Things to come.....

Well here it is - the cover of my next book. This is the exciting part - after all the hard work I am finally seeing the words and photographs coming together on the page. Odd Bits will be on sale in September (Ten Speed Press in the USA and Harper Collins in Canada). My aim in writing this book is to show people how easy it is to cook odd bits and convince them they are tasty too. Today we are wasting many of the best pieces of the animals we slaughter.

Pumpkin

Can you help? I bought this pumpkin at the local farmers market. It was a last minute purchase as I was leaving. Its wonderful pale colour attracted my attention. My husband, already weighed down with bags volunteered to carry it and it was very heavy. When I asked what it's name I was told it was a pale green kabocha. But, I'm pretty sure they're wrong.

Tart Tatin part 2

Just a quick post to say that tart tatin doesn't have to be restricted to apples - in the summer I make it with apricots but I make a caramel first, then add the apricots, the heat of the oven is enough to cook them with the pastry. Cooked apricots are slightly sour which balances the caramel brilliantly. Another favourite is quince.

I made this quince tart tatin in Paris last October. with the quinces from Franck and Lise's garden. They took for ever to soften and the smarter method would be to poach them first, then add them to the caramel like the apricots. But this tart had the most fabulous flavour from the long slow cooking and the quinces imbued the caramel with their powerful perfume, plus  the colour was fabulous.

Tarte Tatin

Here is a dessert to chase away the winter blahs - tart tatin.