home cooking

I am constantly amazed at what Cliona can rustle up for dinner, especially using herbs, fruit and veggies from the garden.

Last night was a case in point.

On the bbq we had leg lamb steaks brushed with olive oil, salt and pepper.

This was accompanied by two delicious salads.

The first comprised roasted peppers and aubergines. Cliona removed their charred skins and sliced their soft flesh. She added feta cheese, mint and parsley, then dressed the salad with cherry vinegar and olive oil.

The second was based around haloumi cheese fried in a mixture of olive oil and za'atar (a Middle East seasoning). To this was added cherry tomatoes and a pomegranate molasses dressing.

Boiled new potatoes had been steam-dried and mixed with steamed haricots blancs (white string beans), dressed with a lemon, honey, mustard and oil mixture and finished with finely chopped spring onion.

The steaks were augmented by lambs' kidneys in a creamy, rich, dijonnaise sauce.

We opened a bottle of Pomeral Merlot/Cabernet Franc but it was too young and a disappointment.

Dessert was a home-made tart tartin aux poires (pear tart) with caramelised sugar, served with vanilla ice cream.

The produce I harvested from the garden ...

pears
tomatoes
potatoes
mint and
parlsey.

I am growing aubergines, peppers and chillis but they are not yet ready to pick.

Reflecting on last night's alfresco dinner, by the garden, lamp-lit and cooled by a breeze that brushed the leafy canopy of the mulberry trees, I pose the question .... Who needs to go out and spend money in a restaurant when eating at home is this good?