First an aside: I've been told to drink more. Now anyone reading posts about me cooking with wine will find that a little surprising, but what I've been told to drink more of is water. So from now on you can call me 'camel girl'. Oh, and if you see me, please remind me to drink more.
Yesterday was a lovely day for a foodie, made even better because there were two of us out and about enjoying an accidentally fruitful shopping trip and a glorious autumn day. I bought Hwsgo a lovely bottle of wine (De Bortoli Yarra Valley reserve Chardonnary 2003?) to celebrate something a while ago; unfortunately it appears to have been one of the last bottles stocked by Oddbins, but fortunately after a little Internet searching we found a place near Eastbourne with some in stock. So off we drove to Hailsham Cellars, and a lovely journey it was, taking in some game shopping, a pub lunch, two cycle rides, a car museum, miniature train ride and a very serious game of crazy golf. And when we got to Hailsham Cellars, Hwsgo not only found exactly what he wanted, but he also made a new friend - the wonderfully friendly shop-owner - and found lots of lovely grape juice to drool over too. Heartily recommended, and a lovely place to sit and watch Hwsgo happily explore.
And the game shopping. We were having a moochy, lets-see-what-comes-up-and-do-what-we-feel-like day. And amongst other things, what came up was a sign for "Over ready game". So we followed the signs over a couple of country miles (like normal miles, but longer) and found South Brockwell Farm Shop. In Simon terms, it was like Christmas coming early: lots of the things that I haven't been able to find, even in the great game butchers near home. So we bought two fat pigeons, two - erm small birds that I'll have to ask Hwsgo about - and a nice plump piece of rabbit. And today we had the Roast Pigeon with Braised Lettuce, Peas and Bacon (page 155), with the pigeon that it was intended for (instead of the partridge that I used on the 9th January). Hwsgo cooked it whilst I was in the gym. The veg were as yummy as I remembered, and the pigeon was wonderfully richly liver textured and tasting. I think we may be going back there again soon too (probably on the way to the wine shop).
Sunday 28 September 2008
Monday 1 September 2008
Another weekend
Friday, we cycled. Or at least attempted to cycle up a bloody big hill. And I mean a big hill. The sort of hill that, if it wasn't hidden by trees and meanders in the road up it, would be screaming "don't even attempt this" before we started. But we got up it. Not necessarily on top of the bikes all the way, but we did get up it with a modicum of dignity. We were both tired, both had had a long week, so we shortened the ride down and tried again the day after. Up the bloody big hill again, and on through some very pretty hillside lanes (yes, even Surrey has pretty bits, and boy were they crowded with blokes in lycra) to a lovely pub lunch at the Scarlett Arms in Walliswood, then on across the heaths and home. Not always a happy ride, but certainly a lovely one.
And on Sunday I ran. My first 10k for erm possibly years, and one performed entirely on a treadmill in the gym (as one of the 1000000 runners in the Human Race). It hurt, it really hurt, but I came in at 1hr 10mins in the end: not bad for an unfit old type. The Human Race gave me a distance counter for my runs, with a neat little dongle that downloads all my pavement-pounding onto an online log. It's an advert for Nike, but quite a useful one for the simple fee of staggering around for an hour (my previous running bribes have included beer, cider, t-shirts and medals). The only problem is the pledge section: I couldn't enter a running goal on the site without putting in a corresponding pledge for what I would do if I failed to meet that goal. So, if you see someone running a 10k after christmas and dressed as a giant rubber duck, it may just be me (but only if I can't run and log a 10k of less than 55 minutes).
On the food front, the Simons continue. No new ones this time, but I can now cook both the roast chicken (having memorised the oven temperatures: 240 and 190) and sauce bernaise recipes from memory. This is a good thing: if I can remember enough recipes, then I can compile a menu from what's available in the shops (without taking the book) rather than what's written on my shopping list. Which given there are beasties like guinea fowl in the freezer, has got to be a very good thing indeed.
And on Sunday I ran. My first 10k for erm possibly years, and one performed entirely on a treadmill in the gym (as one of the 1000000 runners in the Human Race). It hurt, it really hurt, but I came in at 1hr 10mins in the end: not bad for an unfit old type. The Human Race gave me a distance counter for my runs, with a neat little dongle that downloads all my pavement-pounding onto an online log. It's an advert for Nike, but quite a useful one for the simple fee of staggering around for an hour (my previous running bribes have included beer, cider, t-shirts and medals). The only problem is the pledge section: I couldn't enter a running goal on the site without putting in a corresponding pledge for what I would do if I failed to meet that goal. So, if you see someone running a 10k after christmas and dressed as a giant rubber duck, it may just be me (but only if I can't run and log a 10k of less than 55 minutes).
On the food front, the Simons continue. No new ones this time, but I can now cook both the roast chicken (having memorised the oven temperatures: 240 and 190) and sauce bernaise recipes from memory. This is a good thing: if I can remember enough recipes, then I can compile a menu from what's available in the shops (without taking the book) rather than what's written on my shopping list. Which given there are beasties like guinea fowl in the freezer, has got to be a very good thing indeed.
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