Wednesday, December 2, 2009

mid-week.

Today it's gray outside, yes, even in Greece we miss the "light" sometimes..I'm having my meetings with the architect and a worker to see how we can make a fence around the house. I love to reach out to the world, be a good/better person, but I do want to get rid of uninvited people late at night at my door! Then I'll visit the gym, cause it's been a while and it will be good for my mind as well.. I feel like keeping things simple today. When I think like this pasta comes to mind...What sauce should I make?
Pasta with spinach? With fish? With minced meat? I think I'll just make a sweet tomato sauce, my son loves that , so it's always okay. I just buy some ripe tomatoes, chop them up in the blender, fry some garlic in a bit of butter,add the tomatoes, some salt, sugar, oregano and thyme and I let this sauce simmer for about an hour. If you want the perfect sauce, throw in a piece of pork meat, preferably with the bone attached to it and let it do it's work... After one hour you take out the bone, check the seasoning and boil your favorite pasta. Always keep a bit of the water you've boiled the pasta in...It's a fine tip from my Italian friends..
Pour the sauce over the boiled pasta, stir well, so the sauce sticks to the pasta (together with the water you have kept) and add freshly grated parmesan... Serve with extra parmesan and pepper..
With a glass of red wine and a fresh green salad this is great ! Dessert will be Greek yoghurt with honey and walnuts..
Love that meal !

with love,
esther.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

December is here !

The Holiday season is getting closer, may we all have a perfect month!!!
It's the time of the year when I want to cook everything...from homemade cookies to grilled deer..Where to start ? I'll kick off this month by decorating the house with lots of candles (the ones that smell like cinnamon and vanilla) and for the garden I have some beautiful little lights..The house already looks wonderful, smells like Christmas...I've made some gingerbread cookies last ight, my son's favourite and today I'm so much in the mood for a slow roast pork belly with lentils...might have nothing to do with Christmas, but you know what? This is what I'll cook toady...The pork can bubble away by itself while we set up the tree and listen to Frankie, who's dreaming of a white Christmas...and so are we...!!

1-1,5 ribless pork belly.
1 tbsp sea salt
1tbsp fennel seeds
2 red onions, cut into wedges
5 garlic cloves
200 gr. lentile
250ml white wine
250 ml chicken stock
handful of parsley, chopped
3 tbsp double cream

Unroll the pork belly, pat it dry and rub it with the salt and fennel seeds.
Place the rest of the ingedients except for the parsley and the cream, in a slow cooker and mix.
Place the pork belly on top of the lentils, skin side up, cover with the lid and cook on a low heat for 6 hours.
Stir the cream and parsley through the lentils and serve with the pork and dig in !

Have a great meal and don't forget to share it with your loved ones...


with love,
esther.