Tonight ragu with spaghetti, and baked apples. The ragu, one of our staple dishes, made by G. G is the one who bakes all our bread and also has a number of staples that he makes. I tend to do more of 'what can I do with what's in the fridge?', or' what can I do with the veg from the garden?' So in winter we're often eating dishes that have been cooked in bulk from garden produce.

Ragu

60 ml sunflower oil
100g bacon
4 onions, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 sticks celery, diced
900g beef mince
225g chicken livers, liquidised or
finely chopped
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
60 ml tomato puree
2 bay leaves
oregano, - to taste
salt, - to taste
pepper, - to taste
dry cider
In a large metal casserole, fry the bacon in the oil till golden. Add
the vegetables and cook till starting to soften. Remove to a bowl.
In the casserole, brown the mince, add the chicken livers and brown.
Add the tomatoes, heat through and return the vegetables and bacon to
the casserole.
Add the rest of the ingredients. Use more pepper and oregano (or
marjoram) than you might first think. Add enough cider to give liquid
up to the top of the solid ingredients.
Bring to the boil, turn heat to the lowest possible, cover and cook
for as long as possible - overnight or all day.

Baked Apples

Core, stuff with raisins and brown sugar, make a shallow cut all around. Put in baking dish with more sugar, pour over a little rum, and add water to about 1" depth. Bake at 140C for about 90 minutes.