This week, a more
personal column. I’m somewhat incapacitated at present, recovering from a knee
replacement. As I write it’s been three weeks to the day since my operation.
Fortunately, I sailed blissfully into it without realising that it is in fact a
major operation – how naive can you be?
In many
ways, that was a bonus because I didn’t fret too much ahead of time, just
delighted to remedy my banjaxed constantly aching knee. After three days, I
arrived home from hospital with a bag of painkillers and reams of physio
instructions. I HATE Physio but know it must be done and certainly must be
worth persevering, because everybody tells me cheerfully that I’ll be a ‘new
woman’ with a new lease of life in three or four months’ time, I certainly hope
they’re right…
So I’ll
continue to work on my 90° bends (Ouch) and give fervent thanks that we can now
get ‘spare parts’ when our old joints wear out. I believe that my ‘bionic knee’
was actually manufactured locally. How fortunate are we?
So lots of
healing to be done. The urge to sleep all day long is irresistible but apparently,
NO I must get out of bed and walk to get those joints working! My physio, who
is lovely but determined, taught my daughters how to help me. And I’m deeply
grateful to all who repeat ‘Mar-vell-ous’ over and over again to encourage my
painful efforts and to those who make me laugh and suggest programs like the
Durrells that are easy on the nerves and take my mind off the aches and pains.
It’s slow
but I definitely think that I’m making progress – who knew that there is a
whole crutch lingo, bad leg, good leg, crutch and different colour crutches!
Mine are
Kingfisher blue which coincidentally match my blue corduroy dress which means
that I get lots of compliments for my stylish but none-the-less, totally
accidental coordination!
I now know
that this major op takes time to heal so I’ve been practising what I preach
using food as my medicine…
I’ve been
drinking lots of bone broth with thick-slices of buttered bread immersed in the
nourishing liquid, so comforting that it should be good for my bones.
Lots of natural yoghurt and honey too with a scattering of crunchy ashura over the top. This is a delicious Middle Eastern breakfast cereal made from puffed rice, dried fruit, and toasted nuts. Brilliant stuff to start the day as is tangy milk kefir made from our own Jersey milk.
Macroom oatmeal porridge is another wonderful way to add pep to your step, full of vitamins and minerals, they contain unique antioxidants called avenanthramides – there’s a mouthful!
I went out of my way to find organic, chemical-free, free-range, pasture fed, beef, lamb, pork and liver.
The shrimp season has just opened in Ballycotton. For just a few months in the year we can get these little grey shrimps which turn bright pink when cooked in boiling salted water (1 heaped tablespoon of salt to 1.2 litres of water). They too have lots of omega-3 and calcium, particularly if one eats the shells as I do. The heads are too prickly, so I don’t eat them but still suck out the delicious contents from the head.
Carrageen Moss is
another favourite with soft brown sugar and Jersey cream, lots of iodine,
vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
One of my
best treats was this blackberry and sweet geranium posset made from the wild
blackberries (high in Vitamin E, K and C and lots of dietary fibre. They are
dripping off the brambles in hedgerows all over the countryside at present.
Pick as
many as you can. Use them in every way possible, from breakfast cereals to
smoothies, crumbles, tarts, jams, jellies and best of all they freeze
brilliantly. Just tray freeze first, then pour the frozen berries into bags or
plastic boxes to enjoy during the winter.
The
combination of sweet geranium, (Pelargonium Graveolens) and blackberries are a marriage
made in heaven. If you don’t already have a plant, look out for them at
your local garden centre or we have them here at the Ballymaloe Cookery School
Farm Shop in Shanagarry (telephone in advance 021 4646785).
Ashura Cereal
Ashura is a traditional Turkish dessert known as Noah’s Ark pudding. The legend goes that, running low on supplies in the Ark, Noah boiled together everything they had – dried wheat, beans, fruit, nuts, spices and honey. Can be served for breakfast (minus the beans) with yoghurt, jam and fresh fruit but is also great with just milk or even on its own as an addictive nibble. This recipe was given to us by Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich from Honey & Co Restaurant in London.
Ingredients
95ml sunflower or coconut oil
110g honey
110g dark soft brown sugar
1 tsp table salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground mahleb seeds or replace with freshly ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cardamom pods
1 x packet puffed rice (160g)
85g pecans, roughly chopped
40g sunflower seeds
50g pumpkin seeds
30g sesame seeds
85g almonds, very roughly chopped
Method
Preheat the
oven to fan 170°C/Gas Mark 4.
Line a
couple of large flat baking trays with baking parchment.
Combine the
oil, honey and sugar in a medium saucepan and set on a high heat. Mix well and
bring to the boil, stirring occasionally to avoid it burning on the base.
Place the
rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
Once the
honey syrup is bubbling, carefully pour it over the dry ingredients in the
bowl. Use a large spoon to stir, turning the contents of the bowl over a
few times until everything is well coated with the syrup. Transfer the
mixture to the baking trays and flatten it out a little so that there is an
extra there is an even layer of cereal.
Place in
the centre of the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Carefully
remove one tray at a time and mix the cereal around to make sure everything is
getting roasted and crispy. Return the trays to the oven for an
additional 5-6 minutes, then remove and leave the ashura to cool entirely on
the trays before breaking into large clusters.
Once the
cereal is cold, transfer it to an airtight container. This keeps for well
over 2 weeks, if you don’t get addicted and eat it all before then!
Macroom Oatmeal Porridge
Virtually every morning in Winter I start my day with a bowl of porridge. Search out Macroom stoneground oatmeal which has the most delicious toasted nutty flavour. It comes in a lovely old-fashioned red and yellow pack which I hope they never change.
Serves 4
Ingredients
155g Macroom oatmeal
1.4 litres water
1 level teaspoon salt
obligatory accompaniment!
soft brown sugar
Method
Bring 6 cups of water to the boil, sprinkle in the oatmeal, gradually stirring all the time. Put on a low heat and stir until the water comes to the boil.
Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the salt and stir again. Serve with Jersey cream or whole (preferably raw) milk and soft brown sugar melting over the top or any other favourite toppings of your choice.
Leftover porridge can be stored in a covered container in the fridge – it will reheat perfectly the next day but will need some extra water added.
Note
If the porridge is waiting, keep covered otherwise it will form a skin which is difficult to dissolve.
Rory O’Connell’s Blackberry and Sweet Geranium Posset
Make these delightful little possets with the freshly picked wild blackberries now in season.
Rory likes to serve them in little cups or glasses. The portions should be quite small as this is quite a rich little dish, but as Rory says, it’s better to be longing for one more spoonful rather than being faced with too much food. Frozen blackberries work remarkably well during the Winter months.
Serves 8
Ingredients
400ml cream
90g caster sugar
5 leaves of rose or lemon scented geranium
100g blackberries
50ml lemon juice
Method
Place the cream, sugar, geranium leaves and blackberries in a small saucepan and bring to a bare simmer. Stir the saucepan occasionally to encourage the sugar to dissolve. Maintain that bare simmer for 5 minutes. If the cream boils hard the texture and consistency of the posset will be spoiled.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. You will notice the colour of the cream improving dramatically as soon as the lemon juice goes in. Now strain the cream through a sieve to remove the geranium leaves and at the same time push as much of the blackberries through as possible.
Pour the strained cream into 8 little cups or glasses and allow to cool before placing in the fridge for 3 hours to set. The posset will keep perfectly in your fridge for several days. I like to cover them to protect the delicate flavour.
Serve with a little softly whipped cream and if you have them, a fresh or crystallised rose petal and a nougatine biscuit from Rory O’Connell’s The Joy of Food published by Gill Books.
