Recipes for Boynton in 5 fits

I have had my first taste of being an archaeologist. It wasn't intentional, but I had terrific fun!

I had actually started out trying to cater for an archaeological dig, but after some confusion - it was on, then off, several times - it finally turned out to be very much on. A pity I hadn't prepared anything, but my panic immediately subsided when there were four, then three... then just us two! Like babes in the wood, the gent and I were left in charge of a dig.

Fit the first: sausages and sweet potato mash

By the evening on Sunday there were three of us in the country house: the gent, myself, and an Historian with archaeological sympathies who is writing about the house and grounds. Needing something quick and hearty, I planned to roast sausages with sweet potatoes and onion, with some lovely savoy cabbage alongside.

Unfortunately the lack of baking tray (or anything, whatsoever, that might fit that role) made me realise I would have to fry the sausages. In a saucepan. In fact, due to size of the pans, in two saucepans. The potatoes I could roast in foil with garlic... however, when no foil materialised I instead baked the potatoes and scooped the flesh into some hastily-made garlic oil, and mashed.

In short, after 1.5 hours I emerged from the kitchen with just sausages and mash!

Still, every last scrap was eaten, there was some warming wine, and my two companions made me laugh so much that I soon cheered up. The night was very black and we slept a long time in our huge, wonderful room.

praise be! or... give thanks!

Being as entirely Anglo Saxon as a girl could possibly be, I celebrate bonfire night, christmas, easter ... the usual conventional British festivals. Being as greedy as a girl could possibly be, I have wised up to stealing other celebrations. Which is why last night saw me in a gentle fuss of preparation for a belated, bastardised, spur-of-the-moment Thanskgiving meal. I wore a new apron for the occasion, a Portugal souvenir from my Mother, which had the good sense to have pockets to hide marshmallows in. A cook needs treats to keep her going.

The photos don't do it justice so I won't post them, instead I will invite you to imagine the scene of a juicy - if tiny - organic chicken, prepared in what has morphed into my 'usual' way, which is to say, half a lemon up its bum, plenty of butter pushed between the breast and skin, skin oiled like a soho go go dancer and covered in maldon salt. Baby red onions nestled around the chicken, caremalising and becoming beautiful. Then there was stuffing (Paxo, doctored with walnuts, lemon juice, mixed spice and dried cranberries), and pigs in blankets (bacon wrapped sausages), and cabbage and broccoli.... and lemony pan juices masquerading as 'gravy'.

Between you and me it was much like an ordinary roast, however the addition of marshmallow-topped sweet potato mash really took it into the realm of thanksgiving. And we did indeed give thanks for this dish: I am completely converted to sweet potatos, but don't eat them more on account of our never-dwindling potato backlog from the veg box. When I do give in and buy the sweet ones, I roast them in foil bundles with oil, then peel and mash them. Adding garlic to the packet makes a garlicky oil to pour into the mash.* Divine. Of course my inspiration was Nigella and under her tutelage the sweetness of the mash was tempered by adding lime juice, a little cinnamon too, and the result happily delighted my flatmate Jo. The marshmallow topping sounds bizarre, but some magic happens and the dish looks like it is covered in burnished, smooth buttons - you'll just have to try it and see.

We were too full for the planned dessert, so the sweetened chestnut puree is out on the sideboard, ready for today. Next to a lot of leftovers... I'm already planning bubble and squeak, cold chicken and maybe some maple roast parsnips. And sandwiches of stuffing, chicken and pigs in blankets... with a dollop of mayo. In fact, I'm all alone in the kitchen, maybe I'll just have a pre-breakfast snack...


* For some reason this garlicky sweet potato mash goes well with the beef and anchovy stew.