Mmmm Sunday lunch and a lemoniscious trifle from Nigel Slater ….

Roast chicken, new potatoes, kale, carrots and yummy homemade gravy today. Did my chicken the Jamie way – boiling a lemon for 5 mins, stabbing it and shoving it in the chicken with some salt, pepper, garlic and herbs before roasting – keeps it really moist.

Abbie and I got up early this morning and made the lemon trifle – another wonderful dish from Nigel Slater’s ‘Kitchen Diaries’. It was a really easy trifle, couldn’t believe I could make something that resembled a custard from just double cream, sugar and lemon juice – no egg and therefore no curdling!!

After our main meal, which Abbie polished off in record time…. she asked to get down… I was surprised as Abbie usually loves her puddings! The following conversation then took place…
Me: Don’t you want pudding?
Abbie: Mmmm…. no I don’t think so…………… what’s for pudding?
Me: Lemon trifle…. it’s in the fridge….
Abbie: Maybe I’ll just go and have a look……. (goes to the fridge) …… Hmmmm…. Mummy…. I think I will just have a bit of pudding!

As you can see from the photos, Abbie was very reluctant to lose possession of said trifle! I adapted Nigel Slater’s recipe only slightly, replacing crystallized violets with white chocolate chips as I had them in the cupboard. It was enjoyed so much that we will be making it again when my mother-in-law comes for lunch next Sunday!

Link to the recipe: http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/533841

very protective of the trifle!

can you see Abbie's hand creeping in to get her portion??

a happy girl....

Lemon linguine… yum yum! A family favourite!

A busy morning today.. swimming and gardening! Abbie is still very confident in the water since our holiday and spent her time jumping in and swimming between us, on our backs and practising swimming on her back! Jon and also managed to get a few lengths in ourselves and consequently we all worked up a healthy appetite! So I didn’t feel guilty about our calorie laden lunch….

This recipe is taken and adapted from ‘How to Eat’ by Nigella Lawson and is a great one to make with children as you can make the sauce up whilst the pasta is cooking and there is no cooking involved in this stage…

Lemon linguine – fed 2 adults and 1 child – our quantities

200g linguine
1 egg yolk,   1/2 lemon
Good splash cream
Good handful grated pecorino/parmesan
Big knob butter (25g)
Chopped fresh corriander

• Basically – cook the linguine for how long it says on the packet…
• Meanwhile mix up egg yolk, cream, 1/2 a lemon zest and juice and the pecorino
• When the pasta is drained, add the butter to the pasta pan until melted and chuck the linguine back in to coat it
• Add in the creamy sauce and stir until all the pasta is coated and you can’t see any bits of cheese
• Serve with a sprinkle of the corriander on top
• If you would like the Nigella recipe and method for a larger quantity, you can find it here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/lemon-linguine-recipe/index.html

mixing the creamy sauce...

chopping the corriander with a mezaluna

'such fun' to eat.... clearly I have been watching Miranda too much lately!

Alongside our creamy, moreish pasta dish, we had broccoli and some baby salad leaves foraged whilst thinning out my lettuces…. delicious!