Shooting in the dark

I have to say this food photography lark is a lot more taxing in winter. That’s because the days are shorter and if you don’t get your A into G the day will be done and you’ll be shooting in the dark! I’ve done my best, but it came at a cost. Burnt the tortillas. Slipped on squished beans. Shot avocado purée up the oven’s jacksie.  On and on, like a leaky tap. At least I had that fixed. Read about my perfect life here My Perfect Life. Splat. Yep. Splat.

Recipes to share then, and tasty they are too. Gorgeous little peppers stuffed with goat’s cheese. Make them the centrepiece of a platter of nibbles for friends or include them with other vegetables for an all-vegetable main course. Mini Peppers Stuffed with Goat’s Cheese

Or do what I did, and roll them in tortillas, but just plan ahead, and go slowly. Looks pretty, tastes great. And, turning an avocado into a purée makes it go further. Read here Making the most of what you have

I’m in love with my new fish recipe, flavoured with olives, garlic, preserved lemon, rosemary and ginger, with tomatoes and softened golden raisins. Ginger gives it a nice hot bite. Use it when a dish tastes a bit flat – it really lifts other flavours. Read about it here, how to store it, the best ginger grater, all that sort of stuff Ginger

Back to the fish, I like it on lentils – and there’s heaps of stuff about lentils and pulses on the site, so have a read if you are interested (especially if you are cutting back on meat) – but you could serve the fish on potato mash. Lentils  Pulses

As for mash, here’s my take on parsnip mash. Best-ever, I reckon, fluffy, scented with nutmeg, and gobbled in big forkfuls cold straight from the fridge is all fine, too. Creamy Parsnip Purée

That’s it, the sun is shining, and I am going out to plant artichokes.

At least, take a cuppa outside in a sunny spot and think about planting artichokes. One and the same, aren’t they?

Have a great week

Julie