Recipe for these fantastic fritters after the meme.
~~~~~~
I
am here. Barely. It's been rather rough-and-tumble for me lately. I wish I could report differently, but it ain't going to get better any time soon, so apologies in advance for pretty much playing phantom a while longer. (
Yes, I am hosting WHB #204 October 5 - 11.) In meantime, I'm answering a meme that
Swati of Swati's Sugar Craft passed on to me so long ago, it must have been in a former life. I now sent it to
Rose,
Martha,
Ricki,
Simona,
Nanditha, and
Jessica, to play with or leave alone -
no obligations whatsoever. As you can see, it's taken me over a year to respond to this one. Take. Your. Time.
1) LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATER?
I can't even remember. Really. I
think it was
Ratatouille. ??? I'm not kidding. On those very rare occasions when Scott and I actually go out to a flick, it's always animated kids' stuff:
Corpse Bride,
The Incredibles,
Wallace and Grommit,
Flushed Away...On the homefront, however, well, that's a
different story. It's all very art house, subtitled, and sophisticated. So, every now and then, after a belly full of
that, we have to run out to clear our heads with cartoons.
2) WHAT BOOK ARE U READING?
Several. I am currently juggling Le Carré's
Karla Trilogy; Banville's
Athena (for the third time); and I just added Camilleri's
The Shape of Water. I've tried reading sequentially, but it just doesn't work for me; old multi-tasking habits die hard.
3) FAVORITE BOARD GAME?
Pictionary.
4) FAVORITE MAGAZINES?
Saveur,
The Atlantic,
Time Out New York.
5) FAVORITE SMELLS?
Lavender, peony, violet, scented-geranium leaves, cardamom, peach, cilantro.
6) FAVORITE SOUNDS?
The approach of a train; the syncopated tattoo of rain thumping the roof; the shriek of raptors; and the holy, surreal silence of walking in a powdery snowfall.
7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?
Grief.
8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE?
Coffee or inky-black tea.
9) FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE?
I rarely eat fast food, but Burger King has killer coffee and fries.
10) FUTURE CHILD'S NAME?
No kids planned, but I am very fond of the Irish and Scottish Gaelic: Katriona, Siobhan, Niall...
11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT— "IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D..."
Buy a boat and learn to sail.
12) DO U DRIVE FAST?
No, I drive the speed limit (I'm not into an early grave nor a whopping traffic summons), and I'm not crazy about the guy in back of me kissing my tailpipe, either.
13) DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
You can't sleep with stuffed animals when you have the real deal; the bed is crowded enough.
14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY?
Cool, always cool. The scarier, the cooler.
15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
A Chevy.
16) FAVORITE DRINK/S?
Harpoon IPA.
17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-"IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD…"
Learn to sail, even if I can't afford that boat.
18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?
Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. And I've a recipe coming up that makes wonderful use of them.
19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?
Since it's already been nearly every other color, anyway, it's time to go back to being a brunette. I miss it. Truly.
20) FAVORITE SPORT/S TO WATCH?
Fencing. Yes, it's a spectator sport, too, but you've got to look sharp. (
Go ahead and groan - I love puns and have given up apologizing for them.)
21) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Swati's an all-around good soul. She hasn't blogged in quite some time - shame; she's got a natural talent for fondant cake decorating.
22) WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED?
Built-in storage. Thank God.
23) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN??
The short answer is
yes. The long answer is complicated, philosophical, and would bore you stupid with too much information. These twenty-eight nuggets of nothing are more than enough about me for the moment.
24) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?
Night owl, although my favorite times are those of twilight, the dawn and dusk.
25) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
Over Easy.
26) FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX?
In bed, juggling all those books.
27) FAVORITE PIE/S?
Wet Bottom Shoo-Fly.
28) FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR/S?
Butter Pecan, Black Raspberry, Coffee.
~~~~~~~

Spiced Vegetable Fritters - Reprinted by Permission from An Honest Kitchen - Kathyrn Elliott and Lucinda Dodds - All Rights Reserved - Copyright © 2009
Makes 12 fritters
300g (combined weight) cauliflower and broccoli, roughly chopped
½ onion, roughly chopped
1 x 400g can (about 250g cooked) lima or butter beans
1 egg, whisked
1 ½ tablespoons plain flour
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons rolled oats
½ bunch fresh coriander, finely chopped
Canola oil for cooking
Make the fritters: Place the cauliflower, broccoli, beans and onion in a food processor. Process until they're finely chopped and starting to clump together. Transfer this to a bowl and then add in the rest of the ingredients, except the oil. Mix together until it is combined - you may need to mash the mixture slightly with the back of a spoon to get the right texture. Season with salt and pepper. Form the mixture into 12 fritters - you may find it easier to mould the mixture with wet hands.
Cook the fritters: Place a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add a drizzle of canola oil and once this is hot gently place fritters in the pan. You'll need to cook the fritters in batches of about 4 – 5 depending on the size of your frying pan. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes on each side, until browned and cooked through. Transfer to kitchen paper to drain and then serve.
Cooking & Storage:
These fritters can be served in lots of different ways. I like them with brown rice and a dollop of natural yoghurt, but they also work well in a wrap with salad and mango chutney. You could top them with a soft-poached egg, or have them as a side to grilled fish or meat – again with a spoon of natural yoghurt. Leftover fritters can be kept for 2 – 3 days in the fridge. They don't freeze when cooked; however, you can freeze the uncooked mixture, formed into fritters.
Lucy’s Notes:
Well, if these don’t get you eating (and loving) cauliflower and broccoli, nothing will. Delicious with the mango chutney, yoghurt and salad combo.
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And my auxiliary notes: These fritters, as terrific as they are (I've made them thrice), are very moist, delicate, and crumbly. I chilled the mixture first, then froze the formed patties just to solid before grilling them
very,
very slowly until well browned, set, and dry before turning them quickly, yet carefully, with a long, slotted turner. You won't loose a crumb, and you won't want to, regardless of dressing them up with sauce (I mixed 1 part mango chutney with 4 parts Greek strained yoghurt) or dressing them down with a scattering of sea salt.
Dried Butter Beans
A
big thank you to Lucy and Kathyrn for allowing me use of copyrighted material from their amazingly delicious
An Honest Kitchen, available through either of their fine blogs, and an even
bigger thanks to
Sia of Monsoon Spice, hostess of MLLA 15. Sia wasn't planning on accepting late recipes, but I'm assuming she'll make an exception in my case and let me slip this under the door. ; P
Jeanne of Cooksister! is hosting MLLA 16, the October round. She will be announcing in the next few days.