I love cooking and thinking about what else I am able use in a recipe or what ingredients I already have and so could use instead of something I usually use. My Leek and Mozzarella Quiche is a great example as it originally had 2 types of beans and I would only make it in the summer. This weeks version has 2 types of onion instead and I believe is equally as delicious.
I’ve thought a lot about what I would put in my weekly menu this week. Families have had their first full week of home schooling and others are now working from home or retired and confined to barracks. We all require a variety of different activities to keep us inspired and interested in life and the world around us.
I enjoy cooking healthy food that my family and friends love.
This week I have picked a recipe, which is also time saving,
‘Smoked Mackerel and Hot Smoked Salmon with Crushed Potatoes’
This recipe is simple and yet extremely tasty.
The only cooking involved is the boiling of potatoes together with one onion.
Then just crush (not mash) the potatoes with butter, salt and pepper and then
a squeeze of lemon juice – delicious!
It only takes a moment to put onto plates and it looks completely appetizing!
Fish is the most nutritious meat after liver, but it is much more tasty – the
potato acts as a catalyst to the soft smoky taste of the salmon and mackerel.
It makes a lovely light supper or a delicious starter for 4.
If you want make it a little more special and to draw out the subtle flavours,
allow a chilled Prosecco or Cava to accentuate the taste!
Remember to look for sustainably sourced fish with the MCS label.
I hope you enjoy the menu and recipes this week.
I look forward to hearing from you and how you feel about my menus.
I’m very excited about the recipes for this week, as I have included one of my favourite ways of making a pie. I call it a ‘deconstructed pie’ and this time I have used leek and smoked salmon. I started making deserts this way and transferred the ideas to what would ostensibly be a quiche.
March Week 2’s menu has, I believe, something for everyone; soup, noodles, vegetables, fish and because the weather is still cold and wet, a hearty beef stew.
I hope you enjoy trying these recipes and don’t forget there is also a weekly shopping list with a separate list of ingredients that we usually have already in our cupboards.
There are significant differences in dishes, depending where you live on our inspiring globe. When I decided to move from Australia to the UK, I quickly learnt that there is a vast range of readily available fresh ingredients in Britain.
For example, the climate lends itself to a much broader range of potatoes and apples etc.
The proximity of local grocers and farm shops meant I started to look more closely at seasonal recipes. This enabled me to prepare dishes whose source is not just global and European but local.
My favourite place in the world is Italy and their architecture, culture and family life revolve around meals together. So I enrolled and attended a week’s cooking course in Tuscany. This increased my confidence in my ability to try different approaches and also develop my own recipes.
My wonderful husband, Hugo, has encouraged me to do what I enjoy and excel at, and that includes preparing and serving tasty, wholesome suppers.
If there are any suggestions, enhancements or other feedback that you want to share, I should be delighted to hear from you…
I hope you enjoy my meal suggestions here, as much as I do sharing them.
Possum in her Pantry
Here is a condensed list highlighting the reasons to launch this web / ‘blog’ site.
First I was trying to get a balanced work/life and so I tried a company who sent me 7 days of fresh ingredients and recipes. This seemed like a fantastic idea because, when I thought about what was for supper I knew all the ingredients would be in the fridge! Time saving and fresh ingredients!
Next I also found that I was not having late, after work dashes to the supermarket to pick up a ready to cook tray of something wrapped in pastry with a suspect chicken filling, which was great!
After that I looked at the packaging and even though they were only sending just what we needed e.g. 4 potatoes, these were packaged in paper – tick, but a window of plastic-cross. How do you recycle that?
Then we had to ensure that we were home for the delivery. One day a kind neighbour stopped me to say she was worried about our fresh box of food going off, as we were suddenly called away from home, with no time to stop the delivery. She kindly said next time they would take it in but really how any bottles of nice wine can you give someone every time you are not there to pick up your box? So I decided to stop it.
Finally came the epiphany moment. I was in my kitchen looking at all my recipe books, folders and note books of my own meals. These were mostly around seasonal food, so I thought that if an online company can do it so can I…
Thank you for joining me on this amazing journey of discovery!
“In northern Italy cheese is acceptable as security on a bank loan.”
"When I first met Possum (Fiona, now my wife) we quickly realised that
we both had a mutual love of fine fresh food and drink.
Happy occasions, for example weddings, birthdays, family and
friend 'get togethers' are all usually remembered from times spent around the meal table.
Possum grew up on a farm in Australia where mangoes flourished
outside the farmhouse door. When they ripened and fell on the ground,
Possum and her friends ate them fresh.
"We'd take the skin off and devour the fleshy fruit, and juice would dribble down our chins."
When she explains about this experience, you can see her face light up as
she sails back to her mango eating days.
I can safely say that I have been lucky enough to have been on the receiving end of
some fantastic suppers.
We are about to witness my nephew, Greg Slade's, marriage to Sophia,
and we will sit around tables exchanging stories over a hearty meal after the ceremony.
Possum really has a gift when it comes to meal preparations and
she is quite careful about the choice of ingredients.
We hope that this blog calendar of fresh, tasty, varied recipes will
help you enjoy an enhanced and pleasurable eating and drinking experience.
We also plan that your time in searching for a balanced healthy diet
can be saved by obtaining ideas from this blog of cooking suggestions
that are exceptionally tasty - good luck."
From one of the Taste Buds
Possums Pantry & the Taste Buds 