different flavours and different vegetables.
We made a date and tamarind chutney to go with the chilla too.
And our third recipe this month was Cauliflower Tots. These were like croquettes, but made with cauliflower and 2 types of cheese, then baked in the oven. Really good and open to many variations.
April 2022 - we made Nigella Lawson's Double Potato & Halloumi Bake, a squash salad from Deliciously Ella, a chicken and sun dried tomato sandwich paste and a katjan sauce
March 2022 - we investigated using gram (chickpea) flour to make the Southern France delicacy pannisses and soca (pancakes).
We decided not to meet in January 2022, so our first meeting was February. We made a spinach roulade stuffed with mushrooms in a sauce, very tasty. Then a carrot roulade stuffed with watercress and boiled eggs in mayonnaise. I really liked this and am looking forward to trying the same recipe and substituting all kinds of firm vegetables for the carrots. Both recipes from Good Housekeeping
The third recipe this month was a coconut curd, like lemon curd but made using coconut milk. It was not, amazingly, very coconutty. I have tried to make coconut cakes with much the same result. I'd love to know how to make things rich and creamy with coconut.