Sunday 26 November 2017

A little bit obsessed.

Nearly finished 


I'm sorry I have been neglecting my blog these past two months. I'm not working, so have plenty of time to devote to research and writing but I have discovered a new love and, rather than sit in my comfortable leather office chair in front of the computer, I am drawn upstairs to a previously unloved and ignored third bedroom where I have set up a picnic table and garden chair.  I can happily spend hours sitting here despite the lack of home comforts. I have discovered the joys of dabbling in water colours and don't really want to do anything else.   Vegetables are the obsession at the moment and I bought a large pumpkin in the market last week just so I could paint it.  That achieved I had to do something with it. In the past I would have made Teo's favourite Kabak Tatlısı, sweet baked pumpkin, which I like but one spoonful is enough for me. I was also feeling lazy so didn't want to peel and chop this hard and knobbly specimen. So I just cut it in half, turned it flesh down and baked it for 40 minutes at 200 degrees C.

Turn upside down to cook,  quite a lot of liquid is produced.

Allowing a little time to cool down, it was easy to scoop out the seeds and then spoon out the rest of the now pureed flesh. A quarter went into my vegetable soup, a quarter into Jake's brown rice and mince that I cook up every week (According to Mr. Google it is good for dogs with delicate stomachs) and half into a sieve to drain away the excess moisture.  A pumpkin cake is in the oven as I write.  If it works I will post the recipe tomorrow.

18 comments:

  1. Good for you! Your painting looks lovely. I fully understand your obsession. Axxx

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    1. I've thought of you a few times Annie - Your wonderful tangling is an inspiration.

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  2. Is there no end to your talents? 😀

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    1. Not much talent but some dedicated practicing.

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  3. you know Annie it is more important to give yourself enough time too. J and I are with you on this as we to have decided that we are very important to us and we need to ensure that we have enough quality time - especially now!

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  4. Ah the pumpkin painting looks gorgeous Annie!! Lady of many talents :) keep it going -and please share with us - and would love to hear about that pumpkin cake :) Ozlem xxx

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  5. I'm glad to see that I am not the only one who ha been away from her blog testing new things; I feel less guilty now :) You are very talented - your paintings are very good!
    A good recipe for pumpkin is the one I did with butternut yesterday - cut it in two and empty it, then scrape out more flesh until you have a 1cm - thick butternut 'bowl, and fill it with a mixture composed of fried lardons and onions, soft cheese and a couple of spoons of crème fraiche, then stick it in the oven for an hour. Yummy.

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    1. That sounds delicious - we rarely get butternut squashes but I always snap them up when I see them. I miss your posts.

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  6. I love your cooking and admire your painting ...

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  7. B to B, Wow, Jake gets home cooked food? No wonder he's so full of himself. Next, he'll want you to do his portrait. Your pumpkin painting is really lovely, by the way. And I think I see some peppers and holly in the background. Great new creative activity for winter time.

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    1. I have tried to paint Jake but I made him look like a bog splodge with eyse.

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    2. That should be 'big splodge' I dread to think what a bog splodge looks like.

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  8. Wow. Well done you!

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  9. Well, Jake is certainly well fed and love your painting. A woman of many talents! :)

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