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Sunday 22 February 2015

The Wild Side of Life!

It is with regret and repulsion that I have to report that my much loved dog, Max, ate a whole squirrel this week. He crept out of the undergrowth crunching small bones before I saw the bushy tail disappear down his throat - ew. In the six years I've had him he has dispatched and buried 2 rabbits without eating them so this latest escapade came as a bit of a shock. It has lead to the realisation that I need to monitor which television shows he watches.

Looking back on the week, he was in the room when Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast was aired. Jimmy Doherty suggested that grey squirrels were a pest and harmed much of the countryside but, on the plus side, could in fact be eaten! The boys then went on to show various means of preparing, cooking and eating them.

This is nothing new as up and down the country (and abroad), people are holding roadkill dinners, parties and barbecues. Whilst in the USA this may constitute moose, deer, antelope and elk, in the UK it's more likely to be rabbit, pigeon, pheasant and, of course, squirrel. There are people who will eat any meat and the more the merrier.  The one that really turns my stomach is the River Cottage 10 bird roast where birds, in order of size, are stuffed one inside the other - so wrong.

Before becoming vegetarian I worked for a Consultant who would hold a supper party for all the junior doctors as they left and moved on to a new post. He lived in a lovely house in the countryside and supper would always be rabbit stew. Even then I would struggle to eat it with images of Peter Rabbit and Squirrel Nutkin flashing through my mind.

From now on the only cookery programme my dog will be allowed to watch is The Bake Off. At least they show a cute little squirrel in a beautiful setting without a chef sharpening his knives in the background. Today is the first Sunday of Lent and Max is definitely giving up squirrel and, hopefully, horse poo which he is also quite partial to ...




Saturday 14 February 2015

Sweet Treats!

Forty-four years ago today; 15th February 1971, the UK was decimalised! I would have been eight years old then and vividly remember going to the local shops with my sister. I bought a packet of cherry Tunes and the shop keeper asked if I would like my change in new money or old. New of course! It was very exciting 'though I can only hope that I had a bad cold at the time, buying something as boring as Tunes! In those days I would have had the choice of Opal Fruits to make my mouth water, a finger of Fudge which was just enough, a Big One which stuck out a mile or Fruit Pastills which I would have had to put down or pass around. I would have known all this just by watching TV. Equally, I could have bought Trebor Mints which were a minty bit stronger and stuck them up somewhere to make them last a bit longer! I would have known this from the songs in the school playground!

In those days my sister and I each chose just one chocolate treat every Saturday. Hers would, invariably, be a Picnic and mine a Crunchie. Nowadays there is a vast array of sweets and chocolates available, 'though rarely advertised on television, presumably for health reasons. I have a very sweet tooth with a particular fondness for chocolate. So much so, in fact, that when doing a supermarket shop when my own children were younger, the checkout girl asked if I was having a party! Being the advertising man's dream that I am, I had simply stocked up on everything that was on offer! BOGOF was my mantra.

This week sees the start of Lent hot on the heels of Pancake Tuesday. I once gave up pop 'n' sweets 'n' crisps 'n' buns for Lent but made (and ate) copious trays of flapjack as a substitute. This year I aim to give up sweets although Marks and Spencers have brought out a range of vegetarian jelly sweets using pea protein rather than animal gelatine. This is good news for Vegetarians who generally have to avoid jelly sweets. However, the names of the sweets do rankle a little - Percy PIGS and Colin the CATERPILLAR!

Sunday 8 February 2015

Ski Season!

The month of February makes me think of past skiing holidays. The weather crisp, the air clean and the views spectacular. For me the downside is having to get up a mountain, clinging to the safety bar of the ski lift as though it were a white knuckle ride. Friends may send text messages, pass sweets along the line or peruse piste maps whilst I sink lower into the folds of my buff and say a silent prayer, my gloved hands clutching a hand warmer and the bar. Then there's the dismount to contend with before descending the mountain again. There's little comfort in seeing the upturned faces of friends awaiting your arrival at various points down the piste for as soon as you catch up they set off and the chase resumes once more. At least we'll be stopping for lunch soon ...

Ah. Lunch in the Alps. The Plat de Jour normally consists of something wholesome, warm and ... meaty! The only non-meat option in France seems to be a chevre chaud (warm goats cheese), served either on a baguette or with a nice cold salad. Yum, but not every day. I would really love to indulge in a tartiflette, a hot baked dish of potatoes, onions, cheese and cream and, sadly, bacon. One year I decided to ring the changes and order a tuna baguette, reasoning that as a meat and fish eating child I had in fact liked tuna and even missed it a little when I first became vegetarian. Why oh why? Turns out it's fishy and, well, meaty!

So, apart from being cold, scared and hungry, skiing holidays were great. The gluhwein, chocolat chaud and crepes are fab and apres ski drinks make you forget what's been before and what you have to face tomorrow.

The year I chose to stay at home and let my family and friends fly off together was close to St Valentines Day. Lucky for me my husband brought back a chocolate ski and a new buff. Although I sulked about the ski-related gifts, the buff has been useful and the chocolate ski was scoffed nonetheless!

Sunday 1 February 2015

Beating the Winter Blues!

The end of January and the end to my dry January. In all honesty it hasn't been hard to go without alcohol as the social scene has been fairly quiet and for the first couple of weeks I was under the weather (and under the duvet) with a bad cold and therefore could barely taste anything anyway.

At times of ill health most people turn to chicken broth; but not we vegetarians. What's needed is a wholesome dish with robust flavours to lift the spirits and plenty of garlic to ward off evil spirits and bugs. That's when The Vegetarian Tart turns to Pasta "Puttanesca" (or Tart's Spaghetti)! In Italy a puttanesca is known as a lady of the night/tart/slattern/slut. It could be the fiery kick that gives it its name or it could be the laziness associated with using tins and jars of ingredients.  Either way, it's well worth making.  

This dish appears on many menus and in recipe books but here is my quick and easy version. 

Serves 2

200g dried pasta - my favourite is cavatappi as the sauce clings to it

Cook for 10 mins in plenty of salted boiling water reduced to a simmer or according to packet instructions

2 tblspoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1 red chilli deseeded and finely chopped
2 tblspoons basil chopped

Heat the oil in a pan and add the other 3 ingredients until garlic is golden.
Then add the next ingredients:-

1 large tin (400g) chopped tomatoes
1 tblspoon tomato puree
1 jar (240g) pitted chopped black olives drained
3 tblspoons capers drained
salt and pepper

Turn the heat down and simmer for 20mins until sauce thickens.

Mix your drained pasta into the sauce, seasoning if necessary.  Serve in wide bowls with a sprinkle of more chopped basil and lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

If dry January has passed you could always have a glass of wine with it!