It’s been a bit of a food week here, which is never a bad thing, and I’m going to subject you to some of the photos. As I told you last week I was off work on Wednesday and went to brunch with Heston Blumenthal at the launch of the 4K Everdure barbecues. It was a sunny, but chilly day, and as expected the food was good. The ribs were definitely worth waiting for, and well, they didn’t hang around for long.
The event took place at The Sipping Room in West India Quay, and as you’d expect I took a peek at the loos, and they were good. So as well as more about the barbecues, I’ll be sharing the latest in the Loo Series. And of course, just like buses good loos seem to come along in twos.
On Saturday we were out in town for a bit of a celebration, and headed to Jason Atherton’s Social Eating House starting off in the bar upstairs called the Blind Pig. Their cocktails are based on children’s books, and mine was based on Beatrix Potter’s Jemima Puddle-Duck, called Fowl Play. It’s ingredients sounded fascinating: duck fat washed Aylsbury Duck vodka, Blood orange, Chartreuse, honey, herbs and spices. It looked great and tasted lovely too.
I’ve no pictures of the food - although that was heavenly too - I was too busy eating it to photograph it. The cocktails on the other hand, well I was ok taking pictures of those, as it slowed the drinking down!
Remember that large - and pretty - skein of wool that I bought in Islington back in February? Well, it’s made it onto my crochet hook. I started making a shawl with a chevron and feather pattern but wasn’t happy with it, as it wasn’t as deep as I wanted it to be. But I was worried that if I made it as deep as I wanted, then I’d run out of wool, and while it’s lovely, it was also expensive and so I didn’t want to have to buy another one. Then again, a half-made shawl isn’t much good either, so I unravelled it all and looked again for a pattern.
I found one and it’s working out better this time round. The pattern is based on groups of five, which I can cope with, and have quickly memorised. It grows pretty quick too, so I’m hopeful it won’t be on my hook for very long.
The final food shot of the week, is this home cooked Persian green bean and spiced tomato rice, which I made for tea tonight. Unusually I had all of the ingredients, and spotted it was marked as easy. What I didn’t quite read was the number of pots and the length of cooking time. The rice was par-boiled, that’s one pan. The onions, beans, tomato puree and spices were cooked in another pan, so that’s two. And then the combined ingredients were cooked for another forty-five minutes in a third pan, lined with greaseproof paper and the lid wrapped in a tea towel.
I’ve never cooked rice like this, but it was worth it. The base could have been crunchier, and I suspect I could have had the heat on higher , but it was still good. There’s enough for lunch tomorrow too. Even MOH was impressed, and didn’t even ask if there was any meat in it, which is his usual for meat-free dishes. It’s one of those ritual things, he’s ok with not eating meat at every meal but always needs to ask.
You might be wondering how my healthy regime is going, and it’s a fair question to ask. I’ve been asking myself that this week too, but it’s back on and I’ve stepped up a level on the fitness angle with a new 55 minute workout to replace the 35 minute one that I started with, and which initially gave good results. I hadn’t mastered the shorter version - as in a real class, I’m out of time and going the wrong way to those on the screen - but it was probably as mastered as it’s going to get.
So it’s been a productive evening, with household chores like emptying the dishwasher and putting the bins out, cooking an inappropriate weeknight dinner, and making myself exercise too. But also one that’s stood out for the shocking news about the fire at Paris’ Notre Dame.
NOTRE DAME IN 2010
Let’s hope they can salvage as much as possible, although from the pictures on the news I fear that may not be much. It’s such a shame that this beautiful building has withstood so much that history had to throw at it, but couldn’t withstand a modern day renovation. Let’s hope there’s some more positive news emerging over the next few days.