Omg so right about that picture! We had a print of it in our kitchen for years and I always thought that the monkey seemed a bit out of place 🤣 finally realised it was hat ribbons when my husband pointed it out!
Also it makes a kind of sense because maybe the little boy playing on the floor has just stashed his monkey in the tree for a bit. I find it really hard to un-see!
Great advice about roasting trays and tins - I had the exact issue of veggies steaming rather than roasting this week, never dawned on me to use a tray. I will be making the lentil, rice and onion dish this weekend, it sounds delicious. I've ordered Rosie Sykes cookbook. Love this post.
ALL of this sounds so delicious and I can make playdough, so I’m making the flatbread for sure. Beautiful post, love the description of melancholy Sunday evening suppers.
Phew, marvelous , except today I meet a friend for breakfast, have a zoom call with my brother at noon and go to an opera at 3 so I will pretend tomorrow is Sunday . A great post Thank you.
Love this post, India- flowers and gorgeous sounding food- right up my Straße… not fully certain how Substack works- can I bookmark this one of flag it to come back to? Sorry am dim x
Substack is ridiculous, Claire. From the home page, at the bottom press the icon that looks like a printer, or possibly an in tray, or possibly a stack of books, who knows. It’s the one in the middle. That the brings up the place where your articles are saved. Why they can’t label things properly is beyond me and why people like India have to write something telling us how to use Substack. Sorry, I need more caffeine, rant over!
Thank you- I recall you wrote some instructions at some point but I only skimmed them! I ll find them and read properly…o if only I knew how to file and save them! 👍🏼🤭
I must add how much I enjoy your writings and musings: books, clothes, food , flowers (much of which is beyond my budget, but I love reading it anyway…) and I have especially enjoyed The Beauty Edit as a knackered 52 year old teacher …thanks!
They're here, but I was learning on the job myself so not sure how useful. https://indiaknight.substack.com/p/new-to-substack. Thank you for your v kind words - some of what I post is beyond my budget too, but I treat those things as I used to treat glossy mags, i.e. never going to happen but lovely to look at. So glad about Beauty Edit!
I sat in bed reading about summer food and felt very happy. And hungry. And in the mood to cook, which having done a catering job for 80 people yesterday, was unexpected :)
Perfect Sunday morning read thank you India, I am however now going to have to head out for Gentlemen’s Relish which I have curiously neglected to buy for many years and now immediately desire intensely !!
Sunday food column- hurrah! - with the added pleasure of a very beautiful flower pic.
Food-wise, all entirely delicious - there’s nothing at all here that I don’t want to eat!
Special thanks regarding the medjadra recommendation. I’m going to be cooking for a birthday party in July (30 - 40 people, in Switzerland) and, planning-wise, we have got as far as mezze, followed by grilled protein and lots of vegetable sides. (So, as you can see, not very far. It’s essentially an everyday dinner Chez DC, but perhaps not in Switz where things can be a little more conventional.)
There’ll probably be a mixture of proteins. I’ve been told that the Swiss are mad about meat, although can be slightly weird about eating lamb. It’s not a national favourite. (I expect that spatchcocked chickens will, as usual, save the day, with olive oil, lemon juice, dried chilli flakes and lots of black pepper.) Some sort of pilaf is the obvious go-with, so medjadra could well be completely perfect.
Closer to home, we too must eat down the fridge. Everything in the shops looks lovely right now and we can’t stop buying stuff. We’re getting to the stage where the fridge door will have to be wedged shut with a chair.
Roast asparagus is always on the menu and - thankfully - we’re beginning to get slightly sick of it. That’s always the plan: gorge until bored to tears, then no more until the first English hits the shops next year. Love it with a fried egg.
And yes, hurrah for garlic powder! It brings exactly the right flavour, especially in marinades and dry rubs. Crucially, it doesn’t catch, burn and go acrid. Powder is miles better than yellowy Schwartz-style granules, which have a curious fustiness about them.
So many people are funny about lamb, including the US (I think?). Those spatchcocked chickens sound delicious. Medjadra perfect - it is such a majorly useful dish. Plus room temp, so you don't have to coordinate. You are correct (as ever) about fustiness.
Absolutely. I know loads of people who can’t bear lamb, especially the fattiness and the smell of it cooking. (I understand, but… disagree.)
And yes, Americans can be very odd about lamb. I’ve often heard complaints about its supposed gaminess. Cutlets are about as far as they’ll go, and that through gritted teeth. (This is direct experience, not anecdotal, so any Americans reading this shouldn’t shout at me.)
Anything room temperature will be a godsend at this party, as we have limited workspace. I may also recommend that they hire a fridge or two - we’ll need it for food and for chilling drinks. It’s happening in the countryside, so no nipping to the corner shop for a couple of bags of ice. (Incidentally, this is the place where my friend rescued the baby hedgehog from behind the watering can. Sadly, he didn’t make it - too tiny, poor little thing.)
Reminds me of ME! this encapsulates perfectly my school experience in the Sixties. The ‘lab’ consisted of a pickled rabbit in a jar and three defunct Bunsen burners. I was also encouraged at 13 to give up maths and do needlework instead, which I gratefully accepted.
Great post - bring on the weather - so pleased Mamoosh a success!
Omg so right about that picture! We had a print of it in our kitchen for years and I always thought that the monkey seemed a bit out of place 🤣 finally realised it was hat ribbons when my husband pointed it out!
Also it makes a kind of sense because maybe the little boy playing on the floor has just stashed his monkey in the tree for a bit. I find it really hard to un-see!
Great advice about roasting trays and tins - I had the exact issue of veggies steaming rather than roasting this week, never dawned on me to use a tray. I will be making the lentil, rice and onion dish this weekend, it sounds delicious. I've ordered Rosie Sykes cookbook. Love this post.
I'm so glad you like it and re the veg, I didn't realise this about tins/trays until just a few years ago.
ALL of this sounds so delicious and I can make playdough, so I’m making the flatbread for sure. Beautiful post, love the description of melancholy Sunday evening suppers.
Thank you! I'm still thinking longingly about egg creams.
😂 I hope you make one, India, Lyle’s chocolate syrup would work fine!
Thank you - this is what I’m going to do!
Oh amazing - I have an exact same tired, fattish, bunch of asparagus in my fridge too....putting the oven on, as I type :)
Excellent! After all that I found another one right at the back of the fridge this morning 🙄
Phew, marvelous , except today I meet a friend for breakfast, have a zoom call with my brother at noon and go to an opera at 3 so I will pretend tomorrow is Sunday . A great post Thank you.
How nice to pretend Monday is Sunday! Quite tempted too because of the sunshine.
Love this post, India- flowers and gorgeous sounding food- right up my Straße… not fully certain how Substack works- can I bookmark this one of flag it to come back to? Sorry am dim x
Hello, thank you and yes! Are you using the website or the app?
Ah I see it now in the app- where do those saved pieces go?!
Substack is ridiculous, Claire. From the home page, at the bottom press the icon that looks like a printer, or possibly an in tray, or possibly a stack of books, who knows. It’s the one in the middle. That the brings up the place where your articles are saved. Why they can’t label things properly is beyond me and why people like India have to write something telling us how to use Substack. Sorry, I need more caffeine, rant over!
Mostly the app…
Ah, I see Moira has replied already. Yes exactly - look for tray. It is really un-intuitive.
Thank you- I recall you wrote some instructions at some point but I only skimmed them! I ll find them and read properly…o if only I knew how to file and save them! 👍🏼🤭
I must add how much I enjoy your writings and musings: books, clothes, food , flowers (much of which is beyond my budget, but I love reading it anyway…) and I have especially enjoyed The Beauty Edit as a knackered 52 year old teacher …thanks!
They're here, but I was learning on the job myself so not sure how useful. https://indiaknight.substack.com/p/new-to-substack. Thank you for your v kind words - some of what I post is beyond my budget too, but I treat those things as I used to treat glossy mags, i.e. never going to happen but lovely to look at. So glad about Beauty Edit!
I sat in bed reading about summer food and felt very happy. And hungry. And in the mood to cook, which having done a catering job for 80 people yesterday, was unexpected :)
Happy weekend everybody x
That is extremely flattering. 80 people! I would be supine, eating crisps.
💯in agreement on how to fry an egg. If not crispy you might as well poach them …
Absolutely. No point whatsoever in a floppy so-called fried egg.
My favourite part too! 🥰
I want to buy Fadi Kattan's book, just to keep looking at the BEAUTIFUL cover. 😍Xx
It's gorgeous, isn't it? Beautiful inside too.
Perfect Sunday morning read thank you India, I am however now going to have to head out for Gentlemen’s Relish which I have curiously neglected to buy for many years and now immediately desire intensely !!
I love GR. Also you can stick it into roast lamb with sprig of rosemary instead of pushing in garlic and anchovy,
A beautiful picture AND a sunny food piece; you’re totally spoiling us, India. Have a lovely day in the garden.
Thank you, you too!
Sunday food column- hurrah! - with the added pleasure of a very beautiful flower pic.
Food-wise, all entirely delicious - there’s nothing at all here that I don’t want to eat!
Special thanks regarding the medjadra recommendation. I’m going to be cooking for a birthday party in July (30 - 40 people, in Switzerland) and, planning-wise, we have got as far as mezze, followed by grilled protein and lots of vegetable sides. (So, as you can see, not very far. It’s essentially an everyday dinner Chez DC, but perhaps not in Switz where things can be a little more conventional.)
There’ll probably be a mixture of proteins. I’ve been told that the Swiss are mad about meat, although can be slightly weird about eating lamb. It’s not a national favourite. (I expect that spatchcocked chickens will, as usual, save the day, with olive oil, lemon juice, dried chilli flakes and lots of black pepper.) Some sort of pilaf is the obvious go-with, so medjadra could well be completely perfect.
Closer to home, we too must eat down the fridge. Everything in the shops looks lovely right now and we can’t stop buying stuff. We’re getting to the stage where the fridge door will have to be wedged shut with a chair.
Roast asparagus is always on the menu and - thankfully - we’re beginning to get slightly sick of it. That’s always the plan: gorge until bored to tears, then no more until the first English hits the shops next year. Love it with a fried egg.
And yes, hurrah for garlic powder! It brings exactly the right flavour, especially in marinades and dry rubs. Crucially, it doesn’t catch, burn and go acrid. Powder is miles better than yellowy Schwartz-style granules, which have a curious fustiness about them.
So many people are funny about lamb, including the US (I think?). Those spatchcocked chickens sound delicious. Medjadra perfect - it is such a majorly useful dish. Plus room temp, so you don't have to coordinate. You are correct (as ever) about fustiness.
Absolutely. I know loads of people who can’t bear lamb, especially the fattiness and the smell of it cooking. (I understand, but… disagree.)
And yes, Americans can be very odd about lamb. I’ve often heard complaints about its supposed gaminess. Cutlets are about as far as they’ll go, and that through gritted teeth. (This is direct experience, not anecdotal, so any Americans reading this shouldn’t shout at me.)
Anything room temperature will be a godsend at this party, as we have limited workspace. I may also recommend that they hire a fridge or two - we’ll need it for food and for chilling drinks. It’s happening in the countryside, so no nipping to the corner shop for a couple of bags of ice. (Incidentally, this is the place where my friend rescued the baby hedgehog from behind the watering can. Sadly, he didn’t make it - too tiny, poor little thing.)
I agree with Bumble Ward - a joy on Sunday morning, especially with a cup of tea in bed. In fact, I look forward to all your posts.
Thank you so much, hugely appreciated. I imagine people reading these Sunday posts in bed with tea, so I am doubly pleased!
The footnote..the lab 🥼 🐕😘reminds me of my mum ❤️🍒❤️
Yes I can totally see that ❤️❤️❤️
Reminds me of ME! this encapsulates perfectly my school experience in the Sixties. The ‘lab’ consisted of a pickled rabbit in a jar and three defunct Bunsen burners. I was also encouraged at 13 to give up maths and do needlework instead, which I gratefully accepted.
As beautiful as it is, all I see in that painting is the monkey!
Haha, me too. It's in Paris and when I saw it as a child all I could say was 'I like that monkey'. Impossible to unsee.