Wednesday 15 December 2010

Simple & Beautiful

As the end of the year beckons my family are flat out attending graduation ceremonies, end of year concerts & work parties.

Things can easily get overwhelming.

Times like this we serve a whole lot of weetbix in our house!

See my previous post about that here!

It's a good time to KISS (Keep It Simple Sam).

I'm not so keen on weetbix so I like to have something else.

Take last night- Hubby and I were having such a lovely time sitting outside with our bottle of wine and some catch up conversation while we listened to music.

We had both had a busy day racing around to concerts & end of year feasts & just wanted to sit down for a bit.

It was 9.30 before we realised that a bottle of wine for dinner probably wasn't a good idea!

Anyway we both ended up with a good ol' Bacon Sarnie.   Such simple goodness.  Bacon frying is one of life's special smells!

It was especially good accompanied by a glass of V.S.O.P. Cognac!

I was taking some advice from a VERY special person in my life who suggested I needed some Cognac for medicinal purposes!  I was just following orders you understand!

Yesterday as I wandered around the garden I discovered something that excited me sooooooo much.

Two years ago we planted a Pomegranate tree.  My Mr.10 & I share a passion for pomegranates.

They are so wondrously secretive in their beauty.  The tree is covered in sharp spines hidden between delicate pretty pink tinged leaves.

The fruit itself is something to behold- 100's of red ruby like jewels wrapped tightly in their red leather jacket.  But the flower too is just beautiful.



They ripen in Autumn but as with most things now we are able to buy them most of the year.



I'm so glad I took a walk in the garden and found it.  I could have so easily missed out on it in the busy-ness of this time of year.  A perfect reminder to keep it slow or we miss out on some of the simple treasures to behold.

Typically Pomegranates are used in Middle Eastern cooking.

I love using them in all manner of ways.  A couple of years ago I  used Pomegranate Molasses for the first time.  Now I am a devotee! An ingredient that can be used sparingly but it exudes it's unique flavour very well!



Seeing the very first flower on my tree yesterday has me wanting some pomegranate today!

I was looking through a favourite cookbook of mine- "Moro- the cookbook" (published by Random House 2001) for a sauce that uses Pomegranate to share with you.  It takes about 5 minutes and involves NO COOKING!



It is so fabulous & so simple.

It is delicious on lamb, chicken, duck, fish. I sometimes use it served on top of chargrilled vegies - like Eggplant or zucchini.

Or as a salad dressing. Are you seeing how versatile it is?!

Tonight I think I will serve a big dollop of it on top of a piece of fish served on peas that have been blitzed with a bit of mint.  This dinner takes about as long as it takes to serve a bowl of weetbix- and it's soooo much yummier & it looks outrageously beautiful.


 

MORO'S POMEGRANATE & YOGHURT SAUCE

150g Greek Yoghurt 
1/4 garlic clove (i go with a full one as I am a believer in "you can never have too much garlic!". Crush this in a mortar and pestle with a good pinch of salt.
seeds of 2 pomegranates.
small bunch of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped (mint works REALLY well too!)
S & P.

In a bowl mix the garlic paste with the yoghurt.
Stir in pomegranate and roughyl chopped parsley.
Taste for seasoning.

I hope it becomes one of your favourite simple & beautiful things to use in the kitchen too!


This week I have been listening to this ALOT & LOUD!
Play it loud now won't ya- it is soooo good!
It helps you cook- I promise!......

2 comments:

  1. mmm. pomegranates are something quite amazing. I remember as a kid in my grandmother's overgrown garden, full of old old trees, including a huge walnut tree and a succulent mulberry tree, there was also this strange tree with even stranger frui - yes, a pomegranate. We used to sit for hours peeling the segments and chewing on the fruit and spitting the pith. Very much like camels who come from the same land, don't they? I always feel so exotic anyway when I eat them. Will definitely try this sauce. Garlic, yoghurt and pomegranate - just can't go wrong! And yes! definitely beats weetbix for me. Jomaxxxx

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  2. Wow, it does look outrageously beautiful. I can't believe it is so simple to make! Yum. Shall try. Also, have been making your lamb pizza with mint and parsley - it's become a favourite. XX

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