He’s right. Yesterday we picked cooking apples from our neighbor’s tree and today we went “blackberrying” along the River Frome. Tonight, we had blackberry and apple pie with fresh cream.
Mac makes the best short crust pastry I’ve ever tasted, so it’s not surprising the boys and I overdid it a little with dessert this evening. I won’t be posting again today. Instead, once the boys are in bed, Mac and I plan to settle down on the sofa with a bottle of wine and watch a movie.
Before I go, I just thought I’d post one of the recipes I used today. Hey, if Eugene Volokh can post a recipe, why can’t I?
I cooked chicken tikka with a mint raita (the boys love it), cauliflower masala and pilau rice. Now, some people might think apple pie wouldn’t go with that. They’re wrong. Apple pie goes with everything.
Here’s the recipe I used for the rice.
Pilau RiceIt’s time consuming but very tasty.
275g/10oz basmati rice
50g/2oz of unsalted butter
1 large onion finely sliced
2-4 cloves of garlic peeled and finely chopped
8 whole cloves
8 green cardamoms, split open at the top of each pod
2 cinnamon sticks, 2 inches long broken up
8 whole peppercorns
1 tsp ground turmeric
570ml/20fl oz water
1 tsp of salt
1 heaped tsp of butter
1 oz of seedless sultanas
1 oz flaked almonds
Wash the rice and soak in cold water for 30 minutes and drain well.
Melt the butter over a medium heat and fry the onions until they are soft (approx 5 mins).
Add the garlic, cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon and peppercorns. Stir and fry until the onions are golden brown (2-3 mins).
Add the rice and turmeric, stir and fry for 1-2 minutes, reduce the heat to low, stir and fry for a further 2-3 mins.
Add the water and the salt bring to the boil, cover and simmer on a low heat for 15 minutes without lifting the lid.
Remove the pan from the heat and leave covered and undisturbed for a further 10-12 minutes.
Melt the 1 tsp of butter over a gentle heat and fry the sultanas until they change colour and swell up (approx 1 min) keep to one side.
In the same fat fry the almonds until they are lightly browned.
Mix the almonds and the sultanas in with the rice and serve.
