Cooking Tonight #5

[greenishfing]

Salmon, leek, pea and sweetcorn risotto followed by strawberries and cream.

[Nicos]

I’ve made a ‘left overs’ quiche for tomorrow to have with one of our lettuce
‘Trifle ‘ for pud tonight and tomorrow with Skyr

[bramble]

Pork chops, mashed potato, onions, mushrooms and mixed peppers.

[Bren In Pots]

Sausage casserole this evening.

[Snoop Puss]

More anchovies and salad. Plus more fresh fruit salad. If I do enough gardening to justify them, I might do a few chips to go with the fish.

[greenishfing]

What is the ratio of weeds to chips, Snoop? How many wheelbarrows full equals a portion of chips? How big are fresh anchovies?

I'm thinking of either roasting a chicken or making a fish pie today. At the moment fish pie with a crusty layer of melted cheese on top of the mashed potato is edging slightly ahead.

I've got enough strawberries to have them for dessert again.

[Florence Fennel]

Cottage Pie with roasted carrots. Big fat seedless grapes for afters.

[Snoop Puss]

What is the ratio of weeds to chips, Snoop? How many wheelbarrows full equals a portion of chips? How big are fresh anchovies?

No ratio. It's very subjective. More like my perception of how much energy I've expended. I couldn't possibly measure it in wheelbarrows, especially as I don't have that much weeding to do (at the moment). Plus, what exactly is a portion of chips? Mr Snoop and I have very different views on that.

As for the anchovies, these ones were small. I got around 40 for half a kilo. I personally prefer bigger ones, but they were bought on my behalf by the neighbour down the valley. And very pleased I was too. We eat a lot of frozen fish, not that much fresh fish. Good to have a change. If she offers to go to her fishmonger again for me, I might ask for sardines, though I hate cleaning them because of all the scales. She was a professional restaurant cook and refuses on principle to buy farmed fish, so I daren't ask her to get trout or salmon. And I'd rather know the price of bigger wild fish before deciding to buy it.

Why this sudden interest in the dimensions of things? Are you concerned about the size of your bags of chocolate treats? If so, I'm sure Rary and I, among others, could help you reduce them!

Edited to add: Actually, your question sent me in search of information. I always think the best time of year for anchovies is February to early May, and it looks like that could be the case, as they contain more fat then. Sardines come into their own after anchovies. Anyway, now isn't the best time of year for fresh anchovies. So I'll definitely ask her for sardines next time. https://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...08814606007254 Thanks for asking. Now I know.

[greenishfing]

I wondered about anchovies as I've only had the very tiny fresh "little fishies" in Spain as a nibble, (are they the same?). I'd only ever had tiny tinned sardines (in tomato sauce) in the U.K. until I tried and enjoyed much larger fresh fish in Portugal. Manx kippers, however, a different story.

[Snoop Puss]

The little fish - pescaditos - are probably not anchovies (boquerones), as anchovies would be a step up in quality and probably sold under their own name unless they were really were very small fry. Pescaditos could be as small as whitebait or as large as smelt or small picarel.

[greenishfing]

Just had another thought. Herring. Or, should I say Haring? Something the Dutch seem to love. One of the very few foods I just cannot cope with.🤮

[Snoop Puss]

^I quite like herring, especially as kippers. I've never seen them fresh in Spain. The dried, salted 'arenques' you get here are in fact sardines.

[greenishfing]

I love Manx kippers. I had a holiday job in the I. O. M. back in the 70s and used to send their kippers back to England as presents. I spent two years, in the 80s, in the Netherlands and couldn't believe how my Dutch workmates could enjoy such awful food as "haring"! Evidently I just don't have "educated" taste buds.......

[Bren In Pots]

I keep a few tins of fish in the cupboard usually its mackerel and sardines in oil/tomatoes then some tuna, its not the same as fresh fish but they're handy to have in.

[Bren In Pots]

This evening tuna pasta bake.