Old Patterns

When my daughter was a teenager one of the family "rules" were sharing at least one meal together each day, although there were modifying factors if either of us had plans out.

The table was properly set with full and formal manners that would have pleased even my stuffy mother, and intelligent, polite conversation was expected. The subjects kept up us caught up with our lives, let us make plans, but movies, books, politics and culture in general also would pop up as topics. Almost anything was up for chatting.

Manners and topics aside, it was just nice sharing time together.

We would also have rude suppers, where we would sit in front of the TV. MASH was a favourite rude supper viewing or if we had a book that was just too exciting not to read we would read at the table.

Now that it's my daughter and me In Geneva we are trying to have one meal a day together with us taking turns cooking. The old rule of whoever cooks doesn't clean, but the cook better cook neat, still applies.

We are experimenting with recipes. Today Llara tried a vegetarian haggis. The girl misses Scotland. I have spent so many years missing her, that having her front of me for a meal, that I don't really care what she cooks. However, she's a good cook and can recognize a pleasing recipe. True Scots may shudder, but it still was wonderful. Here's today's.

Ingredients

Serves: 10

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 small carrot, finely chopped
• 5 fresh mushrooms, finely chopped
• 250ml vegetable stock
• 5 tablespoons dried red lentils
• 2 tablespoons canned kidney beans, mashed
• 3 tablespoons finely ground peanuts
• 2 tablespoons finely ground hazelnuts
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons mixed spice
• 1 egg, beaten
• 250g steel cut oats

Preparation method

Prep: 20 mins | Cook: 1 hour

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat and saute the onion 5 minutes, until tender. Mix in carrot and mushrooms and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the stock, lentils, kidney beans, peanuts, hazelnuts, soy sauce and lemon juice. Season with thyme, rosemary, cayenne pepper and mixed spice. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in oats, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 190 C / Gas mark 5. Lightly grease a 23x13cm loaf tin.

 

4. Stir the egg into the saucepan. Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf tin. Bake 30 minutes until firm.