5 days in pictures

Well, the weather’s been so crappy that I’ve been unable to get out and do much, so I’ve spent much of my time in the kitchen.

I’m champing at the bit to make the suggested modifications to my Competition, though, and spent an hour last night trying to work out how to use a Line Lok. Doh… I almost had to post for help, but I got there in the end with the assistance of some diagrams from the web page.

The Terror Spider also made a further appearance, followed by a permanent disappearance…

Potato, thyme & taleggio pizza

On Monday Francesca came to lunch, and I made a potato and thyme pizza (including pizza base!) from a Nigel Slater recipe. It was all yummy except for the base, which was rather too ‘virtuous’, I felt; the wholemeal flour tasting very obvious and making the edges a little cardboardy. Still, Francesca was very polite and said she enjoyed it very much. Thank you, Francesca *g*

Later on Monday I converted the cucumber, round beans and runner beans…

Cucumber, runner beans and round beans soaking for piccalilli

…plus cauliflower and shallots…

Cauliflower and shallots too

…that I’d been soaking in brine overnight into piccalilli! When I remember I’ll take a picture of the finished product. What a nice colour it is! Unfortunately I have to wait 3 months to see how it tastes. Crunchy and hot, I hope, rather than squishy and sweet, like all the shop-bought ones I’ve ever encountered.

On Tuesday I decided to wash the throw thingy I have over the armchair in my sitting room–the chair underneath which the Terror Spider disappeared when I last saw it several days ago–and I found the spider tucked up in the folds! It agreed to sit there while I ran downstairs for the camera, and after I’d taken its picture I transferred it to a beer glass (the largest glass I had) and put it out into the garden, where it dashed off into the border. Eep!

Terror Spider!

Yesterday I made soused herrings and a truly delicious soda bread loaf. Last time I made soda bread it came out like a brick, but twice as heavy. This was a different recipe, though, and wonderful. Yum!

This afternoon I made lentil soup with bacon ribs–free-range bacon ribs, that is, made especially for me by the butcher after I ordered them a week and a half ago–and it was absolutely stonking, with some red cabbage. Yum, yum, yum!!!

Lentil soup with bacon ribs & soda bread

I’ve done some other stuff too–met up with two great Challenge pals yesterday; lived through 36 hours without my desktop when the blasted thing broke down (****ing Vista…); endured an hour of terror last night when we experieced some of the loudest thunder I’ve ever heard in this country; put the tent out in the garden to air and waited 3 days for the rain to stop so that I could bring it in (I’m still waiting)–but the foody things are the ones that seem to bring out the camera.

So! Crubeens crossed that at some stage before 2009 it might be possible to get out and so some walking without a snorkel and fins…

Edited to add:

Oh, joy! October TGO has just arrived digitally, with the application form for next year’s Challenge 🙂