Having had a mini heatwave the weather suddenly turned cold again a couple of days ago. Personally I love a bracing walk on a cold bright day and where better than along the sea shore! My friend linda lives by the shore in the beautiful village of Emsworth, although it is officially a town, Emsworth has a village feel, popular with artists and walkers the town has a long connection with oyster fishing and boat building.
Wrapped up against the elements (it actually snowed later in the day) linda and I walked along the shore until we came to Flintstones café, tucked around the corner from the harbour Flintstones is a tiny two-tiered café within a stone and beamed building. Inside, the cafe is both quirky and charming and a sign reads: 'we don't do fast food but we serve good food as fast as we can'. Life size cardboard figures were perched on the rafters around the cafe which added a sense of fun
We opted for some bacon and brie baguettes and a large pot of tea
Temptation got the better of us and we both had a slice of delicious homemade carrot cake
Emsworth hosts lots of individual shops and non-branded stores which makes it such an appealing place to visit
A lovely afternoon was spent and being the loquacious food people that we are I arrived home rather late and decidedly full! Hence I wasn't really in the mood for cooking, however, Glenn and Bert were sat with knife and fork poised, hungry after a hard days work! Fortunately I had the last of my roast shoulder of lamb left in the fridge so it was a case of a quick 'hotch-potch dinner! I'm not going to labour the point with this recipe but leftover roast meat with a few simple additions makes a lovely meal, and I only emphasise this because I know so many people throw their leftovers away, especially if it's a small piece of meat that's been sitting in the fridge for a few days. See post: 'Two fat ladies' for the gammon version of this pie and whenever you have a little piece of any roast meat left over you can apply it to this recipe.
Lamb hotch-potch
Recipe
Leftover roast lamb
Leftover vegetables, alternatively cook some fresh or frozen vegetables
Leftover roast parsnips and sweet potato
Gravy
Mashed potatoes
Cut meat into small pieces
Mix with vegetables
Add gravy
Top with mashed potatoes and cook for 30-40 minutes
This is actually the origins of shepherds pie, left over lamb and vegetables topped with potatoes, although now most people make it from scratch with minced lamb it is definitely more flavoursome made by the old fashioned method.
'The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.'
-Julia Child
Love Donna xx
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