Di and Stephanie

I have to admit I've become somewhat enamored with this book. Despite it's tremendous size I even found myself reading in bed one night. It's normally located on the corner of the kitchen bench, a much better perch for putting it to good use, which I have been doing. In the last week we've enjoyed quite a few dishes, only a couple using home grown ingredients, and some with a few creative substitutions. Enough for me to entertain the notion that I'm undertaking my own little Julie and Julia exercise. No, I'm not intending to cook the entire volume. That would take years. But there are many, many recipes I'd like to try, along with wonderful gardening information, advice and ideas.

My first home made mayonnaise ever (using Grannie's free range eggs) was used for Coleslaw with home grown red cabbage, instead of a Celeriac Remoulade salad as in the book. Sadly rejected by C, who normally loves Coleslaw, but won't go near mustard (a drawback of the toddler being involved in the cooking process- he knows what's in it!).

We've also enjoyed the delicious Spiced Chicken with Rice and Mint, and a Zucchini, Ricotta and Lemon pasta. When I say we, I mean my husband and I, not C, who saw right through his dad's assurances that it was cucumber (which he loves), not Zucchini (which he doesn't). Tonight for dessert we enjoyed the Blueberry and Panettone Puddings, with red currants picked from Grandma's friend's farm substituted for blueberries. We added a bit of extra sugar to counteract the tartness of the red currants and it was an outstanding success with all at the dinner table, C included. I  wonder what I'll cook next week?