In an attempt to ease us softly into and carry us gently through winter my friend Anna and I decided to start hosting small, relaxed dinners. Surrounding ourselves with people we love or those who are loved by people we love and to experiment with delicious new recipes.

Last night we initiated the group with Roast Pork, a large salad full of treats and twists, new Potatoes and a raw chocolate Ganache. A veritable feast for a Tuesday night.

Our choice in menu was extremely impromptu and having had grand plans for a rack of Lamb the butcher was out of stock and Anna bought Pork, which neither of us had ever cooked before. Having both been vegetarian for many years the source and appreciation of the meat is very important to us both and something we keep at the forefront of our minds.

While Anna was in charge of the roasting I decided that we needed a healthy salad full of sweetness and crunch. Cranberries, apricots and toasted nuts sprung to mind and this is what I ended up with.

Green salad leaves, spinach, pea shoots and tender leaves
Walnuts, pumpkin seeds and cranberries all toasted
Dried apricots finely chopped.

With a dressing of:
Olive oil
White wine vinegar
Freshly squeezed orange
Grated ginger, more than you think if you like ginger
Tamari soy sauce
Honey
Salt and pepper

You will have to taste and explore flavours as I did but it wants to be fairly sweet to go well with the pork.

Thanks to Kyril’s advice I toasted the cranberries making them chewy and caramelised and also discovered how these tiny power berries were farmed.

Nutritionally they are a great source of Vit E( Alpha Tocopherol brilliant for anti ageing) and Vit K, as well as a good source of dietary fiber, Vit C and Manganese.

Grown in northern Europe, Canada and northern states of the US they are in season now so make the most of them.

The evening is really about sharing, discovering and connecting and food is a wonderful way to do that.
I feel blessed to have a love of good food, a passion for exploring and a wonderful soul family to share in the Journey.

So “Cook Off ” is born and I look forward to our winter cocoon of fodder,friends and frolics.