Was it wrong to laugh?

Yello everyone.
How are you all today? Good I trust.
I'm having a few wee problems with my camera again so that's why I aint been blogging for a few weeks. Well that and the fact that It was me and my twinny Arlene's Birthday, Claire's Birthday, My wee Grannie's Birthday my Dad's Birthday, my friend Kath is over from New Zealand and whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Celebrations have been going on  for a whole month now don'tcha know.
Anyhoos, I think I'm all partied out and getting back into my normal routine of making nice food and force feeding it to Pauline. She loves it.
Tonight I'm making porky schnitzel. Yum.
Due to my cameralessness I'm sticking up a few wee recipes that I have back logged. Don't like putting up recipes without being able to prove I made them. I am no fraud.

So on one of my days off I stuck my head into the cupboard to see what I could make. Ready steady cook stylee again. I checked the back of the cupboard but unfortunately our new flat does not come with a Narnia out the back. Gutted. Yeah newbies. This is a throw back to an old blog.

I had bought a Cumberland sausage ring from Westmoorland farm shop on the way back from Hammerfest. Yes, yes. The blog for that is still in construction. It's a trilogy though and it takes some people a whole life time to write them????

Aye, so Cumberland sausage. I had a pack of cooked black lentils too, so decided to make sausages with lentils in tomato sauce. Mmmmmmmmmm.



I was too hungry to wait till after the photo to start eating it.

While I was making said dish I had Scuzz on the TV in the background. I heard a guitar riff that drew me like the rats to the pied piper into the living room. I sat on the arm of the couch, covered in tomato sauce splashes and watched the video. It was from a band called Revoker and the song was called Stay Down.
S

I couldn't make my mind up about what was going on in this song. It was like early 90's Grungyness smashing into the naughties hardcore movement. The hardcore guitars riffage and growly, shouty chorus and then the flamboyant, slightly overacted campness of the main singer. I dunno. I sat there laughing. But you know what? I bloody well like it. So there.

Here's my recipe for sausages and lentils. Enjoy.

Lentils in a tray

Add a sausage

Et Voilà

Sausage and lentils for two

Ingredients

200g Cumberland sausage ring
250g pack ready to eat black or puy lentils (I got mine from Merchant Gourmet)
1 red onion diced fine
3 cloves garlic minced
1 stick celery diced fine
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 bouquet garni
Hand full sun blush tomatoes
Half teaspoon paprika
Half teaspoon dried oregano
Half teaspoon dried basil
Glug olive oil
Glug red wine
1 chicken jelly stock cube
1 tablespoon maple syrup
200ml water
Salt and pepper

First you want to make your tomato sauce.
Put a glug of olive oil into a saucepan and put onto a medium heat.
Add the onion, celery, garlic and paprika and cook for a few minutes until vegetables are softened and garlic is smelling lovely and fragrant.
Add the chopped tomatoes, bouquet garni, basil, oregano, red wine, jelly stock cube, water and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir then bring to the boil. Once it has started to boil turn it down to a low simmer and cook for 30 minutes stirring every now and then to make sure the sauce does not stick to the pan.
Pre heat your oven to 190 or equivalent.
When sauce is ready, take out the bouquet garni and stir in the lentils. Put into an oven proof dish.
Pop the sausage on top of the lentils and cook in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes until sausage is cooked through. The juice and fat from the sausage will drip into the lentils and make them super nice.
Check the seasoning and serve. I made some soft polenta to go with mine but you could serve it with a nice green salad or a big chunk of bread to mop up the juices.

Stay down, on the ground.