(This was originally posted on my other blog
January 30th, 2006)

If I had a pound coin for every time someone in TV production short-listed me or promised me something. Then there are catch 22 situations….. you have a good idea for a new cooking show so you find a producer to pitch it to only to discover some weeks later that they too just by coincidence come up with a very similar idea for a new series. Not only that but they cleverly got me to email my idea to them rather than by mail…. which makes it a lot easier to cover their tracks and deny that I ever sent them my outline idea. Which made it doubly satisfying that I had the good sense to copyright the outline and mail a copy to my TV hating solicitor!…hee hee

Bolts On’s

Another strange thing about Producers is they all want to produce the next Hell’s Kitchen or find the next Jamie Oliver but they are also mostly too afraid to try a new idea with a new face fronting it. So what they do is take a successful idea and then bolt a few extras on it to make it look new when it isn’t. As one producer said to me. the concept of the show is a melange of Masterchef, Faking It and Big Brother….really.

Coming Up
On a more serious note my American friend Jeff is urging me to make a trip back to the states this year to make a pilot cooking program. It was his good advice of document everything when dealing with shady types like TV producers (he should know he is one of them). So we are in the brain storming process to come up with a good idea and also make sure its not already out there….so keep your fingers crossed and if you have an idea worth stealing send me a message.

Butternut Squash & Butterbean Soup serves 4 © Kevin Ashton 2006

These cold, damp.... some times foggy winter days are definitely good days for soup. Making soup reminded me of the even colder winters I spent working in Amsterdam.

A picturesque scene of snowy days, children happily skating on frozen canals, huge icicles hanging from the mooring ropes of the canal barges, and the hearty soups we’d eat when coming indoors. I’ve roasted the butternut squash to give this subtle soup a wonderful taste and the bright yellow colour brings a little sunshine back into the day.

1 kg butternut squash, peeled

1 (300g) tin of organic butterbeans

1Tbsp olive oil

150 g finely diced onion

40 g butter

1 Heaped tbsp fresh chopped coriander

1 litre of chicken or vegetable stock

1 pinch of saffron (optional)

Crème fraiche

If your using saffron, put the strands in a teacup and barely cover with boiling water and leave to soak.
Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove and keep the seeds. Dive the squash into chunky pieces and place in a roasting tray.
Rub theolive oil into the squash, season with salt & pepper then roast in a medium hot 190 C (gas mark 5) until lightly brown and very tender.
Wash the fibre from the saved seeds and drain on paper towel.
Season the seeds lightly and roast in the oven until lightly browned and crispy then allow to cool.
Melt the butter in a large heavy bottomed saucepan and cook the onions on medium heat until they are tender, stirring occasionally.
Add the stock to the cooked onions, the (saffron & water) and allow to simmer on a low heat.
Drain the butter beans saving the juice, and then pour all of the juice and ¾ of the beans into the stock.
Add the roasted squash to the stock and simmer for a further 10 minutes.
Puree the soup well in a food processor and then push it through a sturdy strainer to make the texture velvety smooth.
Check the seasoning, then return to a low heat and add the coriander.
To Serve
Warm the remaining beans and divide them between 4 warm soup bowls.

Ladle in the hot soup, then sprinkle on the roasted seeds and finish with a dollop of crème fraiche.

Chef’s Tips The roasted butternut squash seeds taste very similar to sunflower or pumpkin seeds,adding a great crunchy topping to the soup. Try adding crispy smoked bacon pieces and toasting some garlic bread to make this dish a great inexpensive lunch time meal.

(This entry was originaly written Wednesday January 18th,2006 for my other blog

I write a weekly recipe column for the Birmingham Sunday Mercury and on Wednesday, where ever I am 12noon is deadline............

so here is a email I sent about 4pm

===================================================
Dear Zoe

This day is begining to feel like ground-hog day

I finished my recipe then promptly lost it by accidently deleting instead of saving.

So I made a cup of coffee and rewrote the recipe trying to remember my cute preamble, word for word. Then I promptly got my foot caught in the loose computer cables and accidently lost the recipe before saving again............

So I wrote this third version of the recipe saving every 10 seconds or so..............

then low and behold I could not get on line (I've just bought myself a PC laptop and am having problems with my AOL connection. Recently we upgraded to Broadband............but boy I've lost the connection (and nearly the will to live...lol) about a million times.

Finally in retelling my sorry tale whilst on the online hotmail server...I lost this email...just after I asked the question..is this still Friday the 13th?

welll.is it........????

===================================================

I'm presuming you used the Cod recipe for this sunday?

regards

kevin