Clean plates all round.

Thanks to Celebrity Masterchef (and Christine Hamilton's recipe idea) tonight's dinner was a doddle!

With all those lovely savoy cabbages now ready in the garden, I curbed my first inclination which was to chop them all up and stick them in the freezer, and decided that they would be the basis for dinner this evening, well earned after a very busy day gardening, three wheelbarrows of weeds pulled up and the grass mowed.


First off the chicken legs went into the oven, seasoned then a sprinkle of paprika and garlic on the skins to make a tasty coating.

Then "Chestnut-y Bacon-y Cabbage-y Mess".

In a large pan (that has a lid), start by frying a couple of slices of bacon or pancetta chopped into small pieces in some herby olive oil, I used thyme flavoured oil as I thought this would best marry with the roast chicken.

Then add about 10 cooked chestnuts chopped into small pieces. I am using chestnuts from last year, that were cooked in hot water just long enough to be able to remove their skins then frozen whole.

Finally add a head of savoy cabbage cut into strips, cook everything together for about 10 minutes until the cabbage is soft, at this point I added a little bit of water, seasoned, added some dried parsley then covered the pan for the cooking time.


As you can see - clean plates all round and another very simple recipe to add to my collection.

Seven Courgettes

Harvested my first seven courgettes from the garden today.

So tonight we will be eating....

Courgette and Bacon Frittata


I usually use 1 medium sized courgette per person, and 1 slice of bacon per person and adjust the eggs  accordingly.


Heat some veg oil in a non-stick frying pan, fry courgettes, bacon and a large onion chopped finely, for a few minutes until the onion is soft and golden.


For the frittata mix:

2 tbspn fresh thyme
1 tbspn fresh rosemary
2 eggs
salt and pepper

Whisk together, then pour over the courgettes, bacon and onion in the pan, season a little more if required - depends on the saltiness of your bacon usually.

Cook over a low heat for about 4 minutes, or until set, then grill for a couple of minutes to brown the top, garnish with a few fresh leaves of thyme.

The frittata will be accompanied tonight with some freshly dug salad potatoes, boiled in their skins, then once cooled, a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise stirred through them, seasoned and a liberal sprinkling of freshly chopped dill fronds.

Off to watch the fireworks later for our local town's summer festival, bands in the street, a fair with rides, tables and chairs in the road outside the cafe, free fireworks set to music.  Lovely.