Foraging through my books

Since coming back from Walking Missy it has rained continually; even Demetri has come in soaking wet and I have had to towel dry him too.  After not being in the house very much whilst I have been away he is now dry and esconced on  the settee fast asleep.  He knows where his bread is buttered.  Having had so far all my plans put out of sync for the day I have been browsing.

I love books - I always have and there is no way that I could get used to a kindle to read a book.  Its the whole experience, the feel the smell and just pure joy of reading that I love so much and the place that you put yourself in.  I have a lot of books that I use repeatedly and get a lot of pleasure out of.   

However I was in the charity shop the other day and I picked up a couple of books that I hadn't got or seen before.  The main one is called the Ulitmate Christmas Cookbook, ISBN 1-897730-53-5.  I paid £2 for the copy I obtained although the price ticket on the internal sleeve showed £16.95.  So I don't think I did too badly.  There are  some very lovely recipes in this book and some simple ones that can be used day to day quite economically but also with other recipes that can be put up in advance of Christmas in the freezer to ease the purse strings a little. I must say that I am excited by this particular book as the recipes appear simple but totally different.  I am going to try a couple of these recipes in the next few weeks or so and see how I get on with them.  I love to play in the kitchen and to experiment as each experiment takes you that little bit deeper. 

 Every single cookery book I own also has a different take or presentation idea that can be included into your kitchen repertoire or give you an idea of how to do something very differently yourself.  In this book I have found a Mushroom Nut Roast recipe that I want to have a go at.  This recipe is used as a Vegetarian Christmas roast but I think this may be one I will be using through the "summer" months as well  (and at the moment I use that term loosely) served with a salad or a tomato sauce; roasted pumpkin sauce or Apricot sauce. Sounds yummy to me and may be one to try when the Puffballs start coming in.  (Not sure what OH will think to this but it sounds tasty to me and besides it will do him good).  The sauces may also be useful ones to pop up in the freezer when we get a glut of pumpkin or tomatoes.  The Apricot sauce is made from dried apricots.  There are lots of useful sauces in this book - which I really like the sound of.  Often it is the accompaniments to a meal that really finish it off and make it stand out from the crowd although in reality I am not always one for sauces, but certain dishes demand it like roast beef and horseradish.  Yum.

And the second one is The Women's Realm cookbook published in 1988 ISBN 0 7064 2986 9 and there are lots of good  recipes in here also.

Right must get on.  Here's hoping you are having a good day wherever you may be.

Pattypan

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