Colcannon - PUBLISHED

1 - I used some of our beautiful purple Kalibos cabbage, which made for a really strange colouring in the dish, but it was surprisingly good!
2 - What a strange dish, I would never expect it to be so appealing, but it is definitely comfort food!
3 - I used salt pork and it did not have the same effect as bacon - the smoked flavour was missing, and I left the pieces too large. I also cut up the pork before boiling it.
Also, the potato was too soupy; I will change the instructions so that I'll add milk up to 1/2 cup, but not assume that it will always be that amount required.

1 lb cabbage, cut into eighths
1 lb potato, peeled and diced (about 4 potatoes)
2 small leeks, chopped
3⁄4 cup butter
up to 1⁄2 cup hot milk
6 oz bacon
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄8 teaspoon pepper
1⁄8 teaspoon mace
Fresh parsley (optional)

1. Steam the potatoes in their skins for 30 minutes, allow to cool and then peel them before mashing them thoroughly to remove all the lumps. Add a 1/2 cup of the butter; mash a bit more, then slowly stream in the hot milk until the desired consistency is achieved, stirring all the time. Season with a few grinds of black pepper and add the salt and mace.
2. Meanwhile, set some water to boil and add the bacon and simmer for 30-45 minutes. Half way through, add the cabbage and steam in the bacon pot until it's thoroughly cooked. Drain thoroughly.
3. Cut up the bacon into pieces and roughly chop the cabbage.
4. Fry up the leeks in a bit of butter until well done.
5. Mix everything together.
6. Serve in individual soup plates. Make an indentation on the top and pot in about 1 tablespoon of butter into each indentation. Sprinkle with parsley.

Test 1 - Neck of Beef

For Christmas my dear heart gave me the classic "Food in England" by Dorothy Hartley. Now, French food is my passion, but I love food and food history and ethnography no matter what it is. This book is an amazing compendium of English food history! I am reading it with rapt attention, savouring every bit of it. Most recipes are written for wood fire or coal stove cooking, but Hartley often gives indications of how an electric or gas oven can be used to try and replicate these recipes. I've tried only one, so far, adding a few elements to please my palate. Here's a draft of the first attempt, which was very successful.

2 - A few years later. I remember the first attempt working, but mostly I remember that I used the clay pot Tina gave me and the dough seal damaged the finish. Harumph! I made it again this Feb 2021 with beef we bough with Roz and Michael in one of the new stainless steel pots I bought from Costco to replace the damaged non-stick pots we used to have. Generally, the vegetables turn out like mush from the long cooking time, but the meat is very tender. I'm going to try using the veg to make soup. It also occurs to me that this a good recipe for wood cook stoves in the winter, but in terms of using electricity or gas, it would make more sense to use a slow cooker.

3 - If it does make more sense to use a slow cooker, I still have to figure it out. The vegetables were uncooked and the meat was done. Hmmm...

Any chuck beef, boneless
Bacon fat (or beef drippings if you're so lucky)
Cut in matchsticks all of the following or whatever you have on hand, enough for a 2" layer on the bottom and to fill the empty spaces around the roast, sides and top :
- Carrots
- Turnips
- Parsnips
- Onions
- Rutabaga
- Fresh beans
- Peas
Salt and pepper
2-3 sprigs thyme
1 Tbsp brandy
? 1 cup flour
? 1/2 cup water

1. With about a Tbsp fat, sear all the sides of the beef until brown.
2. Liberally coat the inside of a Dutch oven or clay cooking pot with the bacon fat.
3. Layer the 2" of veg at the bottom.
4. Set the seared beef in the middle of the pot, seasoning liberally with salt and pepper.
5. Tuck in the vegetables around the side, along with the thyme sprigs, and cover the beef with the remainder of the veg, until the pot is nicely filled but the lid still fits.
6. Add 1 Tbsp brandy over all.
7. Mix the flour and water, kneading just enough to get a consistent, stiff and pliable dough. Use this dough to seal  the pot by running it under the join of the pot lid and pressing the lid down enough to create the seal. Do not open the pot while it's cooking.
8. Place in a 325F oven for 2-4 hours, depending on the size of the roast...

Testing - Lettuce Soup

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/lettuce-soup-231995
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/creamy-lettuce-soup

1 - I like recipes that help me use ingredients that are fragile and go off quickly. At the bottom of my refrigerator crisper drawer I often find lettuces that have turned into smelly, brown watery bags of putrification. Not yummy. And wasteful. The lettuce I had wasn't enough for a whole soup, so I got some greens out of the garden to supplement. I chose a lovely ruby frills mustard that was doing well in this West Coast winter. And I learned a lot. The mustard and lettuce was fine, but the mustard was too strong, leaving an aftertaste we couldn't quite identify as being tasty or unpleasant. We figure that there was too much mustard, and other greens, such as beet tops or chard, would help balance the flavours.
2 - The unpleasant aftertaste may have been the lettuce. This time I only used lettuce and the was a bitterness and the leaf was tough. Admittedly I used old lettuce about to flower, hoping it would be good enought to use. Softening the soup with either tender young lettuce or cutting it with young arugula and/or chard or beet tops might improve it.

1 large leek, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup diced (1/3 inch) peeled potato
8 cups coarsely chopped lettuce leaves including ribs (3/4 lb) (1/3 lettuce, 1/3 mustard greens, 1/3 chard or beet tops)
1/2 cup light cream
3 cups chicken stock

1. Cook the leek and garlic in 2 tablespoons of butter, stirring, until softened. 
2. Add the coriander, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, for about a minute. 
3. Stir in the lettuce and and the stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, covered, about 10 minutes.
4. Purée and transfer to a saucepan. Bring it again to a simmer, stir in the cream, then whisk in the remaining tablespoon of butter. Salt and pepper to taste.