Plantes Vertes

Today's was leek and potato pureed soup (leeks, new potatoes, onion, garlic, vegetable stock, salt and black pepper, braised) with chiffonade of leeks and brunoise potatoes cooked separately and added back in, and garnished with a blanched chiffonade of leeks and mixed herb pistou.

You might have access to limited water, depending on the type of boat; that could necessitate some planning regarding the type of recipes you prepare and the order in which you use your utensils to reduce washing-up. Do as much 'getting rid' as you can on land, to save space; throw out excess packaging, take meat off the bone etc. Stack and store items (eg vegetables in a veg rack) closely packed to prevent them rolling around; you can use old newspapers to fill empty spaces. Plan food options that can be used in either hot or cold preparations; using the oven will heat up the boat as well as the kitchen so it's best avoided in hot weather. If you get a cooler day, prep things in advance. Put the lids on everything as soon as you've finished using it. I guess the kitchen will already be properly fitted, but you could check these things: Make sure the stove is gimballed (mounted on a pivot bracket) and learn how to balance and latch it. Check that there are pot restraints (little pairs of arms that clamp pots on the stove). Use them in all conditions, even when it doesn't seem necessary. Take a bunch of rubber mats to place pots, boards, utensils and plates on, to prevent them slipping. You can buy a roll of the stuff you put under carpets and just cut lengths off as needed. By the same token, don't stack plates in rough conditions. Don't put anything down unless it's secured by a non-slip surface. Make sure there are lots of hooks in the kitchen to store things securely and if not consider getting a bar and some s-hooks you can hang on the top of a door. Likewise, make sure all the cupboards have magnetic fastenings so they don't swing open and hit you in the face; you can fit the fastenings inexpensively if not. Get pouring spouts for your bottles to minimise spillage if anything topples over, and look out for a rack or frame to put them in securely. Go for tupperware-type boxes rather than bowls for your mise en place, as they're less likely to fall over. Use big pots half-full rather than small full pots, so they don't spill in rough weather. Avoid utensils in glass and porcelain. Use the pressure cooker wherever appropriate, as the lid latch will stop things spilling even when no pressure is needed.

Green plantains and vegetable oil. I might well use butter for ripe ones but I prefer the potato end of plantain development over the banana end

Patrick – Two types of plantains? You’ll have to educate me. I just take black-ripe plantains, whatever I can find at the Latino or Asian market, and peel, slice, and pan-fry until browned. Sometimes I'll cube the plantains, fry them up, and then mix in with rice. Mrs. C baked plantains the other night, and they turned out sweet, creamy, and bursting from their skin. A dollop of Mexican crema or creme fraiche makes a nice topping, if one is not counting calories . . . Fried plantains can be made better yet (yes, even better!) by frying twice; slice the plantain somewhat thicker than normal (1 1/2"), fry lightly on both sides, then remove to a chopping board and smash/press with the bottom of a skillet (or some other kitchen implement unlikely to break with smashing) to expose the insides of each slice and re-fry the flattened pieces. Try Kuih Kodok. Some links: http://www.citrusandcandy.com/2011/03/kuih-kodok-with-sangkaya-fried-banana.html http://www.foodily.com/r/CxXzb7fNo-kuih-kodok-malaysian-style-fried-banana-fritters http://rasamalaysia.com/kuih-kodok-recipe-malaysian-fried-banana-fritters/ Or just Pisang Goreng: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisang_goreng Thank you - apparently Kuih Kodok is 'so damn easy to make that even a monkey can do it', so I might be able to make that one happen. And they definitely look worth trying

Patrick – Two types of plantains? You’ll have to educate me. I just take black-ripe plantains, whatever I can find at the Latino or Asian market, and peel, slice, and pan-fry until browned. Sometimes I'll cube the plantains, fry them up, and then mix in with rice. Mrs. C baked plantains the other night, and they turned out sweet, creamy, and bursting from their skin. A dollop of Mexican crema or creme fraiche makes a nice topping, if one is not counting calories . . . Fried plantains can be made better yet (yes, even better!) by frying twice; slice the plantain somewhat thicker than normal (1 1/2"), fry lightly on both sides, then remove to a chopping board and smash/press with the bottom of a skillet (or some other kitchen implement unlikely to break with smashing) to expose the insides of each slice and re-fry the flattened pieces.

To flavour your chips, use pharmaceutical grade maltodextrin (get it from ebay). It absorbs oils and turns them into a dry edible powder which can be sprinkled on food. All you have to do to obtain a certain flavour, say parsley, is make an infusion of parsley in oil, then add maltodextrin to the oil a bit at a time until you obtain a dry powder; sieve the powder and use immediately or store it in an airtight container (the flavours will degrade over time). You can use any fat; oil, butter, lard... Be careful not to let the unused maltodextrin get wet.

Today I made celery and apple pureed soup with some new potatoes and an onion. I garnished it with powdered dehydrated celery and apple, celery leaves and apple batons. I served it with cider bread. The bread made me a little drunk. I might dilute the cider next time... or I might not.

Today, desperate to obey two harsh gods - Punctuality and Greed - I made an excellent tomato soup in under 10 mins. Food purists and any who distrust the microwave, please avert your gaze. I put a small chopped shallot covered with olive oil into the microwave for 3 mins. (It turns out perfectly this way; soft and lightly caramelised, but you mustn't completely cover the vessel - use a lid with vents - otherwise the onion will steam and taste soapy.) Then I added 1lb of baby plum tomatoes, stabbed to release the juices, and microwaved for 4 more minutes. To finish I pureed it with a large handful of parsley, salt and black pepper. No added liquid. It tasted like cream.

Meat/poultry Marrons glaces with pate de foie gras Rabbit, pork belly, onion and chestnuts cooked in white wine Quail stuffed with chestnuts and sausage Venison fillet with chestnut stuffing Leg of venison with red wine, mushrooms and chestnuts Pigeon, apples and chestnuts Vegetables Pumpkin and chestnut soup Chestnut veloute Braised endive and chestnuts Seafood Langoustines, marmalade and chestnuts Scallops with chestnut sauce Bass with chard and chestnuts Sweets Chestnut macaroons Chestnut mousse with hazelnut pralines Chestnut roule Crepes with chestnuts and orange Chestnuts with spice bread and salted caramel cream

Today, carrot, cumin, chilli and coriander. And ginger and onions. I roasted the carrots, onions and spices in olive oil, then pureed with stock, salt and pepper and garnished with a lot of coriander. I find it hard to know when to stop eating soup. It tastes so good and I always make more than two servings, even though we are only two.

Today, pea and mint with fresh chives and spirulina. Saute a small onion, add 1lb green peas and stock to cover, boil to cook peas, puree, add chopped mint, chives, lemon juice, salt and white pepper and 1/2-1tsp spirulina. Garnish with olive oil and croutons.

Today I made a beautiful one of diced swede (the same as rutabaga, as I just discovered), celeriac and onion, red chillis, ginger, smoked paprika, lemon juice and coconut milk. I sweated the vegetables and spices for 20mins or so, then added vegetable stock, salt and pepper and simmered it for a further half hour, pureed and reheated with coconut milk and lemon juice added. I garnished it with fresh coriander. It was ethnically confused but it cleared out the vegetable rack and was very good to eat with home-made seed bread on this snowy April day. Yes. Snow in April.

I had never heard of rutabaga before so I Googled it; it's the same as swede! And there I had imagined something so exotic.... it's so interesting to find out those ingredients that are prized in one part of the world and totally disregarded elsewhere. Perhaps we will follow the states with a swede renaissance of our own. I might start it, even

Argan oil could ruin me if I used it as much as I'd like - it is a really great ingredient. Do you know what the difference is between the cosmetic and the culinary types? The culinary type is from roasted Argan nuts - that are inside a fruit. The pressed raw oil that is used in cosmetics does not have the flavor that is so desirable. I made a pound of butter this morning and to half of it added some Argan oil after pressing out all the liquid. It is delicious! If I ever make a pound of butter I'll try it! Butter is really very easy to make if you have a stand mixer - my demo uses a Thermomix which breaks the cream in 4 minutes instead of 8 to 10 minutes but otherwise it is exactly the same. The flavor is so much better than commercial butter. And you don't need a butter mold, just shape it by hand. Butter process. Thank you - I'll give it a go! In fact I half-knew that this could be done from times when I've over-whipped cream (only once or twice of course... put some icing sugar in to rescue it if this accident ever befalls you) but had never been smart enough to realise you could carry on and make proper butter. And I have just been to Brittany and brought back the grey sel de Guerande that is used in the demo. My mother loves butter so perhaps this would make a nice gift as well as an exciting adventure. Edit: I think this is actually your own blog, in fact? In that case thanks twice!

Argan oil could ruin me if I used it as much as I'd like - it is a really great ingredient. Do you know what the difference is between the cosmetic and the culinary types? The culinary type is from roasted Argan nuts - that are inside a fruit. The pressed raw oil that is used in cosmetics does not have the flavor that is so desirable. I made a pound of butter this morning and to half of it added some Argan oil after pressing out all the liquid. It is delicious! If I ever make a pound of butter I'll try it!

Well, you never said how long you wanted to preserve them for

Argan oil could ruin me if I used it as much as I'd like - it is a really great ingredient. Do you know what the difference is between the cosmetic and the culinary types?

Excuse me; I hadn't realised.

Ah, you beat me to it! I might mix one of those up with my vincotto while I figure out what other drinks I can put it in

Is Vincotta (vincotto?) the same thing as saba? I love saba drizzled on fresh ricotta. Delicious. It also works (in small touches) with salads with bitter greens. Regarding spirulina, I haven't tried it on its own but it's one of the ingredients in Green Machine, a green juice/smoothie made by Naked Juice that I really like. It's used in small quantities (1.3 g in 450 mL) but you can still taste it. I crave that mineral flavor every once in a while. Vincotto - sorry, vincotta was a typo. Yes, apparently they're regional names for the same stuff, and it can also be called sapa (saba/sapa I think must mean juice, like sap/sève) and mosto cotto. Vincotto/mosto cotto mean cooked wine/must. I tried it most recently on a salad of frisee and roasted figs. It was really good! The spirulina communicates well with other green things too, and is very pleasant in soup. It seems to complement something slightly sweet like celeriac soup with some pulped apple. But don't eat it on it's own! You'll curse your curiosity forever . It's much beloved of juicing enthusiasts. In fact I tried making cabbage and spirulina juice before Christmas in a misguided fit of health-consciousness, and I even managed to pretend to like it for a few days.... I've gone back to normal now

Bumping this very interesting thread with vincotto (reduced, caramelised grape must) and spirulina (an algae). Spirulina has the most offensive odour of any food I've encountered, and also a very repugnant and nauseating flavour, but transforms by some arcane process into magical delicious when added to other foods in quantities of about half a teaspoon of algae per litre of other. It also makes the food a very beautiful turqoise colour. It tastes more similar to land vegetables, maybe a sweet cabbage, than other sea vegetables of my acquaintance, not salty, and quite mineral. It tastes very green. Vincotta tastes very richly sour and sweet, almost approaching balsamic vinegar or raspberries. It is apparently best served with dairy products, which I haven't tried, but can be added to almost anything, including desserts, meat, fruit and vegetables, and drunk in solution. I will try it in cocktails. I would like just to pour it into my mouth but then I'd run out.

Or verjuice?

Yes, they're fine to freeze. You'd expect them to be a bit watery after defrosting, but if you use them in ramen that won't matter. However, they might not taste of much after boiling for stock.

Could you perhaps use alcohol-free wine? I've seen this in supermarkets. Otherwise cook the dish, remove the child's portion and then add the wine. I also wonder whether unflavoured kombucha or rejuvelac might taste somewhat similar to alcoholic cooking ingredients. They're both fermented drinks so I suppose they contain trace alcohol, but not enough to intoxicate. I've never tried either of them so that's a long shot...

Egg shells are very porous, so the eggs will absorb any strong odour from the area in which they are stored; you can use this to flavour eggs by putting them in a container with something strong-smelling like truffles. Perhaps the eggs were stored somewhere that smelled of metal before your mother bought them?