Blustery, gloomy, melancholy, wet – I’m a foul weather friend. Bring me thunder, lightning and rain! But our home is mostly peopled by real “under the weather” sorts, wilting from want of the sun. What can you do? Buy a sun-lamp? Perhaps.

Easier still is to feed the poor souls lots and lots of food with the sun “trapped” inside them. Sun-dried fruit and vegetables — with their flavours intensified by long hours bathing in sunlight or heat — lend fabulous warmth to rainy day menus. I’ve always been a fan of home-made oven-dried tomatoes. Left in a warm oven overnight and then stored in olive oil, they beat the ketchup out of store-bought ones. But if you haven’t made any, then this is hardly the season. Raisins, I don’t like them, but great quality golden raisins used judiciously, will elevate the mundane to the sublime. Big groceries are beginning to stock organic dried black grapes, figs even papaya and pineapple segments. As for prunes, you get pretty decent imported ones but I have to admit, I used a jar of “pruneaux” — baby-food prune-puree from Canada.
As always, the recipes below are primarily ideas for you to try out and then develop to fit your unique culinary lifestyle. In the past week, one very special reader tweeted me to say she enjoyed the column and adapted a recipe to suit what ingredients she had and the result was delicious! Her message had me walking on sunshine. I really hope these recipes bring you some sunshine too.

You can start a conversation with the author about food at http://loveinthekitchenlaughteratthetable. blogspot.com

Honeyed lamb with prunes black grapes and almonds
The lamb is halfway Indian and halfway Moroccan and very delicious. There are a couple of things to remember while making it. Marinating it adequately is important. Cooking it on a slow simmer for nearly 2 hours is also imperative — so don’t begin if you’re rushed for time. I used prunes and black grapes but you can use raisins or apricots too. The final dressing with honey is optional and probably avoidable if you use raisins as the meal may be too sweet.

Ingredients:
400 gms mutton or lamb cubes
1 cup chopped mint leaves
1 cup yoghurt
2 tsp garam masala powder
2 tsp cinnamon powder
4 tbs grated ginger
1 onion chopped finely
2 tsp freshly ground pepper
5 cloves
1 or 2 tsp paprika powder
2 tbs honey
2 tbs chopped prunes
2 tsp chopped black grapes
Salt to taste (about 2 tsp)
Almonds for garnish

Method:
In a bowl, mix the garam masala powder, chopped mint, yoghurt and salt and fold into the cubed lamb. Mix with your hands to make sure the marinade is properly distributed then cover the bowl with clingfilm and refrigerate overnight. Heat 2 tbs of olive oil in a pan. Stir the cloves around for a minute and then add the ginger and onion. Stir until the onion is translucent. Remove the cubes of meat and throw them into the pan. Briskly move them around the hot, clove infused oil and onion so that they change colour. Raise the heat, throw in the yoghurt marinade, add 1 tsp cinnamon powder, the black grapes, the ground pepper and 1 tsp of the paprika powder. Bring to a brisk bubble then lower the heat and let it simmer for at least 1 hour. (Add a splash of water if the gravy is drying up.) After an hour, throw in the prunes and the rest of the cinnamon and paprika powder. Taste for salt. Cook for another half hour or until the meat is absolutely tender and the gravy is beautifully thick. When ready to serve, stir in the honey and garnish with toasted almonds.

Millet ‘couscous’ with golden raisins

At our home, we’re slowly trying to wean ourselves away from wheat and dairy. While we don’t wholly believe the bad name these foods have recently acquired, we enjoy challenging our minds and the kids’ tastebuds. So though I still think real couscous is non-pareil in certain situations, the millet here worked very nicely with the lamb gravy.

Ingredients:
1 cup millet
1 onion finely chopped
½ cup parsley leaves
½ cup mint leaves
2 tbs raisins
½ cup cooked white beans or chana
2 cups stock

Method:
Lightly toast the millet on a pan for about 2 minutes. Bring the stock to a boil and stir in the millet and the chopped onion. Boil on a medium flame until the millet is tender. Taste for salt. While the millet will fall into individual grains like couscous, drain the cooked millet of whatever excess liquid there is or it will get very puddingey. (Happened to me so don’t sweat it too much. It will still taste fine.) Chop the raisins, mint and parsley and stir into the millet with the white beans or chana. Serve with the lamb.

Sun-dried tomato salad with raisin dressing
You don’t have to use white beans for this recipe but they work quite well because they have that warm, comfort food quality to them and they’re healthier than say, pasta. If you’re not a fan of the bean, then try this recipe with red rice — those fat, delicious grains, still pink from the husks, cooked al dente. This recipe is about contrasts — salty bacon, sweet raisins, chewy tomatoes and toothsome beans.

Ingredients:
1 cup dried butter beans
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes*
200 gm smoked bacon
3 tbs golden raisins
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Handful of chopped parsley
Paprika flakes (optional)
Pinch of salt
*If using sun-dried tomatoes stored in oil, replace half the extra virgin olive oil with the oil out of the jar for extra flavour.

Method:
Soak the butter beans overnight and boil them in salted water until they’re cooked through, tender but not crumbling. Cut the bacon into bite-size bits and fry until crisp. Roughly chop the sun-dried tomatoes. Chop the raisins as finely as possible and mix with the garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Mix nicely, taste and adjust to your personal preferences. Add a pinch of salt. Combine the bacon, beans, sun-dried tomatoes and parsley. Toss with the dressing and sprinkle with paprika if you want some heat with your sunshine.

A bowl of sunshine
Look online and you will see that almost every chef, gourmand and gourmet has their version of the ‘sunshine soup’. The nomenclature is presumably aimed at those who weary of the winter and need warmth within to combat the cold without. This sunshine soup features eastern ingredients that are both warming and refreshing – exactly what the doctor ordered (I think) for this blow-hot-blow-wet weather. I loved it, but the kids got weirded out by the red pumpkin.

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped red pumpkin
1 cup chopped ripe pear
2 inches ginger root
1 lemongrass bulb
8 lemongrass stalks
2 tbs sugar (optional)
2 cloves
Pinch of salt

Method:
Boil 2 litres of water. Grate the ginger and throw it into the pot with the lemongrass bulb, stalks and the cloves. Let it boil until the water is reduced by about a quarter. (If using sugar, then add to the boiling water too.) Strain the water into another vessel (to remove the lemongrass and ginger and cloves) and bring to a boil again.
Now throw in the pear and pumpkin. Add a pinch of salt. When the pumpkin is tender turn off the heat. Remove the fruit and veg to a blender and puree till smooth. Now strain back into the hot soup liquid. Serve immediately or even cold. It works both ways.