Recipe competition: Daube

This one is from BJ. A French stew of beef, mushrooms and sundried tomatoes cooked in wine with an orange rind. I can think of no more deserving recipe to inaugurate my brand new 22cm cerise Le Creuset cocotte..... it's a really easy recipe, though it does take time to cook, so it's better suited for those slow, lazy winter Sundays (i.e. EVERY Sunday until June.......). It's a substantial, rich stew with earthy flavours and a twist of tangy citrus, and goes well with rice, pasta or potatoes. And having just had some leftovers, I can confirm that it doesn't suffer from being left in the fridge a couple of days. It does, however, help if your wine bottle doesn't have a powdery cork that decomposes upon opening and causes red wine to spray all over your face, white top and kitchen appliances........

Things to do with: a pumpkin (part 1)

Hallowe'en's gone, all the pumpkins are on sale, and you just can't resist buying one, even though you have no idea what you'll do with it once you've bought it. Herewith, I provide part one of a pumpkin experimentation series, courtesy of india girl. Hopefully, I'll find more pumpkins at the supermarket to continue the series, otherwise you'll have to wait a year!

Stir-fried beef with string beans and roasted pumpkin:

Pumpkin preparation technique is important: should you skin first, then cube? Or cube first and then skin? Or perhaps cut into wedges, cook and then skin? After much discussion, I opted for the first option. Cut off the top and bottom of the pumpkin to give yourself a flat surface, cut vertically in half, then skin. Spoon out the seeds and spread out on a baking tray with some oil. Cube pumpkin and place over the seeds, drizzle with some oil. Add sea salt, pepper, ground cumin, chilli and whole, crushed garlic cloves. Cook for 15-20 in oven, pre-heated to 200C.

Serve with stir-fried beef and string beans, yoghurt, and plain rice.