Fantasy Veggie Dinner Guest - WILFRED OWEN

This month we commemorate 100 years since the end of the First World War.

Wilfred Owen died on 4th November 1918, just one week before the armistice. He had wanted to be a poet prior to the war, but after he had almost drowned in mud, held a dugout in an advanced position, seen comrades blinded and killed, been treated for shell shock and been awarded the Military Cross, he had the subject matter to match his talent and ensure his reputation.

Futility

Move him into the sun—

Gently its touch awoke him once,

At home, whispering of fields half-sown.

Always it woke him, even in France,

Until this morning and this snow.

If anything might rouse him now

The kind old sun will know. 

Think how it wakes the seeds,—

Woke, once, the clays of a cold star.

Are limbs, so dear-achieved, are sides,

Full-nerved—still warm—too hard to stir?

Was it for this the clay grew tall?

—O what made fatuous sunbeams toil

To break earth’s sleep at all?

Food in the trenches consisted mainly of bully (corned) beef, and stews.

Soldiers relied upon packages from home for any extras, such as chocolate. 

TRENCH CAKE

Trench cake was a popular present. The recipe uses no eggs (as they would have been in short supply) and was republished recently to encourage people, and school children in particular, to try it out.
The measurements were given in pounds and ounces, so I have also included modern equivalents which keep the same ratios. 
My cake didn't rise as much as a modern one would do, so I was relieved to see other efforts online which were all of a similar height.

½lb (220g) plain flour

4oz (110g) margarine, cut into small pieces

1tsp vinegar

¼pt milk

3oz (85g) brown sugar

3oz(85g) currants

2tsp cocoa powder

½ tsp baking soda

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of ginger

grated rind of 1 lemon

Grease and flour a cake tin.

Rub the margarine into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Add the sugar, currants, cocoa, nutmeg, ginger and lemon rind. Stir all together well.

Dissolve the baking soda in the milk and vinegar, and add this to the dry ingredients.

Mix everything together.

Place in the cake tin.

Bake in a moderate oven (180°C/ 350°F/ Gas 4) for about an hour and a half.

Allow to cool a little, then turn out of the tin and allow to cool fully.

CHEESE AND LENTIL SPREAD

This is a teatime dish from the start of the 20th Century. 

It did not specify which type of lentils to use, so I picked red lentils as they are the easiest to cook. 

8oz (225g) cheese, grated 

5½oz (155g) red lentils

3oz (85g) breadcrumbs

4oz onions, chopped finely

1tbsp chopped parsley

salt and pepper

Rinse the lentils and then place in a pan with about 100ml water. Add the onion. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, adding a little more water halfway through if required.

Place all the other ingredients in a bowl.

When the lentils are soft and have absorbed the water, take off the heat.

Add them to the bowl and mix well to make a paste.

I have served it here with bread, which would make it more special, as bread had become a luxury item.

This is where the recipe ends. However, as I was making it, I realised that the ingredients were very similar to those for a cheese and lentil loaf bake. So, I thought that it would be even more of a treat for Wilfred if I made him one of those:

CHEESE AND LENTIL LOAF BAKE

Ingredients as above + 1 egg.

Add the egg to the mix.

Grease and line a loaf tin and pour in the mixture.
Bake at Gas 5/ 190°C/ 375°F for about 50 minutes.

Wait a few minutes, then turn out onto a plate.

Can be served hot or cold. 
I allowed it to cool, cut it into slices and served it with some fresh salad.

For an alternative First World War themed meal, see Zelda's choice for Baldrick.

A Meal for Halloween - DINNER WITH THE VAMPIRE

When Zelda says the vampire, she means The Vampire, the one and only Count Dracula. Here are some ideas for a fun Halloween meal.

There is no better guest for this evening than 'The Count' himself, 

whether as Vlad,

or as portrayed by

Bela Lugosi, or Christopher Lee.

He may not eat much solid food, but he can enjoy the event.

Starter: BLOOD SOUP with MARMITE BAT CROUTONS

1tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

1tbsp dried oregano
1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tbsp fresh chopped basil

1 400g tin of plum tomatoes

2 slices bread

2tbsp Marmite

50g cheddar cheese grated very finely

Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion over a medium heat until it just softens. Add the garlic and cook for a minute more. Then add the oregano and basil.

Tip in the plum tomatoes with their juice. Refill the can with water and add that to the pan, too.

Bring to the boil, and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Then blend and season, and return to the pan.

To make the croutons:
Toast the bread on both sides and then cut out the bat shapes.
(I used a bat-shaped cutter. Place it on the toast and press down hard, then turn the toast over and use a rolling pin to roll over the back. It will give a lovely clean shape.)

Spread each one with Marmite and then top with cheese.  (Don't worry if it looks messy - it will be fine when finished.)
Place on a baking tray.

Grill for a few minutes until the cheese is melted.

Spoon the soup into bowls and top with the croutons.

Main: ‘CHICKEN’ PAPRIKA/ QUORN PAPRIKA  (my version of the dish eaten by Jonathan Harker on his first night in Transylvania)

4 Quorn fillets, defrosted if frozen

2tbsp olive oil

Knob butter

1 onion, chopped

2tbsp paprika

1tbsp flour

300ml veg stock

2 red peppers, deseeded and chopped into strips

4 large juicy tomatoes, chopped

3tbsp parsley, chopped

250ml sour cream

Heat oil and butter. Add onions and peppers and cook until just starting to colour.

Turn down the heat and add the paprika and flour. Stir well to coat the peppers.

Add the stock and the Quorn fillets.

Bring to the boil.

Add half the parsley and the tomatoes.

Simmer gently for about an hour. (Add another 100ml water if needed halfway through the cooking time.)

When ready to serve, stir in the sour cream and the remaining parsley.

Can be accompanied with rice, couscous or (as here) with Dear Little Roasties

Pudding: CARPATHIAN CUPCAKES with GREEN SLIME TOPPING and RED CURRANT COMPOTE

For the Carpathian Cupcakes:
(makes 12 little cakes - serve 2 per person)

125g butter, softened
125g caster sugar
125g self-raising flour
pinch of salt
2 medium free-range eggs
2 tbsp milk
6-8 drops red food colouring 
4tbsp strawberry jam

Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases or (as I did) place 12 silicone cases on 2 trays.
Beat the butter until soft.
Add the sugar, salt, flour, eggs and milk. Stir all together until smooth. 
Add the food colouring a few drops at a time and stir in - you want it to be a nice vibrant red.
Divide the mixture between the cases. They don't need to be even.
Place both trays in the oven and bake at 190°C/ Gas 5 for 15 minutes. Then swap the trays over and cook for about 5 minutes more.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Green Slime Topping:

140g/ 5oz butter, softened
280g/ 10oz icing sugar
2tbsp milk
2-3 drops green food colouring 

Beat the butter until soft and free of lumps.
Add half of the icing sugar and beat again until smooth.
Add the remaining icing sugar and 1tbsp of  the milk and beat until smooth.

The add the food colouring and stir until the whole lot is green throughout.

When the cupcakes are cool, add the second tbsp of milk. This will make it more 'gooey'. Place the buttercream in a piping bag (or a freezer bag and cut a small hole in the bottom corner).
Pipe on top of the cupcakes so that it splodges and runs over the sides. 

Allow to set for at least an hour

For the Red Currant Compote:

125g red currants 
3tbsp sugar
3tbsp water
1tbsp icing sugar

Place red currants in a pan with the sugar and water. Bring to the boil and then simmer until the fruit is soft and sticky.

When cool, force through a sieve with a wooden spoon, discarding all the pips etc. which remain in the sieve.
Mix with 1tbsp icing sugar to make a smooth sauce.

When ready to serve, cut each cupcake in half and place on the plate.

Drizzle the compote over the top.

SATAY NOODLES WITH TOFU AND SESAME SEEDS

400g pack tofu, rinsed, dried and cut into cubes.

4tbsp soy sauce

3tbsp olive oil

300g fresh egg noodles

2 tbsp sesame seeds

½ can coconut milk

2tbsp brown sugar

4tbsp peanut butter

1 onion, finely chopped

Heat 2tbsp of the oil and fry the onion and tofu until golden.

Add the brown sugar, soy sauce, coconut milk and peanut butter and stir all together well.

Heat the remaining tbsp of oil in a wok and cook the noodles on a high heat, moving it around all the time. Then add the tofu and sauce and combine.

Serve in a bowl with the sesame seeds sprinkled over the top.

Fantasy Veggie Dinner Guest – RIVER PHOENIX

River Phoenix died an unbelievable 25 years ago this month. 

Apparently, people always know what they were doing when they heard that Kennedy had been assassinated, or when Elvis had breathed his last. 

Well, I still remember one Sunday morning in the Autumn of 1993. I was reading a book about the Habsburg Empire, with the radio on softly in the background. I missed the headlines but sat bolt upright when the death of River Phoenix was announced.

River had an unconventional upbringing. This may or may not have contributed to his success or demise, but what is certain is that, from his appearance in Stand By Me, it was clear that his was an exceptional talent.

Continuing on from this, he played the young Indiana Jones and was Oscar nominated for his performance in Running On Empty. In 1990 he broke away from his clean cut image, portraying a narcoleptic rent boy in the arty/ edgy My Own Private Idaho, which many consider to have been his finest moment.

Then, things began to go awry in his personal life, although his film career took off as never before. 

In a 1988 Washington Post interview, River answered a series of questions:
Favourite food?  "Tofu."
Favourite drink?  "Fresh water."
Favourite colour?  "Blue."

Favourite smell?  "Skin."

When he died, we were all shocked to learn that such responses were, although still his ideal, far from his reality.

His notorious death, on the last night of October, outside Johnny Depp's club, The Viper Room, sent my generation into shock. It seems that there were just too many contradictory pressures on him.

But, just for River, this is Zelda's favourite tofu-based dish:

THAI GREEN TOFU CURRY 

3tbsp vegetable oil
4tbsp green curry paste
2tbsp soft brown dark sugar
1 400g pack tofu, drained, washed, dried and cubed
1 onion, peeled and chopped finely
1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and chopped
1 lime
400ml/ 1 large can of coconut milk
1tbsp light soy sauce
handful coriander, chopped

Heat 2tbsp oil in a large pan or wok and fry the onion, pepper and cubes of tofu until slightly brown.

Then remove from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan, heat the final tablespoon of oil. Add the green curry paste and sugar and cook over a high heat for a minute.

Reduce the heat and stir in the tofu, peppers and onions until coated in the paste. Add the zest of the lime.

Pour in the coconut milk along with the soy sauce. Bring to a boil.

Turn down and simmer for about 30 minutes until it thickens.

Then stir in the juice of the lime.

Serve with the coriander sprinkled over the top.

Lovely accompanied by Thai Baked Rice 

THAI BAKED RICE

1tbsp olive oil
knob of butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
4tsp cumin seeds
1tsp ground coriander
6 - 8 dried kaffir lime leaves
500g basmati rice
1100ml vegetable stock

Heat oil and butter on the hob in an ovenproof pot which has a lid.
Soften the onion until it just begins to colour. 

Then add the cumin seeds and coriander and cook for a minute more.

Stir in the rice then pour in the stock and the lime leaves.

Season and bring to the boil before placing the lid on top.

Cook at 190C/ Gas 5 for about 15 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed.

Remove from the oven and fluff up with a fork.

Lovely served with Thai Green Tofu Curry