This one is kinda bastardized from a Jamie Oliver recipe, from his “Jamie’s Kitchen” cookbook. I must have cooked this a dozen times, and each time I do something a little different, depending on what I have in the cupboards.

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I made this one a few days ago (no new lens or light setup..), and have only just got round to writing it up. It comes straight from the pages of Jamie’s Kitchen (Jamie Oliver). In my opinion you are pretty hard pushed to come up with a quick pasta dish tastier than this. Course, that pretty much sums up pesto to be honest.

We don’t often eat pasta and potatoes together here in the US (or in the UK for that matter), but the results here are outstanding. The green beans work well, and give a little crunch. In fact, I reckon I am going to have to try just green beans and pesto together, without the starch soon.

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I have been spending a lot of time of late looking at www.cookandeat.com a food photography blog set up by a local Seattle lass called Lara. She did an article a while back now about photography equipment for shooting food, and it got me thinking. Lara and I got chatting, and she recommended some changes to my setup.

First off, I have been shooting using my 20mm prime, which is something I bought ages ago for the work that Danika and I did on www.mattikaarts.com . Sure, this lens is great for architecture, but rather pants for food photography. She isn’t the only one to recommend the 50mm 1.4F prime Canon lens, in fact it seems there is a general consensus in the photography world that this is really the first lens you should buy (or the 50mm 1.8F which is a fair bit cheaper).

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OK, being honest this isn’t a true Beurre blanc. It is a far simpler, far lighter sauce, which I think goes well when you have an oily rich fish like salmon. It has been a while since we have had salmon. I tend not to buy it in the “off season” months, even though good quality frozen at sea salmon is really pretty decent. Unless you get top grade stuff however, it is never much of a match to a perfectly fresh piece of salmon. When you do get decent frozen salmon however, it is a simple delight in those off season months.

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A Ruby? Or “Ruby Murray” is traditional English cockney rhyming slang for a curry. I guess Ruby Murray was an Irish born singer back in the 50s or 60s.. and god knows how, got his name associated via slang for a curry.

Curry really is a national dish back in England. Curry restaurants are everywhere, some are really decent, others are er, a bad stomach waiting to happen. General rule, never order seafood in a curry joint. I learnt this the hard way at Chutney’s in Queen Anne (Seattle), I was sick for days after that one. You would have thought I would have learnt that back in England, but the Chutney’s “special” of halibut sounded too good to be true. It was special all right.. anyhow.

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For those people that have been reading this blog for a while, you might get a jolt of deja vous. Yep, I have done a Rosemary Roast Chicken recipe before, and it has featured on another site too.

So why again? Well, it is just me really. A new oven.. wanted to give a roast chicken a go in it. As mentioned before, roast chicken is a great love of mine, and I spent some considerable time working out mine and Danika’s favorite roast chicken. That did of course mean eating a fair amount of chickens, but heck - someone has to do it!

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I was doing my daily traul through the BBC news website (www.bbc.co.uk), starting with the light fluff news (entertainment..) and ending on the more serious stuff (middle east, UK, USA). This is a daily ritual for me. I am finding it hard to keep up to date with world news since moving here to the US. Seems like most news channels on TV really just cover US stories, unless of course we are invading another country, then it gets highlighted. (opps, I should be careful what I say…).

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Drake has a stubborn side. I am not going to tell you which parent he gets that trait from, but lets just say I am proud of him! Change for the little bloke is difficult, and right now he doesn’t see the need at all to feed himself. He also gags big time whenever something with texture goes in his mouth. Poor little nugget.  He has to move up to the toddler room at daycare soon, and one of the prerequisites is that he can feed himself regular food.  Well, I don’t think he will be moving any time soon!!

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This is one of those dishes that I crank out on a week night when I have bought way too many vegetables at the weekend, and need to use a few up in one sitting. Here I roast carrots, turnip slices, potato slices and parsnips together with a little thyme, and right at the end throw in some chopped flat leaf parsley to freshen things up a bit.

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So what on earth is a Yorkshire Pudding you ask. It is what you see above. Nope, it ain’t a dinner roll, it is really just a batter mixture that is baked in a really hot oven until risen and brown.  England still has it’s love affair with beef - more so than any other European country.  Strangely though, it also has the largest amount of vegetarians in the western world. A rebellion I guess!!

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This was a really fantastic dish to cook, and to eat. Why fantastic to cook? Well, my old stove was pretty crappy and would never get a saute pan hot enough to reduce down the water level properly when glazing vegetables. It was hot enough to give a half decent sear though, but nothing… nothing compared to how well the new Bluestar range does the job. It is crazy how just one piece of equipment can completely change the way you cook, and your enjoyment, but I guess if anything can a range can!

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The actual kitchen bit of the reno isn’t too far from being done! What is left you ask.. well, the dishwasher has to go in, the fridge too, and some changes to the countertops. We have new windows downstairs that I have to get my arse into gear and paint, then those can go in. Oh, and not forgetting knobs and pulls for the cabinets. I am so happy I cannot tell you!!

You have to feel a little bad for the good old turnip, it gets a pretty bad rap. If you are English, the most you know about the humble root is that it was Baldricks favorite thing vegetable on the comedy series Blackadder. Shame really, because it tastes great, and is an excellent source of vitamins. It has a pretty mellow slighty sweet taste.

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I have a kitchen!!!!! Well, almost. Pretty much. Good enough to cook with anyhow. The range is in, level, and hooked up to gas and power. Countertops are in, sink and faucet are in. What is left? A window to be replaced, the dishwasher and fridge still need to go in. We are rather looking forward to the fridge actually, right now we are kinda pikey with the old fridge in our dining room.

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OK, we are taking a much needed break. Time to sit back and enjoy the holiday season. We are spending some time down in sunny California with family, and just some time letting other people cook for us!

 The good news is that by the time the Christmas season is over, my (opps, our..) kitchen will be in order, and I have to say it is looking brilliant. The countertops and rangehood go in this week, and they have nearly finished all the cabinetry. Photos when it is done.

 Happy holidays everyone! I will be back blogging on the 29th.