Hollies, tiny Santa and potato cakes

Yesterday's walk was about pretty much leafless trees, but a couple of little American holly bushes, lovely bright berries. I didn't cut any, left them for the birds. 

It's different from the English holly beloved of Christmas cards, and just as lovely when the deciduous trees are asleep. 

And down the street, a tiny Santa light bravely lighting the path

The walk took place in the middle of making potato filled pancake things. Since it's a risen dough, there was an hour when it needed to rest, so I went walking, happy the sun had come out.

This is the kind of food you make when you're in pottering mode, because it's a few stages, not fast food. I fried onions to brown not caramelized,  added in spinach till wilted but not vanished, microwaved three potatoes, mashed them, then picked out the skins. No need to faff around peeling them. The skins ended up with the stock makings in the freezer. Waste nothing!   All the vegetables you mix well.

You need to spice up the filling well, because this is stodge, needs the help. The potatoes got salt and za'atar the other vegetables got salt, Old Bay, how did you guess, and  turmeric. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I  made the dough, yeast, warm milk, some water, flour, salt, kneaded a bit, left to rest an hour in an oiled bowl.

Once back from the walk, I divided the dough, I love my bench scraper for cutting dough, into eight, rolled them out, put a good spoonful of filling on each, folded the dough around, flattened, then six minutes covered, fried, turning once. It was like playing with clay, fun for tinies!

And as you see, came out well. I cut a piece, like the cake judges at the WI show, so you can see it looks done.

I liked making this, and it could be filled with berries, then dusted (cook talk) with sugar, for a hot dessert. Or any number of other vegetables, pumpkin instead of potato, loads of possibilities.

So I now have a plateful in the fridge, for several lunches. I expect I could freeze them, too, like practically everything else I freeze. I know it's no use offering a share to Gary, because shock, horror, it's got vegetables. He grows them to give away, not to eat!

He and vegetables are not friends. You could say he's an opponent of them, which also happens to be the solution to the latest word puzzle.  Tom gave the broadest,  funniest of hints in his recent comment! And the World Cup, my timely clue, puts out opponents on the field in every match. It's odd how hard a common word can be to guess when it's broken up into a puzzle.

Making soup today, squash and carrot, maybe chickpeas too, using the stock I made last night. Since the episode of the stove absent mindedly left on all night under the stock pot, and the more disastrous later burning out of the kettle overnight, I now have an alert on my phone daily at 10pm to CHECK STOVE TOP! 

Happy day everyone, try not to burn out your kettle, consider it a successful day when you manage not to.