anna's club sandwich roll sans chicken

i first saw anna make club sandwich roll in her "fresh" tv-show a couple of years ago and decided that i'd make it, one day.

naturally, when you make this, you will have read the recipe and have all necessary ingredients at hand...don't do like i do, forget one of the main ingredients, namely the chicken...







i followed the recipe except for the amount of yeast, which varies on so many different things. i went with the package instructions, 1 bag (11gr) for 500ml liquid.







i wanted to use sundried tomatoes that weren't in any liquid, but i did soak them in water for 30mins to get them somewhat softer.







they plumped up nicely (as i was making veggie soup, i used the water in the soup)







i took the liberty of eating one rasher of bacon as the recipe called for only 8 and there was 9 in the package... i did not nibble on the grated cheddar.







the dough almost escaped. i did have to use almost 2 cups more flour than in the recipe. the dought was still a bit on the sticky side. there seemed to be so much dough that i decided i'd make two loaves.







one loaf with bacon, cheddar and tomatoes, the other with cured ham, cheddar and tomatoes.







here hoping all goes well...







the smell of baking break is amazing. loaves looked like they were done after 40 mins







on hindsight, i think i could have squeezed all of the dough into one pan. then i might not have had the airy bubble on top. on the other hand, it tasted great. will definitely try another time, with chicken.

gardens

it seems we might get something out of the garden this summer. this is how the tomato/ gourd plantantion looked a couple of weeks ago...







there are plenty of buds like these.







this is the biggest one so far. i wish i had written down what i planted...i have no idea if this pumpkin is edible or just for halloween decoration.







bees are keeping themselves busy.







the other day certain someone called me and said there is a big yellow thing that looks like a banana in the garden...well, i was quite aware of this zucchini.







tomatoes are only now starting to ripen.







this one was very juicy, the best tomato he ever ate said certain somenone. it was a truly tasty one, i must say.







i was sad to see that something had had a bite of this one...







i've tried corn many times, this is the first they grow over a meter high!






if the weather stays somewhat warm for a few weeks, we might actually, for the first time, get to eat home grown corn!








the "herb garden" is bursting...the two kind of thyme on the right got huge, as did the mint. i had read that mint will outgrow everything, but did i believe it? nope. there are only some many mojitos one can drink...i need to look for a mint jelly recipe...







as i was weeding the thymes, i found this. i have no idea what kind of mushroom it is and i plan to play it safe and not eat it.







it looks like i will get coriander seeds as well. i planted some coriander but thought that nothing comes up, didn't for months, suddenly there are tall stalks with flowers and seeds...








this big planted had over grown spinach in it, i tore it out, roots and all. couple of weeks later i noticed something green popping up...







low and behold, we're getting a second harvest of spinach!







now quickly to mom's patch at the cottage and her tomatoes.







they seemed to be ripening much earlier than mine.







there is carrots, parsnips, lettuce, dill, parsley and beets that seem to be especially tasty...







...well, at least the leaves. a rabbit has been visiting and eating only the beet leaves, sgtrange.







back at the shack...the composter is working quite well. i'm planning to start a new patch for gourds next summer, the compost will got to that patch.






ps. the white mushroom had opened up and revealed the telltale markings of a destroying angel (amanita virosa), which is deadly poisonous...now i'm afraid to remove it from the patch

orange (color) chicken

choosing the right pan/pot to make this dish is probably the hardest part...you want a pan with at least 2 inch side and a lid.







the chicken didn't make it in this picture as raw chicken really isn't that photogenic... but along with 500 gr chicken (any kind without the bones) here is what went in:

2 dl cooking cream (as light or heavy as you want)
2 nectarines (a bit on the raw side is fine)
1 sweet potato (a small one or half of a bif one)
4 medium carrots
200 gr sweet corn (in a can or frozen)
curry paste to taste (i used one heaping tbsp)







practiced my zen by chopping everything to bite size pieces.







then browned the chicken, quite lightly as can be seen before adding the carrots for a few minutes...







...before adding the cream and curry paste and let cook for 5 mins before...







...adding the sweet potato and nectarines and letting simmer for 15 mins.







when the veggies were done, i added the corn and turned off the heat, you really don't need to cook the corn, just get it warmed.







this batch serves four. i didn't bother with rice or pasta as there was plenty of veggies, but you could cook some and i bet this would serve up to 6. while eating this i thought that coconut milk might work as a replacement for the cream...