After rain, re-vamp

I am hibernating. The trill of rain on my window and the trees thrashing about in wind are crushing my motivation. I slip beneath the doona at 2pm and would disappear until wine-o'clock if it wasn't for the weather-bashed school-run. I am not feeling 'Christmassy', I am not compiling lists of my 'favourite seasonal' things. I am barely cooking anything new - just rotating the basic pasta/chicken curry/pasta/mash-topped bake scenario. I am eating pastries instead of lunch, having another tea with honey. I listen to the radio all day for company and peer at other people's wonderful lives artfully displayed on their brilliant blogs. I have no more money to shop, only the kids will get presents this year. Australia is taunting me, from the pages of my book, The Slap, and I'm watching the TV series of it, barely able to breathe. I wake each morning in the dark. I am still in Manchester.

I have had some triumphs. I made a nice gratin with mixed root vegetables and served it with a radicchio and avocado salad and a side of caramelised fennel from Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty.

I have danced in the kitchen to DJ Shadow's Scale it Back featuring Little Dragon and felt it to be the most perfect expression of my soul.

I have tweaked small areas of our house. The hallway now has a bamboo phone table and the shoe basket next to it, and this small vignette, this little zone of organisation makes me disproportionately happy.

But in all, it's been a sleepy, bleak week.

I will rise again, and so will this diary, to meet the new year with a fresh start, a refreshed outlook, and a new look. The good news is, I have the skills of a proper photographer on board - Darren Hickson will be joining me in this project, and as of January posts will go up twice monthly, with fabulous photography.

Until then, thank you for reading.

xx Nicole

Mixed Root Vegetable Gratin

3 medium potatoes, washed and cut as thin as you can (tip: cut a weeny little piece from the length-wise bottom of the potato off and then it will have a flat base to stay steady on the board as you slice)
1 small sweet potato, peeled and finely sliced in rounds
1 medium parsnip, peeled and finely sliced in rounds
approx 1 cup double cream
1 clove garlic, crushed
a pinch of grated nutmeg
sea salt and pepper
Parmesan or Grano Padano, grated to top

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius
Put the vegetables, garlic and nutmeg into a bowl and cover with the cream, toss and season well.
Layer the vegetables into a baking dish, pouring any extra cream from the bowl over the top, you want the mix to be coated well, but too much cream makes for a sloppy gratin.
Sprinkle with Parmesan and then cover with tin foil.
Bake in the hot oven for about 35 - 40 mins or until the vegetables are soft (press a sharp knife through them) and then remove the foil to brown the cheese for another 10 mins.


Yotam Ottolenghi's caremilised fennel
(the original recipe is finished with goat's curd, but I am not a fan)

4 small or 2 large fennel bulbs
40g unsalted butter
3 tabs olive oil
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp fennel seeds
grated zest of 1 lemon
sea salt and black pepper

Method:

Take off the fronds of the fennel and save some to garnish. Slice off the bottom root part of the bulbs and remove the tough outer layer, keeping the base in-tact. Cut each bulb lengthwise, into 1.5 cm slices.

Melt the butter and oil in a large frying pan on high heat, large enough to hold all the slices, or do 2 batches in a smaller pan. When butter starts to foam add the fennel. Turn only when the fennel has coloured a light brown, about 2 mins, then turn.

When other side is browned, remove the slices from the pan and add the sugar, fennel seeds, and salt and pepper. Fry for about 30 seconds, then return the fennel to the pan and cook for a further 2 mins to coat. Remove and allow to cool to room temperature.

To serve, arrange the fennel on a deep plate and toss with finely chopped dill fronds, the crushed garlic and lemon zest.