Recipe: nut roast

Nut roast and sweetcorn

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Another stressful day today, as mum is dreading tomorrow’s hospital appointment and, as so often happens, has made herself physically ill. For much of the day she refused to accept that it was her worries causing her to feel so ill, which rather limits my ability to help.

Even the promise of the sight of five blue tits, three sparrows, and a blackbird all squabbling over who got to go next on the bird feeder, while a mouse tidied up the escaping crumbs on the ground beneath, didn’t prompt mum to open her curtains or get out of bed.

Eventually she did get up, when I stopped responding to her complaints, and she started to feel better as a result. This happens every time, but somehow mum never believes me when I suggest that it might happen this time too.

Despite the improvement, the complaints and anxiety continued. I rapidly tired of the repeated question “it will be alright, won’t it?”, because when I respond “it will be fine”, all I get in acknowledgement is “you’ve already said that”. What else does she expect me to say?

In other news, I once again tried to start up my expensive (by my standards) laptop, but again our wifi was so slow it took me nearly ten minutes just to load Facebook; the website I was trying to use Facebook to log in to never loaded at all. Tomorrow I will contact our internet provider to reopen our service call, as atm I have a £500, laptop-shaped paperweight.

And here, as promised, is our family nut roast recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2oz (57g) butter
• 1 tbsp onion (the original recipe says grated, but finely chopped works)
• 1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1/4 pint (142ml) milk
• 4oz (113g) ground almonds
• 4oz (113g) fresh breadcrumbs (any kind of bread)
• A generous handful of flaked almonds / other nuts (optional)
• 2 eggs
• Salt and pepper

(Divide amounts in half for a two person version.)

Method:

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 (350°F / 180°C).

Melt the butter in a pan. Add the onion and cook until soft but not browned, then add the dried herbs and stir in. Add the flour, stir in and cook for 30 seconds or so.

Add the milk and cook, stirring regularly, until the mixture thickens.

Take the pan off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir thoroughly to combine, then pour into a greased baking tin / bowl. Bake until slightly risen and golden on top.

Serve as part of a roast dinner (if you’re not vegetarian it’s great with roast chicken as an alternative to stuffing), or with salad or veg as a weekday main meal.

And so, with the Lionesses proudly parading their trophy, and the rain pattering gently on the garden, another day comes to an end.

I have nothing to say in conclusion except isn’t this a pretty little sunflower?