the red kitchen

Sticky date and apple puddings

Sticky date and apple puddings, originally uploaded by kitschenette.

It was a blustery rainy autumn night, so I made soup and these sticky lovelies (eaten warm of course with butterscotch sauce and cream) to share with some dear (hungry) friends. Delicious.

Roasted beetroot

Ok, in answer to yr question Alex - nothing could be simpler than roasting beetroot. Little effort, big reward (the type of cooking I like, lazybones that I am).

- Take some fresh beetroots, preferrably from some loved one's garden, scrub the dirt off them and discard the leaves and stalks.
- Peel them and watch your fingers turn an attractive pink.
- Chop into manageble chunks (this is dictated a little by what you will be eating them with - a roast that will be a long time in the oven: big chunks which won't burn with the longer cookign time; want a roasted beet fix in a hurry: small chunks etc etc).
- Splash with olive oil and some vinegar-esque type stuff: I use red wine vinegar, because it has a clearer taste that the caramelly balsamic. Shallot vinegar would be good, too. Toss chunks and add a light sprinkle of salt and pepper.
- Bung the dish in the oven and roast the buggery out of it (a medium to hot oven) until cooked (try piercing one with a sharp knife). But don't let them burn!
- Excellent with roasts, in fritattas etc but also good in a mixed salad. Don't forget how spectacularly well beetroot goes with goats' cheese, so a leafy green salad with beetroot and goat's cheese is pretty luscious.

PS. Don't be alarmed by the *ahem* aftermath of eating a lot of beetroot at once - it tends to be same colour going out as it is going in : )

Bircher muesli II: Apple grater

Apple grater II, originally uploaded by kitschenette.

I get quite a few emails asking me about the glass grater I use for grating apples for bircher muesli, so here are some pictures for your delectation.

I got the grater from the local brocki, so I'm not sure where you would buy one new, although I think in Switzerland they are quite easily available, being the home of bircher muesli and all.

Beetroot

Beetroot, originally uploaded by kitschenette.

Loving the beetroot from Bruno's parents' garden right now - crisp, vividly scarlet and tasting delicious when roasted with olive oil and red wine vinegar.