Pork Sausage Meatballs with Creamy Mustard Sauce and Gem Squash Mash

This recipe was delish and yet so simple. I've decided to embark on a 'simple' cooking expedition. I do have a guinea pig, in the form of a young man, he's happy to help with the tasting. Meet Dave. Dave is always hungry, which is good and bad, I wonder if he'll ever give me bad feedback on my cooking. Maybe I'll find out this time.

The first thing I made was this mouthful - Pork Sausage Meatballs with Creamy Mustard Sauce and Gem Squash Mash. The result - amazing! The sauce is rich and creamy (I happily substituted the double cream with Greek Yoghurt which I think toned it down a bit). It compliments the mash (which can be quite plain) wonderfully. The meat balls - they made me happy!

The amazing book, Eat - By Nigel Slater - was lent to me by a colleague, she apparently bought it while a little tipsy. Now I'm definitely buying it! This book is packed with 600 simple recipes, easy-to-find ingredients and colourful meals.

Ingredients

Good quality pork sausages
Beef stock
Dijon Mustard
500g Plain Greek Yoghurt
3 Large Gem  squash
100g butter


How it's done

For the mash

Cut the gem squash in half (this can be tricky so be wary)
Boil until soft
Remove the pips (be careful, these bad boys can be super hot!)
Dish all the gem squash into a bowl and add the butter. Mash.

For the meatballs

Remove the pork sausages from their casings and roll them into balls (as many as you like)
Fry the meat balls until they are evenly browned
Once they are brown, pour out excess fat and pour in 500ml of beef stock (1 stock cube)
Bring to the boil, reduce heat and reduce the stock.
Add the yoghurt and 1 tablespoon of mustard.
Simmer for 12-15 minutes
Remove the meatballs and allow the sauce to cook for another 5 min.
Dish up the meatballs and cover your gem squash mash with the leftover sauce. 

YES YES! Easy :)

Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Shepherds pie

I love shepherds pie, but to be honest, the stodgy white potato bores me - not just because it's an evil white starch and a HUAGE  no no on my semi-strict paleo food list, but also because when I do eat it, it always seems to need copious amounts of salt and butter.

So after a bit of research I came up with my own little recipe for Shepherds Pie! Layered with delicious sweet potato and cauliflower mash. Sprinkled with -  wait for it.. Blue cheese - hells yeah!

Here's the result:

I must say it went down pretty well.

Here's how you make it :

For the mash 

2 medium sized sweet potatoes
 
1 head of cauliflower
 
1 chicken stock cube
 
2 blocks of Feta or Blue Cheese
 
Parsley 

For the filling

500-600g of lean mince. 
 
1 tin of tomato onion mix
 
1 medium sized onion
 
1 bag of chunky winter veg (baby marrow, carrot, butternut, broccoli)

A big dash of Mrs Balls chunky chutney 
 

Method:

Start by steaming veg until cooked

Dice the onion and fry until translucent.
 
Add the mince meat and brown
 
Add tomato and onion mix and simmer until it reduces.
 
Add the steamed veg

Add chutney 

In the meantime

Peel and boil sweet potato until soft 
 
Steam cauliflower until soft

Mash together and add stock cube (dissolved in 250ml of boiling water)
 

Layer the filling into a baking dish and flatten
 
Top off with sweet potato/cauliflower mash 
 
Flatten

Bake in a 180 degree oven for 10 min

Add feta and blue cheese to mash (Sprinkled on top)

Bake for a further 10 min until cheese melts.

Sprinkle with parsley.

Slapping a Stranger

A little while ago a video was shared - Strangers Kissing. Folks (models and actors, so probably faked being in a good mood that day) meeting for the first time and kissing... really intimate, but if you're an actor, you can act it out right? The result- still fecking awesome, truly beautiful. Watch it here.

But then shit got real. So we all felt friendship, human connection and all that jazz from the first video. We saw strangers kissing but how about strangers... slapping each other in the FACE!

The result, it's playful fun and of course, consensual (which saves them from too much of a backlash)
It's kind of scary when you see huge ass men hitting these tiny women, until she laughs and bitch slaps him back. Hah!  This is the video. I love it!

Music and Lyrics

Love Songs Like no Other According to Lyrics

I love music, I have my favorites - the sad kind - folk, indie, soft electro, old school rock ballads. But the most beautiful part of all music - lyrics.

I get completely lost in a song, whenever I go through any kind of situation, an epiphany - realizing something about yourself, a crisis (a break up)  a positive day (awesome feedback on a creative project), a breakthrough (realizing who, or what you want to be) - these all deserve sound tracks. 

An epiphany - Temper Trap - Love Lost

This is such a gorgeous song - it gives me goosebumps, every time. The music video also creates such beautiful emotion.  

"Our love was lost

In the rubble are all the things

That you've, you've been dreaming of

Keep me in mind

When you're ready

I am here

To take you every time"

A crisis - The National - About Today 

This track - ooooh it hits hard, it gives you a sense of a complete helplessness in a break up. Yoh - Yes, I'm being emo! 

"How close am I to losing you?

Tonight you just close your eyes

And I just watch you slip away

How close am I to losing you?

Hey, are you awake? Yeah, I'm right here

Well, can I ask you about today?"

 

A positive day - Grouplove - Naked kids

I love this song, it's simple, light and so positive. Makes you want to road trip.

"Cruisin' down the highway with my friends, top down

And we're all on our way to the beach

And everyone keeps laughing at those cars we are passing

As we're sucking down that funny, burning weed

Oh yeah"

 

A breakthrough  - The Stone Roses - This is the One

Gorgeous track from an epic band and also from one of my favourite indie movies 

Eagle vs Shark.

"A girl consumed by fire

We all know her desire

From the plans that she has made

I have her on a promise

Immerse me in your splendor

All the plans that I have made."

That's all...

Winter makes me thrifty!

I love dressing for winter - cropped leather jackets, oversized cardis, long vintage leather boots over heart printed leggings, vintage bags, scarves, it's so much fun dressing for winter! It makes the lack of sunshine just a little bit better. These are a few of my favourite things!

Oversized jersey with printed T-shirt over leggings. With an long knitted scarf or snood!

Vintage printed dress - love it with opaque black stockings and vintage heels.

Cropped black jacket with gold cuffs - paired with a soft light scarf.

Cropped brown leather jacket over a cute white vest, vintage jeans and a long vintage pendant. Gorgeous!

Lastly! Some gorgeous red vintage heels - swoon!

Warm winter cooking.

Autumn - I actually don't mind the cold - i only have my hot water bottle seeing me naked so I'm taking advantage of being able to have an extra glass of wine with an extra cheesy slice of pizza drenched in olive oil, anchovies, garlic and avo - yum! I'm also looking forward to trying new recipes -

Zucchini ribbon salad.

Shrimp Fritters

and then this little evil miracle - yummy!

Philly Cheesesteak Pizza

Coupled with a sneaky glass (or bottle) of RED WINE!

Yes I adore winter!

Mark Ryden - Snow Yak

Mark Ryden has the most unusual style. In the interest of art and because it's Christmas, I'd like to share some of his peculiar art - Collection entitled Snow Yak.