Coming Home

Yesterday we returned from a trip down south for my fathers funeral.

An unavoidable delay as the crematorium was busy - not something you expect or want to hear; and two and a half weeks is an awfully long time to wait in a sort of limbo between a death and a funeral.

It was a lovely service; we all got to speak and my brother and sister were beautifully eloquent behind the tears; my two nephews were amazingly well behaved and asked all sorts of questions in hushed tones about death and where Grandad was now, which gave a wonderful sanity to the proceedings.

We wept and sniffed and remembered him.

And then we went for a slap up meal and toasted him in champagne and carried on drinking into the night and had a wonderful family time.

Jean-Luc was a rock and after a long journey back into some horrendous weather, we battened down the hatches and I cooked our favourite comfort meal.

Cheese and potato pie, with braised leeks and carrot and parsnip salad.

Simple, warm, filling food.

And we knew we had come home and that tomorrow would be another day.

Cheese & Potato Pie

Peel and chop enough potatoes to half fill a large saucepan.

When they are cooked, mash with butter and add one onion and some garlic lightly fried, black pepper, a teaspoon of mustard, as much grated cheese to your taste and mix all together.

Place the mixture in an oven proof pot and add sliced tomatoes on top and a layer of grated cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes at 180 degrees until the cheese has melted and is crisp.

Serves as many as you need it to.