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Poldark rides again!

Posted in Poldark, Robin Ellis on May 10, 2013| 96 Comments »

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With fond memories of the late Angharad Rees

The BBC announced yesterday that Poldark is to be remade and will hit the screens in 2015–the 40th anniversary of the original showing.

Amazing news for everyone who loves a good story, for fans of the original, for Cornwall and for a whole new generation who are unaware of the rich pickin’s in Winston Graham’s saga.

His stories and characters are still being enjoyed 70 years after he wrote the first book in 1945. They still stand up–as many who contribute to this blog bear witness.

Our Winston was a master storyteller and we, the original cast, were lucky to be involved.

Mammoth Screen is the company producing the new version.

They have recently been responsible for Parade’s End and Endeavour (the prequel to Morse). Both period pieces done with a care and attention to detail that bodes well for the remake of Poldark.

Richard Morant, the first Dr. Enys, who died too young at 65 in 2011 was asked in a TV programme what made Poldark a success. He replied:

‘It’s about love—it’s about betrayal—the things that hurt us– the things that give us joy….Where people you know are going through their emotions, expressing their feelings of love, life and death–it evokes strong attachments, strong passion–and you love it! You love them, you love the people, you cherish them, you honour them, you respect them!”

Winston would have liked this explanation and I’m sure would have joined me in wishing Good luck to everyone involved in the new project.

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A fair cop for “THE FUGITIVE”..!

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Poldark, Robin Ellis, tagged , , , , on May 6, 2013| 31 Comments »

The second group of Bravehearts (participants in my cooking workshops here) are enjoying an aperitif in the sunshine, on the terrace of the magnificent and aptly named B & B, La Terrace de Lautrec.

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We are about to sit down to a well deserved final meal (prepared by us of course).

Lunch, al fresco, overlooking the historic parterre–newly-clipped and  immaculate.

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Suddenly we hear a ruckus from inside the house. The sound of a voice that has a familiar and unwelcome ring to me–is of a particular timbre.

Loud, angry and Scots! 

It triggers unpleasant memories and I find my overall sense of well being and satisfaction at completing a second workshop is swiftly turning into a feeling of anxiety–as I realise I am about to be nabbed!

Like the dour Scot he was back in the days of Poldark, dear old Captain McNeil never gave up the chase, it appears! His persistence (some would say his obsession) has finally paid off for him and I am cornered by a red faced redcoat on horseback!

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Donald Douglas as Capt. McNeil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IevZBj6Yisw

Happily for all concerned, the redoubtable Captain (aka Donald Douglas), after agreeing to hang up his musket–sits down, at the head of the table and charms us all with his highland banter.

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Old enemies bury the past.

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Delivered!

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, Robin Ellis on April 30, 2013| 43 Comments »

Just after ten this morning I leaned into the kitchen table and under the keen eye of “she who records everything ” with the camera, I pressed the send button on my laptop–click.

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After a longer than usual pause because of the contents of the email, we heard the familiar whoosh and off it went to Judith Mitchell my editor at Constable & Robinson in London.

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The cookbook was sent and delivered simultaneously–a miracle we now take for granted.

An hour later when I returned from the market I checked for emails and Judith had replied, already downloaded the whole book and even glanced at the introduction–I feel breathless recounting this!

Title: Healthy Eating for Life

Publication date: January 2014.

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Tari’s stir fried cabbage with peas

Posted in Diabetes, Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, Robin Ellis, tagged , , , , on April 7, 2013| 21 Comments »

London again–briefly.

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Out of Spring–back into Winter–snowing when we arrived!

Our friend Tari–the carefree cook from Delicious Dishes–is cooking lunch and I’ve just watched him stir fry some cabbage for lunch to go with spatchcocked poussin.

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1 medium cabbage–outer leaves removed, quartered, de-stemmed and sliced fine

a swirl of  olive oil in the pan

1tsp cumin seeds,

1tsp turmeric

a pinch of red chili flakes

a couple of bay leaves

salt and pepper

a couple of handfuls of frozen green peas

  • He heats the oil in a large sauté pan.
  • Adds the cumin seeds and fries them briefly until  they color a little.
  • Adds the cabbage and turns it over thoroughly in the oil.
  • Adds the spices and seasons it all with salt and pepper.
  • Stir-fries over a highish heat for about five minutes–(the cabbage wilts but retains a bit of a bite!)
  • Tari says that if the heat is too low it will steam the cabbage and taste like hospital food!–and won’t pick up the little flecks of brown that add to its deliciousness–don’t burn it though!.
  • Then he adds the peas and turns them in and over with the cabbage.

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  • He likes to cook this a little ahead of time to let the flavours meld–then reheat it just before eating.
  • It looking beautifully green and I can hardly wait!

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Claude and Chickpea move on…

Posted in other sides to this life, Robin Ellis, tagged , , on April 3, 2013| 26 Comments »

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…to a new life an hour north of here.

They left in their “limo”, after lunch, each in his own cat box covered with a blanket to lessen their anxiety.

They were quiet all the way–well I would have been, not knowing where I was heading.

We were sad to see them go, of course; especially Chickpea, who the French would call un peu special (a little odd).

He approached all new arrivals with a sideways shuffle movement, which managed to signal “very pleased to see you” and  “watch out!” at the same time.

To us towering humans it was amusing but might have been more worrying to your average hen!

The problem was the dawn to dusk chorus of cock-a- doodle-doos which woke us up and wore us down.

Chickpea being the bolder of the two would fly up onto the courtyard wall and proceed to the back of the house to start a conversation with Claude over the rooftops.

Cock-a doodle-Claude!
Yes, I’m-Cock-a-doodle-here, Chickers!-cockle-doodle

And so on.

A bowl or two of corn & oats with crushed madelines and walnuts only stopped them for five minutes.

If we’d understood the language we would have joined in.

All I could do was issue unveiled threats like muttering, “two for the pot” or “coq au vin” as I passed by–which fell on deaf ears, usually provoking an even louder “cock-a-doodle-doo” meaning “GET LOST–SEE IF I CARE!” as a rude rejoinder.

They had to go–sadly.

Here they are in their new quarters–much grander than we could offer chez nous!

Plus a harem of hens awaiting them and beautiful open air runs.

We think they’ve “fallen into the butter dish”.

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“Altogether better–don’t you agree Claude?”

–and first reports seem to confirm this!

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Irv’s care-free way to roast a chicken–out of America’s Test Kitchen

Posted in Food, Recipes, Robin Ellis, tagged , , , , , , on April 1, 2013| 21 Comments »

Our friend Irv in Washington D.C. put me onto this wonderfully care-free way to roast a chicken developed by America’s Test Kitchen TV programme.

It’s simple and hands-off (well, the chicken needs a hand getting into the oven but that’s about it!).

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1 average chicken–washed and dried

olive oil

sprigs of rosemary and thyme (if they are at hand or just one of them)

2 or 3 garlic cloves–unpeeled

1/2 (half) a lemon

salt and pepper

white wine for deglazing (scraping up the good bits!) and making the gravy

  • Choose a pan that will hold the chicken easily.
  • Turn the oven on to 450F/230C (Hot!)
  • Put the empty pan in the oven–yes, empty–no oil, nothing!
  • Dribble olive oil over the bird and using your clean hands or a brush, coat the chicken in olive oil.
  • Season the chicken well with salt and black pepper.

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  • Stuff the cavity with the lemon, garlic and herbs.
  • When the oven has reached its target heat, quickly take out the pan wearing oven gloves, pop the chicken on it and put the pan straight back in the oven.
  • Roast the chicken for 30 minutes.
  • Turn off the heat but DON’T open the oven door!
  • Let the bird sit cosily in the oven for a further 30 minutes–it won’t complain.Then take the pan out of the oven and cover the chicken with foil and let it settle/rest for 15-20 minutes.
  • Remove the foil and transfer the chicken to a warmed serving platter.

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  • Carefully spoon out excess fat in the pan–leaving the good gravy making juices behind.
  • Gingerly upend the chicken and let the remaining juices inside fall back into the cooking pan.
  • Deglaze the pan with the white wine on a lowish heat–stirring as the alcohol evaporates.
  • Pour this gravy into a heated gravy boat or jug.

And there you have it–Irv’s simple carefree way to roast a chicken.
Ready for carving…

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Salmon tucked under a spinach blanket with shallot

Posted in Diabetes, Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, Robin Ellis, tagged , , , , , on March 27, 2013| 18 Comments »

I originally published this recipe in early April last year. Yesterday Meredith bought some good looking spinach in Castres market and today a couple of salmon filets caught my eye in Realmont market. Voila! I thought–lunch!

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A shy salmon fillet taking a peek at the world!–today’s version.

I am at the cookbook coal face at the moment, finishing a second book. Finding time to post on this blog is a challenge.

Je m’excuse tout le monde! 

This dish is adapted from a recipe in Simon Hopkinson’s The Good Cook.

He uses butter and vermouth. I use olive oil and white wine–fits in better with my way of eating.

The single pot and the short cooking time make it a useful quick lunch.

for two.

2 salmon fillets–skin left on

1 shallot–chopped fine

300gms/10oz spinach–washed, de-spined and spun free of water

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine

a grating of nutmeg

salt and pepper

  • Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pot with a top.
  • Sauté the shallot for a couple of minutes to soften it.
  • Add the wine and leave it to bubble a moment or two.
  • Lay a third of the spinach in the pan and place the salmon fillets over it.
  • Sprinkle over some salt and pepper and a grating of nutmeg.
  • Cover the salmon with the rest of the spinach.
  • Scatter the remaining tablespoon of oil over the spinach and cover the pan.
  • Cook for seven minutes over a low heat.
  • Turn the heat off and leave the pan covered for ten minutes before serving.
  • These timings can vary depending on the thickness of the salmon fillets.

Less rich than the original might have been, but we enjoyed it.

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Pot roast pork loin w/red wine vinegar, bay and peppercorn

Posted in Diabetes, Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, Robin Ellis, tagged , on March 20, 2013| 11 Comments »

This is smelling mighty good at this moment–gently simmering on the stove.

A dish I’d bet Marcella Hazan ate regularly at this time of the year growing up in Senatico on Italy’s northeast coast.

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Marcella is one of my heroes/mentors–though she doesn’t know it!

She married an American and left home with him to live in New York City in her early thirties.

She claims she had never done much cooking before this–the family meals were cooked by her mother, her grandmothers, aunts, the usual story of an extended Italian family.

Living with a new husband in a foreign land concentrated her mind she claims and she taught herself to cook. She says she remembered the way dishes smelt back in Italy and used this sense to judge if she was doing it right.

No memory of Grandma’s cooking for me but from the smell that’s wafting my way, things seem to be on course!

She cooks Italian/Italian not American/Italian and her books are wonderfully detailed.

There are just three ingredients here apart from olive oil and salt.

It’s a long slow cook.

for 4

1.5 lb piece of pork loin–more or less as required, the cooking time will be the same

olive oil

salt

8 tblsps red wine vinegar

1 tsp black peppercorns

3 bay leaves

  • Heat the oil in a solid pan with a lid.
  • Sear the meat (brown it) all over then salt it.

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  • Add the bay leaves, peppercorns and vinegar–and cover the pan tightly. It’s important not to loose too much liquid.
  • Cook for an hour and half or longer, on the lowest heat possible*.
  • Take out the meat and keep warm, covered with foil.
  • Carefully spoon off the fat.

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  • Add three tablespoons of water and scrape off the bits in the pan.
  • Warm the gravy through.

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*I cooked this tonight for two hours; it was good but next time I’ll reduce the time a little and use a diffuser.

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Still Life…

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Robin Ellis, tagged , on March 18, 2013| 21 Comments »

of an old fruit at work on new Cookbook with table full of fresh fruit.

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Time presses and juices running–with luck.

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Chicken in red cabbage

Posted in Diabetes, Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, Robin Ellis, tagged , on March 16, 2013| 3 Comments »

Red cabbage is a member of the cruciferous family of vegetables (the four petals of their flowers are in the shape of a cross), broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, and bok choy too. These are super vegetables with many health benefits claimed for them.

It  tasted good tonight but is not exactly photogenic!

Meredith bought the red cabbage at the organic market this week and it reminded me. It’s adapted from a Marcella Hazan recipe and has the advantage of being an all-in-one.

The chicken stays beautifully moist buried under its warm overcoat of collapsed cabbage.

for 4/6

1 chicken–cut up into eight or more pieces with the skin removed

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1 red cabbage (at least 1lb/450gm)–quartered, the white stem removed, and thinly sliced

1 largish onion–peeled and thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic–peeled and roughly chopped

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6 tablespoons olive oil

8 tablespoons red wine

salt and pepper

  • Choose a casserole or terracotta pot large enough to hold the chicken pieces in one layer.
  • Soften the onion and garlic in the oil until they begin to colour–about 10 minutes.

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  • Add the cabbage and coat it well with the oily onion and garlic mix.

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  • Cook for 15 minutes, turning it over from time to time as it reduces in volume, taking care it doesn’t burn.
  • Season the cabbage well, then bury the chicken pieces underneath it.
  • Pour over the red wine and cover the pot.
  • Turn the contents over from time to time.
  • Prick the chicken with the tip of a knife after 30 minutes–if the juices run pink leave it to cook longer.

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