Too much of a coincidence - so - some recipes

I'm not sure whether it's a lack of inspiration or sheer laziness, but I'm finding it hard to get going on a blog today. I have long lists of ideas in my little notebook, and all my minor projects/series - the kitchen, the world, education, first recipes, lucky dips, but somehow today - a lovely day - nothing appeals. You could say there is too much thinking about food going on in there - not helped by putting on weight after a half day of fasting rather than losing it.

I was actually thinking about writing about green sauces because I was going to experiment a bit later on, but decided it would be better to write about that after the event. But I started wandering the net on the topic and lo and behold what did I see but this - Green angel hair with garlic butter from Smitten Kitchen. Angel hair - and a green sauce. Plus I had been thinking of sort of chickening out and just telling you about some recipes that have recently caught my eye. I think this is the recipe I'm going to try with my angel hair - you just roast a whole had of garlic in butter, whiz it up with some spinach and red pepper flakes, toss together and hey presto - dinner. Will tell my grandchildren about it too.

Jarred artichoke salad with almond tarator - Ottolenghi. I think I have said several times that I am not a fan of artichokes, but ever since I saw Jamie Oliver throw some from a jar into something I thought I should probably give them another go, and this might be one way to do it. The tarator is a whizzed paste of almonds, garlic, sherry vinegar and the oil from the artichoke jar. Fry the artichokes to caramelise, soak in the rest of the oil in the jar and some sugar, then spread the paste on your serving plate, toss the artichokes with basil, mint and salt, sliced shallot and serve. I suppose it's not really salad weather, but it would be good as a side at a barbecue I think.

Gildas in carriages - Rukmini Iyer/The Guardian. Artichokes again. Gildas are those Spanish tapas of olives and anchovies on skewers. Here Rukmini Iyer has made a kind of tapenade with more jarred artichokes, chillies, oil from the jar and lemon juice, spread it over slices of warm focaccia and topped with the anchovies and olives - green ones.

Maybe this is more for a younger set, but you could pass it on to your children for their next big party.

Pea, herb and mozzarella pie - Nigel Slater. The English, of course are getting all excited about the prospect of spring, and Rachel Roddy's Guardian newsletter this week featured peas - in the pod, including a link to this pie. Well a galette really. But of course you can use frozen peas and indeed they both of them talked of the difficulty of dealing with peas in the pod, in that the peas tended to range from large and earthy, to tiny and sweet - even sometimes in the same pod. Anyway it looks lovely. I think Nigel and Jane Grigson are my favourite pie people.

Lemon and spiced almond croissant cake with prunes - Woolworths. the new Woolworths Fresh Ideas Magazine is out and it's marginally more interesting this time. It's been sliding downhill a bit for me of late, so it was good to see some more interesting things. That said, many of them used lots of premade ingredients. This looks tempting however, next time you've got some stale croissants. I guess, when I look at it it's a kind of bread and butter pudding. Not that there's anything wrong with bread and butter pudding. The almond in the title is almond meal.

Baked feta in filo pastry with chilli honey - Woolworths. I guess there's nothing stunningly original in this and it's almost not a recipe at all really. You wrap your block of feta pastry in oiled filo, bake it, slice and serve with a drizzle of honey and chilli. A child could do it. Still it looks good, although maybe you'd do better to cut your block of feta in half before wrapping. Which would lessen the ratio of cheese to pastry. Or you could mash your feta with other stuff to make it more interesting.

And here I give up. It's not much of an offering I know, but there might be something to tempt you there. My lack of inspiration is probably something to do with the fact that dinner is just reheated leftovers. Not that I'm not looking forward to them, but there's no cooking involved. Which is why I'm going to have a go at making a green sauce. I have various hersb and things wilting and on the point of decay, which could indeed be refreshed into something appetising that could be poured over stuff. I shall report on it tomorrow - there - I have to do it now.

YEARS GONE BY

May 24

2024 - Romanticizing poverty?

2023 - Mare nostrum

2022 - The continental breakfast

2021 - Orange juice

2020 - Deleted

2019 - A(a)h Bisto!

2018 - Grey, grey, grey

2017 - Nothing