I had a weekend to myself so, as usual, I spent some time experimenting in the kitchen. Here are some of the successes.

I made a great smoothy that is sweet and refreshing. I used my juicer to juice eight stoned peaches and six kiwi fruits. I mixed this with half a litre of orange juice, and about three tablespoons of sugar. This was enough to fill a two-litre bottle and keep in the fridge. Each glass is definitely one of your daily portions, although of course the sugar is not so great for you!

I also experimented with meat loaf on Saturday. I followed a quick and simple recipe I found on the internet, which was pretty good, although quite similar to hamburgers in taste! I changed the sugar and catsup for honey, a little tobasco and some ground chillies and garlic. It was pretty good, but after one meal I stashed it in the freezer for another day.

Finally, I made pot au feu today, which was a big success. I sauteed two beef sirloin steaks briefly with some oil, and then left them to one side. I used the hot pan and oil from the steaks to start off two onions, three carrots, two turnips and two leeks (white parts only). I then used about half a bottle of red wine to deglaze the pan, and put the steak back in with the vegetables. I added one beef stock cube, about a tablespoon of tomato puree, and one bouquet garni. After an hour of simmering, the sauce was thick and the stew (for that’s what it is, really) was perfect.

Enjoy!