TV Dinners

I always watch repeats of this when they are on. Some episodes infuriate but some are my all time favorite TV.

My favorite: the artist and his daughter who go to France on a motorbike to buy food for his birthday meal. The way they relish the food, the way she cooks it, the way he waits obediently to be served and his greedy delight when she produces a bottle of Calvados.

The young couple, new age travellers, who cook their vegetarian wedding feast out of a mobile kitchen and their van at Avebury. When he tries to say his vows he weeps with emotion and says 'I just love you so much'. I love the way his mother and father talk about them and the way she says 'parzley'.

The lady who makes a vegan picnic for 25 people. Her cooking and her food so perfectly poised.

The Scots lady who makes a massive Cloutie Dumpling then takes it to her dancing club.

The meal for the 'slimming club made by an old lady who makes beef en croute and then the most fabulous puddings and cakes. They really do have a weigh in!

The Vietnamese violinist, an ex-refugee, who makes a housewarming feast. The private joy with which she eats a bowl of grass jelly.

The English lady with the African houseboy who makes a Lebanese feast for the return of her Lebanese husband.

The very posh lady who sends off to London for ingredients for a dinner party. She cleans chittlings to make boudin. A true obsessive what matters is the planning and the cooking.

The very posh lady who shoots then processes rabbits for a feast she gives for local farmers. The men tuck in with gusto, their wives are clearly restrained.

Bagels

Twice this week on UKTV food, bagel recipes. One was one of my favourite episodes of TV Dinners - the one where a woman makes brunch to celebrate the return of her lover from the US. The second was on Rachel Allen's new series 'Bake'.

Been meaning to make bagels for ages so I took this as a sign that I should get on with it.

The dough is a standard 500g bread dough, mixed and proved in the normal way. The bagels are formed by sticking your finger through a ball of dough, making a hole and then twirling the dough like a hoola hoop.

The bagels are left to prove for 10 minutes then dropped, a few at a time, into boiling water and boiled for a minute, flipping them over once. They become very unattractive, flabby and albino like with only a faint bagel aroma promising their later bronze loveliness.

Once drained for a couple of minutes they are egg washed and sprinkled with seeds - I used black poppy and sesame seeds, and baked for 20 minutes at gas mark 6.

What comes out of the oven is stunning. Bagels, real honest to goodness bagels! But what is even better is the texture and taste - chewy with a soft flavoursome interior, so definitely bagel and not bread.

With low fat Philli and dry cure, unsmoked bacon, C pronounced them the best breakfast ever.

One interesting thing - although I made the bagels with white flour the inside was slightly grey. This must be because, as always, my white flour was unbleached.

These will definitely become a regular thing. Why buy them when these are so much better?

The Sisterhood of Sock Knitters

How lovely are these? Regia sock yarns just ordered from http://www.mcadirect.com/.

Since learning to knit when I was eight, and learning to knit on four needles not long after, I have always loved knitting socks.

As well as being another of those heritage type things - like jam making and bread making, knitting socks is curiously soothing and incredibly satisfying.

I bought some of this sock yarn a few months ago from the craft place in Embsay and only recently dug it out when I was in desperate need of a small project and soothing by something other than chocolate. The yarn I am knitting now is self-patterning in dark blue, grey and cobalt blue stripes and is incredibly soft.

The pattern I am using is from one of my pre-war knitting books. Amongst the patterns for dresses, bras, underskirts, underpants (yes really) all in 4-ply wool on size 10 (3.25mm) needles there are several patterns for socks, stockings (fine made out of silk, thicker made from wool) plus instructions for each component of the sock - leg, heel, instep and toe.

Playing with the components on sock number one has been fun - the dutch heel was too clumpy so it was pulled out and an auto heel done, the flat toe was too bulky at the end so it was pulled out and a round toe done. Not knowing how long a sock 50g would make I did an ankle length and then unpicked and knitted up to make a longer sock at the same time substituting the single for a double rib.

I have a tin full of double pointed needles (dpns) that I have been given by Mum and picked up over the years from charity shops. The dpns I am using at the moment are are size 14 (2mm), short, with well worn points, needles that have been used for years by another woman, that have produced dozens of pairs of socks.*

The plan is to make myself socks to wear when I work from home, warm comforting and satisfying to look and also to make some for Christmas presents. I have a sock fiend friend who would probably enjoy a pair in the blue (shade 'Florida') and Mum is angling for me to make some for Dad.

*Although I don't have a rose tinted view of this - me knitting socks for relaxation is one thing, a woman sitting in a fire lit room after an exhausting day forced to knit in order to cloth her family is quite another.

Bloody Marmalade

For the last couple of years I have made marmalade from Seville Oranges, the first batch in January/February when the oranges are in the supermarkets, the second batch about now using oranges that I process and freeze.

Home made marmalade is one of those things that is far superior to any that can be bought (but then you can say that about almost all home made preserves) so the second batch is important.

Not sure if I got confused when adding the water or if it was the freezing process but the first of the batches I made today didn't set - not even close.

It could have been he water because C was babbling at me whilst I was doing it so I could have added more, it certainly looked like a lot in the pan which made me compound the problem by adding the rest of the pith and juice and sugar and a bit more water with a view to boiling up the whole lot.

However, it filled the preserving pan - no room for a rolling boil so I took out half and boiled up the rest. It was clear it wasn't going to set, the boil was all wrong, the liquid was thin. When it is right the water transmutes into something heavier and slightly viscous.

So, what to do?

I will put a jar in the fridge and see what chilling does to it. Sometimes it firms it up enough to use.

I could slosh it all back into the pan and reboil it with more sugar and more lemon.

I still have the other half, I could add more sugar and boil it up, probably with more lemon.

Or all of the above, but tomorrow!

Update:

The un-set jars sat in the roasting pan on the stove accusingly for a couple of days until I ripped off the cellophane tops and poured them all back into the preserving pan. I added the juice of a lemon and another 1lb of sugar and boiled it back to boiling point. Its a bit overboiled and a bit sweet but set marmalade it now is.

The second batch was a bit odd - had to take out some peel because it was very dense. I suspected in needed a bit more sugar but didn't add it, only the lemon juice. It took a while to boil up and it reduced in volume quite drastically so before I potted it I took out more peel - which I have saved because it is wonderfully crystallised. The result was one big jar of very orangey marmalade.

Lessons learned? Next time pay more attention.

Richard Corrigan

Richard Corrigan is on this week's Market Kitchen. He is one of those people who instantly makes me smile when I see him on TV.

First saw him on Tamasin Day Lewis' Weekend Food where he appeared in each of the series. He is one of those people who are totally immersed and gloriously obsessed.

Unlike a lot of the other chefs on TV he makes you feel that he eats what he cooks with great gusto and enjoyment.

Homage to Ottolenghi

Inspired by the weekend pilgrimage to the Islington Ottolenghi I attempted to create a meal in the Ottolenghi style.

What I came up with was:

Sweet Potato, Shallot and Goats Cheese Tart - C really enjoyed the one she had on Saturday. The recipe wasn't in the book but I got inspiration from the Sweet Potato Galettes and Jerusalem Artichoke and Swiss Chard Tart. The sweet potato was moreish, the soft goats cheese flavoured and added a creamy texture.

Chargrilled Broccoli with Chili and Garlic - I've been cooking this obsessively since I first got the book. C had it with her tart on Saturday and loved it.

Beetroot and Pear with Balsamic Vinegar - I loved the beetroot and fig salad I had with my beef. Beetroot and apple is a classic combination but the pear is also good. I made a balsamic vinaigrette with Dijon mustard and good olive oil - which unfortunately came out like brown sauce (I forgot it did that). However, it tasted delicious and just like the beetroot and fig.

Roast New Potatoes with Shallots - roasted with sea salt, olive oil, shallots and garlic then marinaded when hot with a wholewheat mustard vinaigrette.

And the verdict? C pronounced it delicious.

A lot of work but there is enough tart for tomorrow and salad for a couple of days.

I have always enjoyed eating like this, don't know why I don't do it more often.