An Anniversary Tart and a Birthday Pie.

There was a double celebration at Pie Acres this weekend. Here's what was eaten:

Chard Tart.

In a flan dish, bake a shortcrust case blind. (I was going to make a cheese pastry, but wimped out and bought ready-rolled shortcrust),

Then catch some Swiss chard. I don't know why this delicious vegetable is so hard to find in shops. You see it a lot in vegetable gardens - possibly because it looks so nice. It's about the only thing growing in my own micro plot. (I'll do the veg thing properly next year. Promise!).

Anyway - take the stalks/ribs and cut into .5 cm lengths. Sweat in butter until softened. Add the coarsley-chopped leaves and cook until wilted. Add a little pepper and nutmeg.

Stir in some crème fraîche (you don't want it too runny) and spread it in the baked pastry case. Dot in a few small chunks of Gorgonzola, top with grated parmesan and bake until lightly browned.

Serve with new potatoes with plenty of butter, parsley and a little mint.

Sheperdless Pie

For the bottom bit:

Dice some aubergine and courgette into small dice. Fry in olive oil until they start to brown. Add some onion and chopped shitake mushroom. Sweat some more. Add some cooked green lentils, with their cooking water, and some small cubes of smoked tofu. Add a couple of stock cubes and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.

For the topping:

Mashed potatoes. Plenty of butter and some chopped parsley.

Put the bottom mixture in an oven dish. Top with the potatoes. Agigate with a fork to get a suitably rough texture. Dot with butter. Bake.

Serve with some finely-grated red cabbage which has been marinated in a mild vinegar for a couple of hours with some finely chopped shallots and a little salt.

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We shall pass over this news item without further comment. It's the "...boxes of Capri-Sun and packets of Cadburys shortcake biscuits." that intigue me.

Zucchini/ Courgette Tortilla...and a variation

For today's recipe, I am indebted to azahar from Seville (where the marmelade comes from)...and to Psychocandy from whose blog I stole it,

azahar's original recipe was:

Whip up a few eggs in a large bowl. Then grate a zucchini (afterwards use some paper towels to get rid of excess moisture). Then add the grated zucchini to the eggs with a bit of salt&pepper and pour the mixture into a heated frying pan that has a good amount of olive oil also heated up to quite a high temperature.

The size of the pan should be chosen to make the tortilla mixture at least an inch or two high in the pan.

Once the mixture sets (starts sizzling) immediately turn heat down to LOW and cover until the omelette is about 3/4 cooked through, then flip it over (I usually ease it out onto a cutting board, then put the pan over top to flip it) and then continue cooking on low heat - uncovered - until cooked through. Then top with grated cheese and a sprinkling of white pepper and stick under the broiler until cheese has melted.
It’s lovely served with a side salad and crusty bread and also with some of ‘The Sauce’ on the side, which goes very well with the eggs.

In my variation, I took the cooked courgettes/ zuchinni out of the pan and mixed in some cream cheese and some chopped chives, pars;ey and dill. Then I put halt the beaten eggs into the pan. When set, I spread the courgette mixture on top, nice and flat and even, then covered with the rest of the beatenn eggs. I heated a little more, then topped with parmesan (you could use grated swiss cheese, or even cheddar) and put the pan under the gorilla.

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Speaking of gorillas...

The libel action taken by Scottish Socialist Party MSP Tommy Sheridan is drawing to a close. For these as don't follow Holyrood politics I shall recount the salacious details
:
He took The News Of The World to court for alleging that he visited swingers clubs and was caught in a three in a bed situation in a hotel. What this has to do with politics I know not - but he's chosen to sue. The odds are not looking good for him, given that he admitted it all to his party. Plus he sacked his counsel half way through.

Amongst incidents from his trial:

• It was alleged that someone kissed him all over with an ice cube in her mouth. His wife dismissed this: "It can't have been very pleasant. My Tommy's like a monkey. She'd have got a mouthful of hair." Tommy has offered to prove this by stripping off in court.
• Tommy is known for his fondness for sunbeds. In a book on which the newspaper story was based, the writer claimed that her companion at the club had been a six foot six black man with a shaven head. Counsel (when he still had one) asked her: "Is orange the new black?"
• An alleged witness to his hotel romp was asked "By what body part did you recognise him?"

Then there's the reported incident in the a Glasgow hotel. A waitress went up to a table of six diners with a complimentary glass of champagne for those who were actually staying at the hotel. "Are you all residents?" she asked politely as the champagne bottle hovered. Obviously hoping for a free glass, but with only one of the couples staying, one of the diners told her: "Yes, we are all in the one room." Then added: "It's the Tommy Sheridan Suite."