Yohoho.. oh, some very serious cooking has been going on in the YumYum HQ. Because it's very chilly-billy outside (and a little bit inside as we don't have the heating on yet) proper food is being planned and cooked.
She realised at about half four of the afternoon clock that we had no more apples.. dire straits! So she shot out of the house to catch a bus to the market before it packed up, it was pitch dark when she got there and most of the stalls had gone but Karen was still there and was delighted to see her as the Herbal Tincture that she gave to Karen last Wednesday has done the trick!
Yippee.. poor love, she was suffering mightily with 'night sweats' and all that they entail, lack of sleep being the main offender and had complained about them to my mum. Who said "can't have that" and went to get her much loved friend a bottle of Tincture of Sage.
So there she was looking very perky and rested and dishing out bowls of veg and fruit at two for a quid! What a good thing she had old Wheelie Wicker with her! For mushrooms, grapes, pears, courgettes, those juicy dark plums, fat pears and apples, russets and cox, all went into the basket!
Along with 60p's worth of Spanish sausage from the butcher!
Quickquick.. back on to the bus and rushrush to Mr.Mail Box to collect the Manx Kippers from The Isle of Man before they close at 6.00pm.
Zoomzoom.. through their door. What's this! Nothing for us, what do you mean nothing! Cousin LazyBoyBruce said the company said they would be here today.. sigh.. eggs again to break our fast.
So home she came and plopplop down the stairs came Wheelie Wicker.. supper was just scrummy, Freekeh with beans that had been soaking, courgette, broccoli, mushrooms and the Chorizo sausage.
And into a very big pan went all the fruit.. PLUS.. hahaha.. the cherries that made the kirsh which is now sitting in pretty bottles in the store cupboard, a handful of dried strips of orange peel, two tablespoons of barberries, two persimmons, you might know them as kaki or sharon fruit, a good squirt of pommegranate syrup, a few chunks of crystallised ginge and some very secret ingredient!
The oldest jar of these is very sacred.. for they are the last of the originals..
She spent the Christmas of 1973 with her parents in Spain and Constance gave her three very large jars of Raisins in Brandy. You can do this yourselves. Constance used Fundador Brandy, it is strong and goes wonderfully with the raisins, the trick is that you must leave them for at least two years in a dark cupboard to soak and, of course, the longer you leave them, the better they will be.
1973 to 2014.. yes Dear Readers, forty one years, you can just about begin to imagine how amazing they are!
This was left to simmer on a very low heat for two hours whilst we watched the beginning of the Professional Masterchef finals. Tonight it was the turn of Richard and Jamie who had done a days' stint working at The Connaught. They then came back and had an hour and three quarters to produce two dishes.
Richards' dishes were good but there were a couple of things which let him down but Jamie's.. well.. his two dishes showed off a wonderful talent and the word outstanding would not do this young chef justice!
But Boozy Nuts.. why do they come into the title of today's tale?
Ah well.. a long time ago, she used to cook a great deal and one of her 'signature' dishes was a terrine of two cuts of pork with hazelnuts.. but they were not ordinary hazelnuts. Oh no.. For they had soaked in whisky and thyme for at least two years.
Just a couple were used in the terrine, they were cut into two so, in fact, there were only four pieces. It was all that was needed, any more and the flavour of the whisky would be too strong.
And today, whilst she was buying her chorizo sausage, she asked her lubbly-jubbly butcher to keep her some of those two pork cuts for her tomorrow.
You see, she was sorting out the boiler room store cupboard yesterday and there they were. Sitting quietly on a small shelf with two tins of black grape seed.. two jars of hazelnuts in whisky with thyme and she smiled and said "Yes, GeeGee, it is time to start cooking again"
So all we need now is for Joe in Ottawa to get that lazy cat to move off the pile of papers so that he can send her his Sicilian biscotti recipe.. HINT HINT Joe.. how many years is it now?
They would go really well with a compote of autumnal fruits, wouldn't they?
Chirp.. it is my bed time.. she's vacuumed the bed, everything is ready for the morning, she has an appointment at 11.00am and so it is "Good night to you all Dear Readers".
GeeGee Parrot.
December 3rd, 2014.
She realised at about half four of the afternoon clock that we had no more apples.. dire straits! So she shot out of the house to catch a bus to the market before it packed up, it was pitch dark when she got there and most of the stalls had gone but Karen was still there and was delighted to see her as the Herbal Tincture that she gave to Karen last Wednesday has done the trick!
Yippee.. poor love, she was suffering mightily with 'night sweats' and all that they entail, lack of sleep being the main offender and had complained about them to my mum. Who said "can't have that" and went to get her much loved friend a bottle of Tincture of Sage.
So there she was looking very perky and rested and dishing out bowls of veg and fruit at two for a quid! What a good thing she had old Wheelie Wicker with her! For mushrooms, grapes, pears, courgettes, those juicy dark plums, fat pears and apples, russets and cox, all went into the basket!
Along with 60p's worth of Spanish sausage from the butcher!
Quickquick.. back on to the bus and rushrush to Mr.Mail Box to collect the Manx Kippers from The Isle of Man before they close at 6.00pm.
Zoomzoom.. through their door. What's this! Nothing for us, what do you mean nothing! Cousin LazyBoyBruce said the company said they would be here today.. sigh.. eggs again to break our fast.
So home she came and plopplop down the stairs came Wheelie Wicker.. supper was just scrummy, Freekeh with beans that had been soaking, courgette, broccoli, mushrooms and the Chorizo sausage.
And into a very big pan went all the fruit.. PLUS.. hahaha.. the cherries that made the kirsh which is now sitting in pretty bottles in the store cupboard, a handful of dried strips of orange peel, two tablespoons of barberries, two persimmons, you might know them as kaki or sharon fruit, a good squirt of pommegranate syrup, a few chunks of crystallised ginge and some very secret ingredient!
The oldest jar of these is very sacred.. for they are the last of the originals..
She spent the Christmas of 1973 with her parents in Spain and Constance gave her three very large jars of Raisins in Brandy. You can do this yourselves. Constance used Fundador Brandy, it is strong and goes wonderfully with the raisins, the trick is that you must leave them for at least two years in a dark cupboard to soak and, of course, the longer you leave them, the better they will be.
1973 to 2014.. yes Dear Readers, forty one years, you can just about begin to imagine how amazing they are!
This was left to simmer on a very low heat for two hours whilst we watched the beginning of the Professional Masterchef finals. Tonight it was the turn of Richard and Jamie who had done a days' stint working at The Connaught. They then came back and had an hour and three quarters to produce two dishes.
Richards' dishes were good but there were a couple of things which let him down but Jamie's.. well.. his two dishes showed off a wonderful talent and the word outstanding would not do this young chef justice!
But Boozy Nuts.. why do they come into the title of today's tale?
Ah well.. a long time ago, she used to cook a great deal and one of her 'signature' dishes was a terrine of two cuts of pork with hazelnuts.. but they were not ordinary hazelnuts. Oh no.. For they had soaked in whisky and thyme for at least two years.
Just a couple were used in the terrine, they were cut into two so, in fact, there were only four pieces. It was all that was needed, any more and the flavour of the whisky would be too strong.
And today, whilst she was buying her chorizo sausage, she asked her lubbly-jubbly butcher to keep her some of those two pork cuts for her tomorrow.
You see, she was sorting out the boiler room store cupboard yesterday and there they were. Sitting quietly on a small shelf with two tins of black grape seed.. two jars of hazelnuts in whisky with thyme and she smiled and said "Yes, GeeGee, it is time to start cooking again"
So all we need now is for Joe in Ottawa to get that lazy cat to move off the pile of papers so that he can send her his Sicilian biscotti recipe.. HINT HINT Joe.. how many years is it now?
They would go really well with a compote of autumnal fruits, wouldn't they?
Chirp.. it is my bed time.. she's vacuumed the bed, everything is ready for the morning, she has an appointment at 11.00am and so it is "Good night to you all Dear Readers".
GeeGee Parrot.
December 3rd, 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment