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making my own ricotta, I wanted the flavour of the ricotta to get a chance to shine, and felt that in a traditional

As mentioned in Day 53 of The Challenge This is the first recipe I learned to make myself, and I was very proud as a young teen to have been the one to introduce it to the family rotation. I originally got it from a cookbook, but it has evolved quite significantly since then, and it has truly become mine over the years. It is a very simple, very easy dish with a surprising amount of flavour for the effort that goes into it. It can be served with any number of different things, including bread, rice, polenta or pasta. This time we served it with steamed greens and polenta. There are a number or ways of making polenta. For this, as the chicken dish is rich and acidic, I went with a creamy polenta, cooking it in milk rather than broth, water or wine. Ingredients: 2 chickens, dismembered 2 heads of garlic 6-8 potatoes, smashed 5-6 tomatoes 2-3 lemons, sliced the juice of 1 lemon 1 c white wine 3-4 tbsp olive oil 2-3 sprigs of thyme salt and pepper to taste For the polenta: 1 tbsp butter 1 1/2 c coarse corn meal 3-4 c milk salt and pepper to taste 1) Place the dismembered chickens parts in a large oven proof dish. Scatter the garlic cloves still in their paper around the chicken. Tuck the smashed potatoes under the chicken pieces. (Smashing them allows the chicken juices to penetrate better to the centre of the potato, cooking it from the inside as well as the outside). Tuck the tomatoes in on top, and place then the lemon slices over everything. 2) Drizzle the lemon juice, olive oil and white wine evenly over the top, then salt and pepper to taste. Place the thyme sprigs on top. 3) Bake at 180°C for 35-45 minutes, until the skin is a crispy golden brown and the chicken juices run clear. 4) Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the corn meal and stir. Once the corn meal is all coated and the colour has deepened, add the milk. Stir (almost) constantly as the polenta thickens. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve with the chicken. Simple satisfying and balanced, this is one of my favourite meals! I hope you enjoy it too!

Day 37 of The Challenge (I lied. We cooked tonight rather than eating leftovers before leaving on our trip). We roasted the last of our Georgia candy roaster pumpkin this evening, and had 250g of chanterelles left. It was either pumpkin pasta with a mushroom sauce or risotto. We opted for the risotto, and the pumpkin pasta will have to wait (although not to long. I do so love it and it had been a little while since I pulled out my pasta maker). This was creamy and filling (and orange) and very tasty. Ingredients: 250 g of Arborio rice 1 1/2 c roasted pumpkin in chunks 3 onions, chopped 1/2 head of garlic, peeled and chopped 250 g of chanterelles 3 tbsp olive oil 1 c of milk 1 1/2 - 2 c of water, broth or reserved mushroom water (like from prepping a chanterelle tart) 1 1/2 tsp sumac 1 tbsp lime juice 2 tsp thyme 1 tsp sage 1 tsp urfa biber (Turkish black chilli pepper) salt and pepper to taste Parmesan for sprinkling 1) Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan and sauté onions. When they go translucent and then begin to char a little on the bottom, add in the garlic and then keep them moving. 2) Heat the rest of the olive oil in a saucepan and add the rice. Stir until translucent then add the water/mushroom water/broth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed. Add milk and stir. 3) Once garlic is soft, add the chanterelles, the thyme and the sage and lower the heat. Cook gently, allowing the mushrooms to give off their liquid. 4) As the rice cooks and absorbs the liquid, add the pumpkin and stir. Add sumac, and once the milk is absorbed, add lime juice and urfa biber. 5) When the rice has thickened and cooked, add the mushrooms and onions to the rice and mix. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle desired parmesan over the top. Super tasty. I love making risotto and find them relatively quick and easy once you figure them out. They are endlessly adaptable too. The flavours played off each other beautifully in this tonight. It would have worked with bacon, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that it lost out by not having any.

I don't think I've made rösti since last year when my Non-Traditional 6 Veg Rösti was my first post on I do enjoy a traditional rösti, but all too often I find it too stodgy and heavy, and just too greasy It is an endlessly adaptable dish if you allow yourself to be unbound from strict tradition...

Served up as a chicken melt. About a year ago, I made some of my own vinegars. After leaving them to age for a while to allow the flavours to develop, I started trying to think of ways to use them. I've used a number of them in different things (I used my apple and rosehip vinegar in my Black Pudding and Pumpkin Pie, and I used some of my lemon vinegar in the Creamy Lemon Pasta for example). An idea I had a while back was to use the rosehip vinegar in a homemade mayo and then to use that mayo as the flavour base for a chicken salad. It took a while but I finally got around to it. And I'm glad I did, too. It was nice to make my own mayo again after a bit of a hiatus since making my other ones. You could use apple cider vinegar instead of the rosehip vinegar for an easy swap. Recipe Cook Time: approx. 1 hour -- Portions: 4-6 -- Cooking Level: Easy Ingredients: for the mayo: 1 egg yolk 3/4 c rapeseed oil 3 tbsp rosehip vinegar 1 tsp mustard (preferably whole grain) pinch of sumac salt to taste For the chicken salad: 2 c shredded leftover roast chicken 2 celery sticks, diced 2 1/2- 3 tbsp rosehip mayo 3-4 tbsp yoghurt 1 tsp mustard 1 spring onion, dicced 1/2c raisins For the melts: butter, toast, grated cheese to top, urfa biber 1) Place the egg yolk in a small bowl and beat with a whisk. Then, very gradually, whisk in the oil, a few drops at a time to begin with. You can go a bit faster once it begins to emulsify. As it thickens, add the vinegar. Once all the oil is incorporated, stir in the mustard (I used some of my homemade wholegrain mustard) and the salt and sumac. Set aside. 2) In a large bowl, place the shredded chicken, then mix in the other ingredients. For the Chicken melts: Butter a cast iron skillet, then arrange pieces of toast on the bottom. Spoon chicken salad on top, sprinkle with grated cheese and urfa biber. Bake at 180°C until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown, 10-15 minutes. I was really pleased with these. They made a relatively quick and very easy dinner to assemble. Trying to juggle Little Bit and Littler Bit's schedules, I made the mayo and the chicken salad ahead of time, then the melts were extremely quick and easy when we got home. The flavour of the rosehip vinegar worked in the mayo, but was less pronounced than I would have liked it, and even less so in the chicken salad. As a whole though, the flavours were delightfully balanced. The mayo, yoghurt and cheese do produce a rather rich meal, but in my defence, temperatures outside were decidedly negative and we had been out rolling in the snow. Swaps and substitutions: If need be, it would work equally well with leftover turkey. Use apple cider vinegar instead of the homemade one, or in a pinch, use a pre-made mayo. Skip the raisins and toast to make it keto-friendly, or use gluten-free toast for a gluten-free meal. Instead of Urfa Biber, use your favourite tandoori or paprika to sprinkle over the top. Leftover cabbage in the fridge? Slice some thinly and use that instead of the celery. Book Pairing: While mixing the mayo, I was listening to Adam Kay's This is Going to Hurt, all about his time in the NHS. Having worked in the NHS just after he left, it did bring back some memories, some good, some bad. Nurses had it easier than junior doctors at that point, so my experiences were quite different, but many experiences resonated, from idiots in A&E, especially on a Friday night (looking at you Glasgow), to the unavoidable, or even worse, the avoidable deaths. It was entertainingly written for the most part, and I did enjoy it, but it was bittersweet. I do definitely recommend it if you feel you don't understand why nurses and doctors have been striking in UK.

With autumn mists and fall harvest fruits and vegetables available, I've been enjoying taking advantage as much as possible of what's on offer. Planning a white lasagna, I was excited to realise that I had part of a pumpkin that needed using and some apples in the fruit bowl. I wasn't sure how it was going to go, but seeing as everyone at the table (including someone who is not Hubby and therefore is less biased) had seconds, I thought it was probably worth posting. For this, I specially grilled a chicken in the air fryer (I love how easy that was) but normally I would have used leftover chicken from a roast dinner or something. Ingredients: 2 - 2 1/2 c chicken, shredded 3 onions (small) diced 2 apples, diced 2 c spinach or (2 cubes frozen spinach) 2 tbsp butter 1 tbsp sage 1 tsp orange peel 1 - 2 c whey 1 tsp sumac 1/4 c butter 1 zucchini, thinly sliced along its length 1 2 inch pumpkin wedge, thinly sliced 2 1/2 c ricotta 1 1/2 c parmesan, grated Lasagna sheets 1 tomato, sliced 1) In a saucepan, melt the butter then sweat the onions. Add apple, spinach, sumac, orange peel and sage and cook until apple is beginning to soften. Add chicken and enough whey to moisten but not drown the sauce. 2) Melt remaining butter. Brush an ovenproof dish and begin layering: zucchini, chicken and apple sauce, pumpkin, pasta brushed with butter, ricotta, parmesan, repeat. End on a layer of ricotta, parmesan and then sliced tomatoes. 3) Bake at 180°C for about 45minutes until a knife goes in easily and the top is golden and molten. This was really tasty, but I made it a little too wet. I have a bit of a hard time judging the right level of moistness in a white lasagna sauce. It was just right on the second go when we reheated it though! I had thought of using apple sauce in the chicken sauce instead of the whey (which, incidentally, you can replace with stock if you don't have whey lying around), but decided not to this time. I had also considered adding some warm autumnal spicing, given that I was using pumpkin and apple, but didn't. Maybe next time.

Risotto is one of my go-to recipes. Sometimes there is a specific kind that I plan ahead, sometimes it is a question of using up what's in the fridge. This one was a bit of both. I've used chestnuts in risotto before (check out my Caramel Chestnut Risotto), but I wanted to do something a little different and a little more savoury. We had a local pork sausage in the fridge, so I decided to see how well the two flavours would marry. Chestnuts always hold special emotional associations for me, reminding me of Christmas magic and family time, so anything with chestnuts to me, is the ultimate comfort food! All the more so when it is a stick-to-your-ribs risotto for a cold evening. And now that chestnuts are available frozen, my desire for such food doesn't have to be limited to November and December (although admittedly November is a cold, grey month needing all the cheer it can get!) Warning: the amount of rice is a bit of a guesstimate on this one. Add liquid slowly, so that there is not too much. If need be, add a little extra liquid. Recipe Cook time: approx 50 minutes -- Servings: 6-8 ( depending on size) -- Cooking level: Easy Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil 1 head garlic, minced 3 1/2 - 4 c arborio rice 4 c beef stock 2 c pork sausage, chopped 8 carrots, chopped 1 tbsp sage 1 tsp tarragon 2 tsp thyme 1 1/2 c red cooking wine 2 c water (if needed) 1 c milk 1 1/2 - 2 c roasted chestnuts, halved or quartered 1/2 c soft cheese, in pieces ( I used a tomme vaudoise, similar to a Brie, but local) Optionally, accompany with: sumac, apple sauce, cranberry sauce, walnuts 1) In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil. Stir in the garlic and fry for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the rice and stir for another minute or two, until the grains turn translucent. Be careful not to burn them! Add the stock and bring to a simmer, stirring. 2) Meanwhile, in a saucepan, fry the sausage and the carrots (if your sausage is not rendering, then add a little olive oil here). Add the herbs. Cook until the carrots are fork-tender, then set aside. 3) Once the rice has absorbed the stock, still stirring, add the wine and continue to simmer. Once that is absorbed, stir in the veg and sausage, the chestnuts and the milk, allowing the flavours to marry as the last of the liquid is absorbed. When almost all the liquid is gone, stir in the cheese. 4) Serve hot, and accompany with toasted walnuts, cranberry sauce, apple sauce or simply a sprinkling of sumac. (we tried all four, individually or in combinations and greatly enjoyed them). We really enjoyed this. I like risottos (risotti?) anyway, but wasn't entirely sure how the different flavours would marry. I was working on a hunch and on the principle of the sniff and taste test as you go method. It worked! Everyone really enjoyed it. The leftovers, we fried up as simple arancini balls in the air fryer, some with a little cranberry or cheese centre, some with some breading on the outside. While those were nice, though, they weren't necessary. Just the simple leftover risotto fried up in balls was tasty. On a smaller scale, the arancini would work as nibbles for party food. Just a thought... I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

For our next Variations on a Theme collaboration with my sister and our friend Hibiscus Kook, the prompt was Tomato Pasta. Check out below where each of us went with that! Konjac Cherry tomato Pasta by Hibiscus Kook This recipe is gluten-free and vegan friendly Creamy Cauliflower Ravioli in a Vodka Tomato Sauce by my Sister Tomato and Whipped Feta Ravioli with a Tomato and Aubergine Sauce by Me This was another fun collaboration for our Variations on a Theme. Watch this space for the next one! In case you want to try making these but don't have a pasta machine, pasta tree or ravioli cutter, click on the links to get one of your own! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Here is a another new twist on pumpkin soup. So tasty and a beautiful variant to the traditional pumpkin spice soup. I do like the traditional one, but this one will be sticking around too.

Shrove Tuesday was therefore a good time to use up eggs and fats which remained, and so pancakes became traditional Shrove Tuesday, and certainly eat them at other times of the year, but once in a while, it is a fun tradition