(not) like a knife through butter

Three cities. Three specialist cook shops. No luck.

I thought I may find a banneton or proving basket somewhere in Leeds, Manchester or Sheffield. The cook shops were full of lovely shiny things but when I enquired about proving baskets I got blank looks. When I explained what they were for, the Leeds shop assistant exclaimed that though they were not afraid of a niche market, this product was still too specialised for them. So much for the great real bread revival.

C is for Curry

I love a curry but the average high street curry house tends to disappoint with the uniformity of their menus, and I am still mourning the loss of the Kashmir Curry Centre last year which closed after being open for business for 36 years, a victim of the recession. I guess I'm not the only person wishing they had frequented it a little more regularly. I know of two Sri Lankan/South Indian restaurants in Sheffield so I think I may try them out.

I use a couple of Indian vegetarian cookbooks by Julie Sahni and Monisha Bharadwaj but this is not from them. There's no claim for authenticity in this simple Nigel Slater dish. I used his recipe  from the BBC Food site. he describes it as a "creamy korma" which would ordinarily have me running in the other direction - I'm not a fan of cream and kormas are often sickly sweet. But here the spicing is light and fragrant, the sweetness comes from a handful of raisins, the creaminess from a mixture of creme fraiche and yoghurt but what I found most surprising was the addition of a handful of skinned hazelnuts which added an unusual and pleasant texture to the dish. I could see me doing something similar with spinach, aubergine and chick peas. I served it with sourdough bread (naturally) and some pickle. 

C is also for "cramming" which is what I will now be doing for the coming week as I have an exam on Friday for my OU  course.  Can't remember the last time I did one of those...

B is for Beetroot

The juicer has sat sulking in the corner of the kitchen for months and months and months. It took a part-time job as a stand for the digital radio helping to improve reception but it was not happy. Until this morning, when a glut of beetroot and carrots led to a dusting down and resuscitation. WARNING - beetroot juice is a devastatingly messy substance that will mark its territory in the unlikeliest of places in your kitchen.

Beetroot zinger

1 beetroot

2-3 carrots

2 apples

knob of ginger

splash of lemon juice (optional)

Juice and drink.