a new meat!

Well, almost new. Ant's Nan sent him a box full of beef for his birthday this summer. (Beef! I ask you.) It was delivered by courier straight from the Scottish highlands. It's from the same beef farm that provides beef to the Queen's household. Tonight we ate our first two steaks--one sirloin steak and one fillet steak. I am not a big beef fan and I have been scared about cooking it since it arrived. But Ant says the reason I always make nasty beef is because I do not start with a good enough cut of meat. Well, these are the best pieces of beef I have ever laid eyes on.


We cooked baby potatoes and roasted parsnips, carrots, onions, and squash to go with the steaks. We deglazed the pan with some mushrooms and let the beef rest before plating up.


It was delicious. Even I, who don't really like beef, must admit that is was amazing.

But I also must add that the roasted vegetables were the best part of the meal.

a new vegetable!

My dad grows vegetables in the back garden. He used to grow zucchini and always moaned about how prolific they were and what to do with them. He searched one year and found a chocolate cake recipe that used grated zucchini--what a way to use up a vegetable.

Since moving to the UK I have discovered the zucchini's more popular brother, the courgette. :) The courgette seems to me to be a much more versatile vegetable. Last week I ordered a bag of ten small ones with my shopping and here are some of the things I did with them.

--Pasta bake with a vegetable sauce (one can of tomatoes, two grated courgettes, two grated carrots, a small can of sweetcorn, one can of chickpeas)
--Fish fingers with a green vegetable medley (one finely chopped courgette, half a leek, cut into rings, and two handfuls of peas (from the freezer))
--Chicken stir-fry with carrots, mushrooms, courgette slices, finely chopped onion