We all have our safe places, somewhere to feel snug, protected from the outside world, where nothing changes. Our personal space, our rut.
My cooking gets like that, not quite 'it's Wednesday so it must be mince' but close. So it is good to be challenged, inspired, make changes.
Two new recipes, then, one sweet, one savoury.
Have you discovered beetroot and apple? Not a spot of vinegar in sight, the ready cooked beets in a bag are fine for this and makes for minimal pink splashes. Equal quantities, grated, are good with any salad or cold meat. Then talking and mulling and muttering out loud resulted in the A.B.C. cake. Yummy, yummy. An adaption of a plain chocolate cake (recipe on a free leaflet from a high street chocolate shop eons ago, when such things were rare) with the addition of said beetroot and apple. Looks nothing, tastes good.
Savoury recipe was a bit obvious, really, but it can help if someone else in your kitchen suggests combinations. Pear + Walnut tart with a subtle blue cheese. Great because you can use what is in the fridge, pastry takes no time to do and a mini one is handy for a packed lunch. Any left-over egg/cream can go in to scrambled egg.

A.B.C. Cake.

Cream 4oz caster sugar with 2oz soft margarine or butter until fluffy. Add 1 egg and beat in well. Sieve 1 1/2oz cocoa and 3oz self-raising flour and fold gently in to the mix. Grate 1 apple (peeled) and 1 beetroot and mix together. Add 1 - 2 tablespoons of this to the cake mix. (It needs to slacken the mix, think similar consistency of normal cake mix.)
Transfer to lined 1lb loaf tin. Dot with a few chocolate drops, if liked.
Bake at gas no. 4 for 30 mins. (Aga, on tray, bottom of top oven with solid tray above. Check and turn after 15mins.)
Times are approximate, as all ovens vary and it is a long time since I baked with a conventional cooker.
Enjoy!

Pear and Walnut Tart with Blue Cheese

Hardly a recipe at all.
Line a foil pie dish or flan ring with pastry - I use shortcrust. If you are happier blind-baking it, then do so.
Peel, core and small dice enough pears for dish.
Mix enough egg/cream in a jug to fill dish. 1 egg to about 2-3 fl oz single cream (some milk could be used) is about the right balance.
Chop some walnuts, not too fine.
Cut some soft blue cheese (I like Cambazola) in to small cubes.
Then fill the tart. Pear chunks, then cheese chunks, fill with eggy mix (not too full or it will slosh about and burn in the oven), then top with a sprinkle of walnuts, to taste.
A bit of white pepper on the top works.
If you have a odd spring onion in the salad box, a bit of this could go in the base of the tart.
Bake until done - as you normally would a tart of this kind. In the Aga, it is second shelf up, top oven for ten minutes and keep an eye on it, turning the tray if doing lots of small ones.