I'm currently cooking my kale and kidney bean stew. I used to make it every week, but I don't have time nowadays, unless I'm on holiday like I am this week.

I've just put the potatoes in, that's the last difficult bit, I just have to let it simmer for a couple of hours now.

Isn't a white bean like a haricot, borlotti or butter bean better in a rustic stew like that?

I've tried it with butter beans - they fell apart - and haricots - they were too small and didn't absorb the stock properly.

Kidney beans are perfect - they have that bacony taste that goes with the kale, they retain an toothsome texture, and they make the stew visually interesting - the dark green of the leeks and kale, the orange carrots, white potatoes and purple beans.

I've just had a big plateful, and there are 3 more portions ready for the freezer.

I'm cooking lunch. It's onion, aubergine and tomatoes all simmered up together, and kidney beans are going in later. Depending on how much there is, I might have it with pasta and call it pasta sauce, or just by itself and call it a ragout.

Mm, that was quite nice. A bit relentlessly purple though.

I made my 'pancetta and pea pasta without pancetta' today. You use mushrooms instead of the pancetta, fried black and well salted. It turned out well today because I thawed the frozen peas out in a separate pan so they were nice and dry before I put them in.

I've opted to cook something absurdly overcomplicated considering my already advanced state of inebriation.

F*ngering t*bes is involved.

I've made it at last.

It took so long to prepare I started eating last night's leftovers during so I'm not hungry now.

Fangirl Three wrote:

I made my 'pancetta and pea pasta without pancetta' today. You use mushrooms instead of the pancetta, fried black and well salted. It turned out well today because I thawed the frozen peas out in a separate pan so they were nice and dry before I put them in.

Made this for lunch today with soya beans instead of peas, which gave it a fresher flavour.

I made a splendid shepherd's pie today, with organic potatoes, organic mince, organic baked beans and an organic stock cube.

I've eaten half and frozen the rest for later.

Nightjar wrote:

I've opted to cook something absurdly overcomplicated considering my already advanced state of inebriation.

The same phenomenon has occurred.

Nightjar wrote:

Nightjar wrote:

I've opted to cook something absurdly overcomplicated considering my already advanced state of inebriation.

The same phenomenon has occurred.

I take it the hangover problem you mentioned earlier has been dealt with.

No.

I made my own pizza topping over Easter, I've never tried that before. I just simmered two tins of toms till they were thick and sauce-like, spread them on a pre-bought pizza base, sprinkled a load of grated cheese on top, 20 minutes in the oven and bish, bash, bosh, deliciously tomatoey pizza.

Yum!

...

Don't forget to sprinkle sliced, frozen mushrooms on as well.