Shove Tuesday

I have a glitch in my router. I have discovered that Typepad doesn't like me blogging unless I reset the router. Weird and irritating, but at least I have now worked out the ferocious blogging deterrent that is just an irritating bit of router weirdness. Yesterday I was all ready to set up on Blogger, in fact I did, only I never got round to writing anything. Somethings never change.

As you can see from the egg and flour set up above, I tried to post a blog on pancake day. I had been hyping myself all day for the mess and fighting that would occur once the jug, whisk, egg and flour would be visible. My girls love to argue and cause a bit of competitive rumpus shoving and even more so when cooking is involved. Where as I like nothing more than to hear them get on and be kind to each other.

I seem to remember my Mum feeling a little beaten by Pancake Day, they were more a bi-anual tradition than an annual one. If Pancake Day could be Shrove Sunday, not Shove Tuesday it would be a lot more fun for me.

I started
writing this on Monday and it's now Saturday. Some people blog
effortlessly but my attempts are always thwarted by something or other.
I have images stacked up in iPhoto, of subjects I want to eulogize
about... one day I'll write about them.

We drove to London on Sunday to visit Simon & Angie at the very successful, 'St Judes in the City' exhibition held at the Bankside Gallery
over the past 10 days. Before we hit the river bank, we took a trip to
Spitalfields to visit the girls Auntie Miranda at her clothes stall in
the market. Just next to Miranda's stall is one of the Leon Restaurants,
a chain of eaterys set up by Allegra McEvedy, Henry Dimbleby and John
Vincent in 2004.  The food is simple, seasonal, inexpensive, wholesome
and tasty and perfect for family outings.

I've been cooking from
the Leon book since Christmas when I received it as I gift. The
Moroccan Meatballs have been eaten a few times, they're good and dead
simple to make.

Here's a quick recipe how to make Meat Balls similar to Leon's:

500g minced lamb
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
lots for freshly ground pepper and sea salt
1 handful of both chopped mint and parsley
1 pitta torn up and soaked in milk
1 good pinch of dried oregano

1. Squeeze the excess milk from the pitta bread and add to a bowl with all of the other ingredients.
2. Using your hands, mix all the ingredients together until well combined.
3. Roll into balls and either char grill as they do at Leon's, fry or bake on silicone sheet in hot oven for 15 minutes.

We
eat ours with either a homemade spicy tomato sauce made from: two tins
of whole plum tomatoes added to a pan which contains browned sliced
garlic cooked in olive oil. Add a cinnamon stick, a pinch of chili
flakes, a pinch of sugar, oregano, salt and black pepper. Reduce until
thick.

Alternatively, serve with rocket leaves, tzakiki, houmous, pitta bread and baked sliced aubergine.