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I could hold the big freeze responsible for being unable to think about growing and instead obsessing about food, food, food. After all, the thought of picking your own tomatoes in August, delicious as that might be, offers little here and now insulation against snow drift stuckness.
But that would just be a handy meteorological hook. Truth is, when the world outside has turned starched handkerchief white, happiness inside, can be found in the yellowing pages of Penguin and Pan Paperbacks from distant decades.
In 1979 for £1.25 you could purchase the useful and inspiring Vegetable Cookbook by Nika Hazelton. How many of the 82 vegetables featured in her A- Z peel ‘n’cook-a-thon you could have actually then bought (or heard of) is a different matter.
The author’s other titles : The Art of Cheese Cookery, The Continental Flavour, Reminiscence and Ravioli as well as volumes on Scandinavian, Swiss, Belgian and Danish cooking mark her out as well travelled and palated . She may have had our measure though…. ‘I consider over-long cooking the death of almost all vegetables’.
In their dedicated section Tomatoes get 5 lead roles :
- Soup: Fresh Tomato
- Sauces: Pizzailoa and Salsa Fria
- Stuffed: Roman Stuffed Tomatoes – mingling rice, garlic, parsley and cinnamon
- Fried: Thick slices, fried in olive oil with fresh basil, parsley and mint
Elsewhere tomatoes pop up with Aubergine, Cabbage, Chard, Courgette, Okra and Pumpkin :
- Baked Aubergine, Mozzarella, Eggs and Tomatoes
- Cabbage and Tomatoes
- Chard with Tomato Sauce
- Courgette and Tomato Casserole (Gratin)
- Okra, Onion and Tomato Stew
- Pumpkin and Tomato Casserole
And my choice as imaginary beacon, to keep me drooling and alive whilst waiting for the St Bernard: Broad Bean puree, served with thick tomato slices, sautéed in butter – as an accompaniment to lamb or roast chicken.
But you may prefer Curried Bananas or Curried Turnips…….
