Tomato and chili prawn curry with cauliflower and spiced beet puree

Tomatoes are like dogs. They have too short a life span. And, like dogs, the more pure - bred, the sooner the expiration date. Heirloom tomatoes start to get alarmingly squidgy very quickly. Tell tale bites on your arms are usually the first signs that small midge like flies are seeking out the over ripe fruits. Neil gets unhappy about flies, having hysterical tendencies about them the way other people do about spiders. He's not so much afraid of them as detests them beyond all reason and will go to untold lengths to keep them from entering the apartment. Therefore, you can see the necessity I have to use the fruits before we have a mini swarm on our hands and an irrational male thrashing about.

Curry, beer and karaoke

Why does Jamie Oliver act like he's a genius every time he does something that everybody else has been doing instinctively for ages anyway? He made a Caesar salad and put the bread underneath the chicken while it cooked, so that all the juicy goodness was absorbed by the bread which became the croutons. Good idea, I'll admit, but why does he act like he's the only person in the world to be smart enough to think of this? You wouldn't hear Nigel Slater blowing his own trumpet about such an idea, he'd share it modestly. A small rant, but something I needed to get off my chest, obviously.

In the latest edition of cooking without a fridge or freezer, it occurred to me that in one of my previous posts I posted a picture of my fridge contents, here. Imagine how much of this I had to throw away. As I mentioned earlier, it was quite liberating to finally get rid of those rainbow chili jellies and 6 year old Charmoula pastes that had been lurking at the back. Reducing the contents by two thirds has had it's challenges, however, and yesterday, we went to a friend's house to make lamb curry, the lamb having being relocated to his freezer.

But they're so cute!

More baby vegetable madness. This time in the form of oh so cute multi-coloured baby beets and multi-coloured baby cauliflower. I just can't resist!

Food fashion dictates that having a whole, miniature vegetable on your plate is extremely attractive and appetizing, like a little bunch of baby carrots or some cute little baby leeks. Is it the cuteness that makes us want to eat them so much? it seems incredibly distorted, taking away their prime when the older, more mature specimens could be sacrificed! I think it's the promise of freshness and sweetness that automatically comes with anything small and tender. Consider the pea and the potato. Nothing screams sweet and fresh as much as baby peas, picked straight from the pod or new baby potatoes, dug that morning from the soil. Whatever the allure is, I'm in, hook line and sinker every time.

Recipe
Minted lamb chops, baby beets and cauliflower with Swiss cheese.

1 rack of lamb, separated into chops and Frenched. (Your butcher can do this, or you can buy one already prepared)
4 tsp mint sauce from a jar
salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
1 pack mini beets
1 pack baby cauliflower
1/4 cup cheese (anything you like)
1 packet lamb gravy mix with mint (I know, it was sitting there looking convenient)!

• Spread a bit of the mint over each lamb chop and season with salt and pepper.

• Heat about 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan and fry the lamb until browned on both sides, about 8 minutes. (You really want to try and keep the lamb pink in the centre).

• Let the lamb rest wrapped in foil.

• Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and cook the beets for about 10 minutes, drain and add a pat of butter or oil.

• Cook the cauliflower in the same way, drain, add butter and cheese, stir well. (I really overcooked the cauliflower, so it turned to a cheesy mush, which was OK).

• Serve the lamb with extra mint sauce, gravy, whole beets and cauliflower.