Thursday 13 October 2011

Warming food.


Should you ask what the weather is like here today you would wish you hadn't bothered - it is raining, cold (9 degrees), foggy and thoroughly miserable. On a farm these conditions call for warming food.

The farmer is indoors keeping warm by painting the sitting room bay window. We have just taken the curtains to the dry-cleaners. They were washable but they are huge. The dry-cleaning bill is going to be £45 but it is worth that not to have to lug them in and out of the washing machine and find somewhere to dry them in this damp weather.

So now to warming food for lunch. We are going for our flu jabs at 1.30 so it has to be an early lunch. I have made a Spanish dish which I often fall back on when time is short. I don't have a name for it but it tastes good on its own, or on pasta.
I fry an onion in a little olive oil until the onion is transparent then I add sliced chorizo (as mild or as hot as you choose) and cook for a few minutes until the chorizo is beginning to brown. Add next a tin of chick peas and a tin of chopped tomatoes, a desertspoon of sugar and a good grinding of black pepper. Then cook this down until it is nice and thick and leave for a couple of hours for the flavours to meld. Yummy.

I have also made a dish for tomorrow as it is market day, which means we come in and need something to eat straight away. There is usually some cold meat around, so I have made a dish of red cabbage to go with it.

I slice half a red cabbage, any old apples lying around (I used eaters which are getting a bit old, but cookers are best) and a couple of onions. Layer them in a casserole dish, covering each layer with a sprinkling of salt, black pepper and balsamic vinegar. Put a lid on the dish and cook in a moderate oven until it has all cooked down nicely. It is better eaten the next day and heats up easily - or it can be eaten cold, almost like chutney.

If I am short of time I cook this as a stir fry instead and if it is getting near to Christmas I add a handful of cranberries.

There has that made your mouths water? A photo of the chorizo dish is above - the red cabbage is still in the oven but might put a photo on later to tempt you. Have a nice day - hope it is warm where you are.

20 comments:

Gerry Snape said...

thnaks for the warming pic! I shall have a go at that as we really like spanishy type food...have a good day!

the verification is...tess..e!

mrsnesbitt said...

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm lovely recipe there Pat! My poor hubby has just had beans on toast! Still - he can manage that himself! lol! Cold here too - out for a walk to warm up!

Unknown said...

Anything with chorizo will be delicious! Nom nom :)

Pondside said...

It all sounds delicious, and warming for a wet and grey day.

Heather said...

Your tasty dishes both made my mouth water - I'm sure they will go down a treat. I love red cabbage done the way you describe - not so sure about chorizo but may have bought the wrong one for our taste buds.
The weather here has been murky but mild today so salad for lunch was quite acceptable.

angryparsnip said...

Goodness it will be 94 (suppose to be about 80) today with a low of 60.

Your lunch looks so good I am going to send it to daughter who will use vegan chorizo, which is very tasty.
My Mum made the best red cabbage and I can't wait to try out your baked recipe.
I can just imagine your cold rainy day with the warm kitchen smelling so good.

cheers, parsnip

Carolyn H said...

Your dish sounds yummy. I've made something very similar without the chorizo but now I'm going to try it your way.

It's rainy and foggy here in Pennsylvania, too, if not quite as chilly. Tomorrow is likely to be a different story--chillier for certain. Definitely time for "comfort food."

Reader Wil said...

It all sounds very tastful! I also like red cabbage with a lot of big sweet/sour apples, cranberries, lemon, cinnamon and mashed potatoes.It's good in cold weather!

Tom Stephenson said...

You and Mise are making me very hungry - your dish looks good as well! Tonight I am eating a roast dinner pie (pork, vegetables and stuffing) made by a 70 year old, ex-army officer who cooks for a friend of mine. Today it was hot in my area, though...

Pomona said...

It seems to have turned cold tonight - I am actually longing for some serious rain. It is so long since it has rained properly here, and we desperately need it.

Pomona x

thousandflower said...

I'm definitely going to try the cabbage recipe. One of our favorite winter side dishes is apples and onions fried together. Adding cabbage is a great idea.

Dave King said...

Measured against our past experiences, your dry cleaning bill is very reasonable!

Gwil W said...

my mum has a flu jab every year and she's now over 90 - but I never have them as I had really bad asian flu and hong kong flu - both laid me low - so I figure I must have a bit of immunity. I take Vit C and other vitamins and minerals in winter to ward off colds. Seems to work.

Mary said...

Sounds warming but I'll have to leave out the chorizo, bet it will still be good though!

Sending warm hugs - sounds like you could use some with those low temps.

Mary

Golden West said...

We've had two days in a row of unseasonably HOT weather - my poor cyclamens are drooping in the 85 degrees heat and my first paper whites have just bloomed - way too early for bulbs to be blossoming! We could certainly use a bit of your rain here!

Crafty Green Poet said...

Good thick stews and similar dishes are just the thing for this time of year. Though it's not really that cold in Edinburgh yet. Strangely.

Hildred said...

I'm always looking for quick and easy recipes, and these sound just the ticket, Pat. The cabbage dish particularly appeals to me.

Maggi said...

Both these sound lovely and well worth trying as the weather starts to cool (without the chorizo of course!)

The Weaver of Grass said...

Glad to hear that some of you have not heard of these recipes - hope you enjoy making them.

Arija said...

Pat these sound absolutely delicious. I am in Melbourne for a few days keeping my sister company and am spending the nights with my nephew. I just shared your recipes with my niece-in-law who also loves chickpeas. Thank you.