Sauerkraut or “choucroute” in French is a wonderful winter speciality (well actually I sometimes make it in the summer too but with fish and seafood instead of meats).
This is the (fairly classic) way I make it but there are endless variations and you should experiment using different kinds of sausages and pork cuts.

– place a knuckle of pork (smoked is best) in some stock with peppercorns, juniper berries, cloves and bay leaves. Simmer for 2 hours.
– in the bottom of a large earthenware pot or (better) a slow cooker, place a layer of sauerkraut. If using cooked cabbage, try to find it cooked in white wine (champagne is even better) but the uncooked cabbage is fine, you just need a longer cooking time.
– cover the sauerkraut cabbage with white wine and some of the stock from the knuckle, just enough liquid to cover.
– add a few crushed juniper berries and a red onion spiked with cloves.
– now place some small potatoes, the knuckle, some thick chunks of bacon, and different kinds of sausages (chunks of mortadelle, garlic sausage, even large herby sausages, but not the frankfurters, these go in later), .
– cover tightly and cook/simmer on a very low heat (100∞) for two hours. Check seasoning but usually there is no need to add extra salt because the cured knuckle stock should be very salty. Check from time to time to make sure there is enough liquid, you may need to add a little more stock or white wine.
– 20-25 minutes before the end, add the frankfurters. If the cabbage in the bottom still seems very moist you can leave the lid off for the final few minutes to steam off any excess liquid.
– serve with mustard

I found this in a book of idiot-proof – only a few ingredients – incredibly healthy – lose-weight recipes. It’s remarkably tasty and simple.
– wash leeks, slice lengthwise and blanch them for a few minutes in boiling water until soft.
– trim a pork fillet of any excess fat and spread all over with a mixture of grain and smooth mustard.
– wrap the mustardy pork in the leeks (see photo left, click on it to zoom).
– steam it for 40 minutes.
– serve with a cold mustard sauce made from two or three different types of mustard mixed with “Petit Suisse” cheese (or fromage blanc) and a little lemon juice.

I haven’t cooked an Indian meal for ages. We recently went to an Indian restaurant in Toulouse that we had enjoyed on a previous visit. Sadly we found ourselves in the midst of an office party, the service was awful and the food very disappointing.
So the next day I decided to do an Indian.
The secret to a good curry is, as we all know, ONLY USE FRESHLY GROUND SPICES. Once all the dried seeds are ground up, make it into a paste by adding garlic, ginger, fresh chillies and, if necessary, a drop or two of water.
Also use ghee (you can make your own clarified butter by heating a slab of butter and skimming off the froth on the top when it separates).
In the photo there is:
– sag gosht, lamb and spinach curry cooked in yoghurt and thickened with ground nuts
– dahl, green lentil curry cooked in coconut milk
– chicken tikka, marinated in paprika, lime juice and yoghurt
– chilli and coriander rice
– home-made chapatis, flat breads made from a mix of plain flour and chick pea flour with a little yeast and yoghurt.