Words on Wednesday

Thistles and Kiwis,

I headed to the kitchen this morning, put the kettle on for tea, and popped in two slices of bread into the toaster. I turned my back for two minutes to put some bits and pieces on the table and suddenly noticed smoke coming from the toaster. I quickly turned it off, opened two windows and then…yes the smoke alarm went off with an alarmingly loud noise. We couldn’t find anyway to turn it off as the instruction book is written in, well, something resembling English, but it eventually stopped and then I found a way to stop the subsequent beeping. A great start to the day….

At least the sun was shining and the sky was blue, so we could keep the windows open. I got a laundry done and hung out before heading out for Pilates, after which I sought out some lunch. The first two place I thought about were both extremely busy so I popped into Salut Pies for a garlic, truffle and steak pie, which I have to say was a really excellent treat and which also wiped out my breakfast disaster. Below you can see the splendid pie and part of the wall in the cafe which is covered with little squares list lots of pie fillings, some of which do sound deliciious.

To work off the pie, I did a little gardening and set about making dinner. I had bought some lovely smoked salmon from out local butcher, and decided to make the Swedish classic lax pudding, a combination of smoked salmon, potatoes, cream, milk, eggs and dill. There are so many recipes for this around, but basically it is thinly sliced potatoes layered with the fish and topped with a savoury baked custard and baked in the oven.

There was a version in a Swedish book I must have had for over 20 years, but I also found an Ottolenghi version where he par-boiled the potatoes first. I did that, but cooked it at a hotter temperature than he suggested. The result?

Verdict? Very delicious, real comfort food with a ‘make again and why haven’t I made it before?’ moment.

Also entered in Wednesday Words and Whimsy hosted by hosted by Min of Write of the Middle.

Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer, good food and pretends to garden.


You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis.

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Published by Thistles and Kiwis

Loves summer, sunshine and cats. Beginner gardener, likes eating, cooking and reading about food

31 Comments

  2. Love the restaurant wall, always a nice touch when there is something different. I’ve been to a restaurant that used their recipe book as wallpaper down the corridor to the loos. Hope the toaster got sorted.

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  9. You turned that day around with the delicious pie and that lax pudding – it looks so good! I love the little post it notes with the pie fillings, how fun!

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  12. Fire alarms has to be one of the most stressful things there is? Happy it all turned out OK. I can see the scenario with the eyes of my mind, not fun!

    Your food always look so good. Is cooking something you’ve enjoyed all your life?

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  13. Hi Barbara – that blue sky is what we usually see here in Brisbane but not the last couple of days! It’s been pouring here today but has eased this afternoon. When I first saw your food photo I thought it was the classic Potato Bake but I see it’s so much more than that … ‘lax pudding’ which I’ve never heard of but my goodness it sounds delicious. I think I’m gonna have to find a recipe and give it a try! Sorry to hear your smoke alarm went off this morning. Those things are ‘shrill’ and hurt my ears. Always good when they stop! BTW – that pie looks amazing!! Thanks for linking up with #WWWhimsy ! xo

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    1. Hi – well, we had rain today, then sunshine then….well it is spring! The lax pudding was good – there are lots of recipes for it but Ottolenghi has one in English if you google it. Smoke alarms – good idea but too sensitive – wish they could distinguish between a real fire and burnt toast! Thanks for hosting.

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  14. Hi Barbara, that pie is a work of art in itself before even tasting it! I think salmon and new potatoes are some of my favourite foods ever. #TeamWWWhimsy

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  15. That garlic, truffle and steak pie is simply beautiful and sounds sublimely delicious. I see why a lunch like that would wipe away that smoky, noisy dis-regulating toaster snafu!

    Regarding the wall of post-its: it reminded me of something I’ve toyed with — putting my many favorite recipes in a binder (organized by category) and asking my family to assemble a week’s worth of dinners from those choices. Thank you for putting that idea back on my list of fun projects!

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    1. The pie did, indeed, brighten the day and blow away the start to the morning. Good idea re the recipe binder. I think as long as meatballs were there in some form or another my dear husband would be happy!

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