FOODIE FRIDAY - A SPRING DISPLAY

I loved this display of sweet Sicilian carrots, surrounded by young artichokes, on display in a supermarket this morning. - Such a simple, yet effective, idea.

OF CUTS OF MEAT AND THINGS

I baked these pork chops last night with apples and in a honey and mustard sauce [Dijon-style mustard being available here] then took the photo just to show you how the chops are cut differently to those found in Britain. You do sometimes see a shape similar to the British cut, but the chops are smaller and thinner.

Lamb, as I've mentioned, is more difficult to find but will be coming into the shops more frequently in the run-up to Easter. The best way of obtaining lamb chops is to go to the frozen food centre and get them to cut up a whole shoulder. I then freeze the chops I don't immediately need.

Carrots are the bane of my life [along with water!] as they are usually sold in large packs like this. I've just turned this lot into soup, which brings me to a discussion I had with Irma over Christmas, about Italian cuisine not having a great repertoire of soups. Apart from minestrone and the wonderful Tuscan ribollita, they are rarely served and this must be because pasta is king. Spezzatino, which we would call casserole or stew, is a different matter and the cubes of meat used in its preparation are much larger than in Britain.