Hot Smokin' Hubby

Even since Hubby saw Hugh F-W smoke fish in an old bread bin on River Cottage Autumn he's wanted to give it a go. Hubby being the resourceful man he is, he didn't want to buy a brand new smoker, but make one himself.

Hubby bought the bread bin a few months ago on ebay and last week the heat source he had been looking for, an old paraffin lamp/stove, finally arrived. The bread bin was then lined with oak chips that once heated begin to smoke. Hubby also has some whisky soaked chips somewhere, which should give an interesting flavour.



There is essentially 2 types of smoker. A hot smoker and a cold smoker. A cold smoker is use for flavouring a food, but not cooking it whereas a hot smoker not only cooks the food, but also flavours it.

In tonights fading light Hubby decided to try out his new toy by smoking some plaice. The fish was cooked & smoked in 15 min. I have to admit smoked fish isn't really to my taste so I only had the tiniest amount, but Hubby was impressed with what he had achieved and is interested in trying to smoke other things. The cold smoker is now next on his to-make list.

A Fuzzy Feeling Inside

Today we went to the cinema. We don't go to the cinema together very often as we rarely can agree as to which films to watch. With his favourite films being things like Resident Evil & Layer Cake and mine being Moulin Rouge & Hairspray, you can see where the problem lies. He was very instant on watching Indiana Jones and he has been badgering me for weeks. I will get him back. I'm insisting as I've had to sacrifice 2 hours to watch Indiana Jones he must come and watch Mamma Mia with me...mwhahaha.

After the torture of Indiana Jones (ok it wasn't that bad!) we went to the PYO farm. The farm signs indicated that the raspberries were now ready. Well lets just say it took us 45 min to fill a small punnet of raspberries, they do taste good though. I think in about 1.5 weeks the crops will be better. The odd raspberries we did find were like glistening ruby beacons. While there we did manage to pick a more impressive punnet of strawberries and blackcurrants.

Tonight's meal was Tuna Fishcakes. I really enjoyed them. For 26 years I've been avoiding tuna, not realising I actually like it. Thanks to Lizzie @ Hollow Legs I can now add tuna to my list of fish I like!

This evening while preparing dinner and the summer puddings for tomorrow I popped out to the front of the house to be greeted with a sight that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Coming down the road toward the house was a classic sports car decked out in wedding ribbons. I'm not 100% sure what car it was but it looked like an MG and it was from the same era as the Austin Healey Sprite we hired for our wedding last year. It stopped me in my tracks. I glanced at the bride, she was beaming. I smiled back as I knew exactly how she was feeling.

Crispy Cod & Posh Peas

My quest to introduce fish into my diet continues. Last month was salmon and this month is cod. The only time I've had cod before is from a fish & chip shop. I would try and eat fish more, but there is a distinct lack of fishmongers where I live and the farm shop only sells fish once a month and I'm yet to brave tinned tuna etc...

I coated the fish in my new best friend - polenta. I gives the fish a lovely crispy coating. Hubby made his delicious Heston Inspired Chips to accompany the fish, peas and big wedge of lemon. I love peas at the best of times, but slightly pulsing the pea 1) made them easier to eat as they didn't roll off! 2) intensified the pea taste. We'll certainly be coming back to this dish. Next time I would like to try it with either hake or haddock.

Crispy Cod
Serves 2

2 cod skinned fillets totalling around 340g
100g polenta
1 tbsp garam masala
juice and rind of 1 lemon
2 spring onions finely sliced
rapeseed oil

1)Mix polenta, garam masala, lemon and spring onions. Smother each fillet with a small amount of oil. Press each fillet into the polenta mix until evenly coated.

2)Heat a small amount of oil in frying/saute pan on a medium heat. Cook fish for around 3 min each side until golden. Drain fish on some kitchen paper before serving.

Posh Peas

1.5 cups of frozen peas
1 tsp mint
1 tbsp creme fraiche (optional - just makes them slightly more creamy)

1) Cook peas in boiling water, drain, add mint then blitz with stick blender or processor until you have a thick, coarse paste. Stir in creme fraiche.

A Fishy First - Salmon Fishcakes

Tonight was a first for me. Until a few months ago I would touch fish, just the smell and look of it made me feel ill. I don't know what came over me, but one day I decided I wanted to try fish. Slowly I've been trying different fish dishes and tonight was the first time we ate fish at home. The farm shop had fish available today so I decided to take the plunge and make fishcakes...OK a slight lie, Hubby made the fishcakes, I sorted the recipe (with a little help from River Cottage Family Cookbook)! I really enjoyed the fishcakes and look forward to trying them with other types of fish.

Salmon Fishcakes
Makes 6 large fishcakes

350g salmon fillet
500g potatoes
milk, enough to cover salmon
1 bay leaf
strip of lemon zest
4 peppercorns
small handful of coriander
5 small slices of bread, breadcrumbed
2 tbsp plain flour
1 egg, beaten
big knob of butter
1 tbsp olive oil
seasoning

1) Peel potatoes then boil for 15-20 min until soft, drain. Place fish in a saucepan, cover with milk. Add bay leaf, lemon, coriander and peppercorns. On a medium heat let the milk slowly come to the boil then turn off the heat. The fish will continue to cook. Allow to cool

2) Mash the potatoes with a small amount of the fishy milk. Season.

3) Drain the milk off the fish and break up into flakes. Add to the mashed potato. Mix in some coriander.

4) Mould mixture into 6 fishcakes. First dip in flour, then beaten egg, then finally the breadcrumbs.

5) Heat butter and oil in the frying pan. Gently fry fishcakes for 4-5 min per side, until golden.