What's at the bottom of the fridge...

I have a theory that every family has a sort of recipe that is brought into play to use up odds and ends in the fridge. When I was younger, my mum would make a quiche with half a courgette, some wrinkled old peppers and whatever else was on the turn but not plentiful enough to be the star turn of a meal. GluttonBoy tells me his mother used to make soup for the same reason.
In our house, our 'thing' is frittata- a brilliant Sunday night solution to use up whatever is lurking in the bottom of the vegetable drawer. I have two golden rules though, which help make it a bit less leftover-y- one, to roast as many of the veg as possible in advance (that bit of charring adds so much flavour) and if there is chorizo on the fridge, then there's chorizo in the frittata.
Yesterday's effort involved me roasting some butternut squash that had definitely seen better days, a red pepper, new potatoes and carrots. That done, I fried plenty of chorizo and some courgette and mushrooms, then added all the roasted veg. Six eggs, a generous sprinkle of Parmesan, 25 mins in a medium oven until golden and 10 minutes resting- done.
Eat with a fork, on the sofa, watching Downton.

Happy Sunday

GG

Christmas

Now I know it is, for today at least, only September, but as the evenings get darker and mornings chillier, a glutton's thoughts inevitably turn to the festive season which is, for the truly greedy amongst us, is the highlight of the year.

And it's not only the main meal itself which is so good, although I do look forward to it enormously, but the cheese/cold meats hurrah of boxing day, the endless pastry grazing, the using up of bits and pieces, the chocolate, the boozing and, from the 2nd January, the lurch to miso soup and steamed greens in order to prevent what our continental neighbours would call a crise de foie.

So an integral part of Christmas for me are condiments, and, as befits someone who likes to feel all smug, I enjoy making a load of chutneys and pickles to give as gifts, take to people along with wine and, of course, open with the cheese. And chutneys needing time to mature, early October is a serious making time.

The main list this year includes:

Rhubarb and apple chutney for the neighbours
Boxing-day chutney for colleagues
Fig Mostarda, wholegrain beer mustard and ale chutney for the girls
Clementine and cointreau marmalade for general use

And that doesn't include the ad-hocs such as quince jelly or cranberry jelly.

Using the last of the apples from our courtyard, I've already made the rhubarb/apple chutney, which is awaiting decorating with festive labels etc. I've got a day off work in OCtober to crack through the rest of it and actually it gives me enormous satisfaction (what's that feeling called, is it smugness?) to know it's all done. As the weather turns cold, 'putting up', even if its not going to be eaten by us, feels like a defense against the colder months (as I think I've said before).

The Clem/Coint marmalade is also nearly made - I'll blog the recipe once it's done. I've only got one jar left of last year's batch and it's been my favourite of the year.

My other early Christmas preparation - two tins of quality st bought and put away to be resisted until the 24th December!

Festive wishes,

GG