After a week of being cooked for, this week was a combination of new projects, and eating from the freezer. The week was anchored by a big braise of pork with tomatoes, and of beans on Sunday, which gave us pork and bean burritos, tomato sauce for pasta, and mashed beans for baby dinners. I ordered such a large piece of pork, that the other half is in the oven this evening for porchetta. Oh, and I made Semlor (see picture above), Scandinavian cardamom buns filled with vanilla whipped cream and marzipan, for Shrove Tuesday. I am completely converted – and they are even better with a thin layer of raspberry jam.

Recipes:

• Smitten Kitchen braised beef with tomatoes and garlic, except with pork instead of beef
• Braised beans with bacon and wine, but without the wine to make it baby-friendly
• Mustardy farro with roasted veg from Diana Henry’s A Change of Appetite (although adapted liberally to use leftover barley risotto instead of farro)
• Mock porchetta from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook – this book is so soothing, so comforting in the kitchen. Judy Rogers walks you through exactly what to do, and while there are usually a lot of steps, she let’s you know why they are all needed.
• Sake steak and rice from Nigella’s Feast
• Semlor from Scandilicious

Without a recipe:

• Pasta with tomato sauce and meatballs from the freezer
• Burritos with braised beans, shredded pork, tomato salsa, and weirdly, stir-fried veg, which actually worked ok.
• My mum’s pheasant casserole from the freezer

Reading:

• A very smart piece from The Guardian about ‘miracle’ foods. There’s no such thing as an ‘anti-cancer’ diet, ‘rich in antioxidants’ isn’t a health claim, and just because a food contains something, like vitamins or omega-3, it doesn’t mean your body is able to absorb it. Once again: Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
• Baby carrots (at least in the U.S.) are whittled down big ones. But this isn’t as wasteful as it sounds. It’s a way to use the misshapen carrots that would otherwise be rejected by supermarkets.
• Lucky Peach has a fascinating history of the molten chocolate cake. I suspect this pattern of innovation – from elite chefs through good restaurants to chains and then supermarkets – is replicated for all sorts of new foods.
• I really loved this post from Shauna, aka gluten free girl, about the soothing ritual of the same meal plan every week.
• Need a chocolate fix? You might need bittersweet brownies with cranberries, chocolate cardamom mousse or chewy dairy-free brownies.