Imminent arrival, wood smoke and veal chops

Word up all. Today is the due date that my daughter should arrive into this world. If she is anything like her mother (or her father if truth be told) I cannot see her being on time to be honest. I am sitting on my floating office boat on the river Thames on a beautiful still September afternoon and it just feels like the calm before the storm now. I know it's about time but it is starting to sink in that I will be responsible for another hungry human. Another member of the clan cometh and how do I prepare?

Well I bought some veal chops and checked to see how my wood fired oven construction was coming along. Practical as ever!

Wish me luck.

Wet Polenta with Savoy Cabbage, Crispy Sausage bits, peas and fresh parmesan

Okay people here's the recipe for last night's dinner.

Ingredients for 2 biguns and two little-uns:

• Polenta flour (I use the quick stuff but here the flour is better. Note to self - give the proper gear a try you fool
• Savoy Cabbage
• Garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil and olive oil (I actually used my home made chilli oil for a bit of a kick)
• Good quality sausages - I used Barling Beauties which are a local speciality in my home town.
• Fresh Parmesan
• Peas (frozen will be absolutely fine)
• Flat leaf parsley (optional)
• Nutmeg

1. Chop and cook your cabbage in boiling salted water and chuck 2 to 4 cloves of garlic in at the same time.

2. Drain the cabbage, shell the garlic and blitz in a food processor. You want to have about 60% Polenta to 40% cabbage when it comes to mixin' time so bear that in mind.

3. Heat some olive oil (don't waste your extra virgin here folks) and squeeze the sausages out of their skins and into the hot pan. Break them up with a fork and get some nice colour on them. Turn down the heat a little, grate in a dusting of nutmeg and keep breaking the sausages up every now and then and leave to cook 'til nice and gooey and crispy. Turn off the heat and leave to one side

4. Get some water and get that polenta cooked. I like to cook mine in chicken stock and I use more than the packet advises so it stays wetter. Just cook it a few times and you'll get the hang of it.

5. Chuck in your peas and let the molten heat of the polenta cook them through.

5. Nearly there...mix into the polenta your whizzed up cabbage and garlic and then add in a good couple of handfuls of parmesan to taste 9save some back for dressing the dish). Season and taste again

6. Sppon some of the delicious polenta onto a plate. Scatter over a generous portion of your sausage bits. Sprinkle over some more fresh parmesan. Scatter some roughly chopped parsley and then drizzle over some of your best extra virgin olive or chili oil. Serve immediately.

Enjoy

Man's search for meaning

So tonight I cooked for my family as I love to do. Wet polenta with savoy cabbage, crispy sausage crumbs, fresh peas, parmesan and fine olive oil. Served on our chipped everyday white plates with a bottle of crozes hermitage (it is Thursday already!) Greeted and eated with much applause from the missus - she loves her carbs that girl. Alas, the herberts ate the crumbled cheese and scattered scrumptious sausagey bits only to evacuate the table at lightspeed as they discovered the cabbage green tinged polenta. Nevermind.

I watched Ed Wardle in Alone in the Wild; lit a fire and then had the idea of starting a food and living blog thing (I believe good things happen when I work hard and do stuff with meaning and passion.) So I sent a text to my mate who knows about that sort of thing and hey pesto (couldn't resist sorry) here I am. Thank you for stopping by to browse my scribblings, I shall endeavour to entertain you with tales of wine drenched nights of unrestrained gastronomy, daily musings and will of course thrust upon you many a recipe from my ill spent youth 'inside' (a kitchen that is! I could have called it 'a life behind jars' geddit?!)

Ahem, time to go probably.

Until next time my fellow gastronauts, as the great Keith Floyd used to say. RIP my man.