Sunday 1 November 2020

1st Day of Gratitude

 Today's the day!  The first day of the 25 Days of Gratitude photo challenge!

So come on in, it's chilly outside, British Summertime officially ended last weekend and this time next week all of England will be back in lockdown, so it's definitely time to be grateful for Comfort Food.

Sit yourself down with a nice glass of wine while I dish up dinner.  I hope you like beef casserole with herb dumplings, jacket potato with butter and green beans.



I can't take all the credit for the recipe, it's based loosely on Mary Berry's Beef Bourguignon I miss out the bacon and brandy but add a few thickly sliced carrots.  Of course, by substituting those ingredients I have turned it from a French classic to a homely British dish so naturally have to add some suet dumplings to go with it.

It's a perfect start to things we are grateful for though isn't it?  There's nothing like food like this to warm you up and stop those hunger pangs.  Plus, it's one of Paul's favourite winter meals so he is grateful too, that I 'had' to cook it to show on my blog!

We are having our daughter and family round for lunch today, which will be the last time they will be in our house until early December.  That's a strange thought!  Even though we knew another lockdown was probably inevitable, my heart still sank as I watched Boris walk into the Downing Street press office and make the announcement.   It will make me even more thankful to have this branch of the family tree around the table today.  (The other 50% live in another area and not allowed to mix with other households at the moment.  Plus we have the Rule of Six, so couldn't have everyone here, much as we would have liked to have had a big pre-lockdown lunch)




6 comments:

alexa said...

Oh gosh, that photo takes me back! My Mum used to make dumplings just like these for Irish Stew ... (I've tried to find the Instagram link for the 25 Days of Gratitude from your post at the start of October, but there seem to be lot called by the same name).

Barbara Eads said...

That dish looks delicious!

Patio Postcards said...

Oh those dumplings do look oh so yummy.

This West London Life said...

Even thought you have a buttery jacket potato, the Northerner in me is asking where the gravy is? :)

onceuponatimehappilyeverafter.com said...

Always so interesting to learn the words you have for things. Jacket potato is our baked potato. The dumplings look so good. Something different for sure. Not too clear what they are. I love dumplings, though, so pretty sure I would eat them up.

Food is such a comfort. Sadly, I eat food when I am stressed as a way to nurture and self care. Would be better if I ran instead. But so many great memories have been made around a table laden with food. Our Thanksgiving is the perfect example.

Susanne said...

Dumpling - that is extreme comfort food. And we've certainly needed our comfort food in 2020. Glad you were able to have family around the table before the next lockdown.