BonVivant

This is Estonian "black bread", miniature version served in a fancy restaurant last night. I mentioned how much I liked it and the server brought me 4 more. Light reading: Estonian food.

Tere, yes. It really is lovely. The "black bread" (made with rye) is fantastic. This they can claim their own, the rest they just take from neighbours and former owners.

Supermarket's fish counter has containers of roe. Not such a food hell after all then. See how high I can pile salmon roe on this tiny piece of rye bread... More later. It's time I headed out for beer, the real reason I'm here. Beer and cheese - my one and only raison d'etre.

Mouse breakfast board is too small for the big wedge of cheese this time. It will come back another time, it's my favourite breakfast board.

Cheese endorphins are kicking in right about now... This Heublumenkäse ("hayflowers cheese") is an organic, unpasteurised cow's milk cheese pressed with hay, native wild blossoms and grass. A piece of Swiss Alps on my plate.

Thank you, Rotuts.

This weekend: Crispy mackerel Almost like my breakfast in Japan, without the daikon. Lamb mince Isot Biber With a bretty IPA, garlic parsley creamy sauce and some sour vegs (in jar). And before the above: just strawberries in croissant dough. I don't have a sweet tooth so someone in my house was happy to eat these. Used Lebkuchen spice in the sugar for sprinkling. Lebkuchen, Spanish flan and pastries with poppy seeds are just about the only few things with sugar I actually enjoy. Or maybe it was an excuse to eat crème fraîche

Air-dried mutton is very common in Dali and Lijian (Yunnan province). It's a special kind of rank smell! If you won't eat "normal" mutton then you'd run away from mutton in this part of China. My plate of air-dried mutton. A bit chewy, like beef jerky, probably. It's not so "bad", actually. You see this everywhere in town. Pic above right is the restaurant where I ate the mutton. The restaurant probably didn't see foreigners that often, we could hear a pin drop as we entered the place. Everyone seemed to stop eating at the same time. I pointed at the hanging meat and it was understood.

Smithy, 1. Yes it's roe. Trout roe. Potted prawns or crab is very simple to make. Warm butter (use the best you can find) gently in a small saucepan. Add to the prawns or crab meat some seasoning and/or or spices and herbs of your choice (nutmeg and mace are popular additions traditionally). Press crab meat or prawns down in a bowl. Strain the butter then pour it over the whole thing. Sprinkle over it some snipped chives/paprika powder/anything you fancy really. Chill til butter is set (about 2 hours?). 2. To cure the salmon I used more sugar than salt. With practice you'll know how much of what goes in the marinade to your liking. I use the scotch I drink (Aberlour 12 years double cask matured) which is not extremely smokey and peaty. I think that kind of scotch would be nice, too. Will try that next time for sure. Chopped dill, lots of it. I like my Gravadlax soft so overnight curing in the fridge is long enough. The longer it sits in the marinade the harder it becomes and that also makes it a bit harder to slice. Remove all the marinade and wipe the fish dry. Press (Sichuan) pepercorns (can be coarsely ground) to the fish. I cover it with cling film and put it back in the fridge for a little while as I like mine just a bit cold when I'm ready to eat. Practice with this simple recipe here. They use gin or vodka but you can use scotch, of course. Also experiment with adding peppercorns to the marinade.

From this weekend: Got roasted pork from a Cantonese restaurant in the next town and some of it went in these buns. I'm a Bovril girl through and through Bovril and old cheese are best together. (this is an Italian cheese) I even bring my Bovril with me on holiday whenever possible! (I could eat Vegemite in the worst case scenario, though. And Marmite only if there's absolutely no other option. Then Vegemite it is.) Crab meat I removed from claws The "pot" No grated beetroots this time because I wanted the Sichuan peppercorns to be visible. I really like the taste of scotch and the peppercorns in this.

^^ I am good at gnawing and prefer the bone intact. A minerally Riesling* for the prawns. By the same wine maker. (*I am a minenerally Riesling person)

This is actually lamb chops. Got the butcher to cut them up like this. I used kebab spice mix, also for the prawns. Turkish style surf and turf? What it looks like from above.

From this weekend: First chanterelles this summer. Also first gooseberries from the market

Hah! I meant "final meal" in general. You forgot the part where I mentioned "hypothetical". But if you said "what about a plate of assorted soft, stinky French cheeses and blue Stilton" then it's negotiable! Cheese is the best food! Nothing is above cheese. (Source: yours cheesehead truly.)

Mon bonheur te ressemble Tous les deux vous allez bien ensemble (My happiness looks like you You both go well together as sung by The Beautiful South) This is my simple and gorgeous happiness My hypothetical final meal. And finally, 2 boxes of oysters as promised by the fishmonger. She was so sorry about last week. I have decided to explore unknown/unpopular bubblies. This one has a very good price-quality ratio. So, this is "goodbye".

Pasta with crushed tomatoes for yours truly. With mussels for the other one. With Pecorino and snipped smoked Merkén chillis in oil in mine.

Succulent kebab. With narrower aperature

Still avoiding cooking... Pig's ear bits and rice sheets are from a Cantonese restaurant.

I have not been doing much cooking lately. Went pearl diving today in the pouring rain... at the fishmonger. Ordered 2 boxes but fishmonger forgot and got me just 1. One. I go through 1 box (a dozen oysters) in no time! Lucky me she had some crab claws left so I got them all, 3kg. This is all mine, the other one of us happily ate a big brill alone.

Magrets smoked in an old wok with orange pekoe tea, rice, sugar etc for 5 or 6 minutes. Then seared as normal. Spätzle, Sauerkraut and my own chili oil made with smoked whole pepper "cacho de cabra" (Capsicum Annuum var. Lungum), known as Merkén in Chilean Patagonia. These are Merkén peppers

I've been eating crab claws, too many crab claws. Trout roe

Chefmd, I've made it so many times I don't even use a recipe anymore. I use more sugar than salt as I prefer it less salty and even if there's more sugar it's still not sweet in the end. Grated beetroots will add extra sweetness to the marinade. Experiement with amounts of salt and sugar. Btw, the amounts will depend on how big your fish is. Don't forget dill. The marinade has to completely cover the fish. Cover with cling film and weigh down. I also add chopped juniper berries and scotch to mine. Check out a recipe here. Experiment with ingredients. It's crazy easy to make. You'll never buy it from a shop again. Your own will be far more delicious! Good luck!

I've had this before in Germany. Still tastes the same in another country... too much gherkin taste!

Gravadlax marinade contains scotch. Glass is for yours truly. Don't mind if I do! Overhead view

Tere, that they make with mackerel pike looks good. Saw these fish at the markets in Hokkaido in September. ----------- Just a little lunch today. Turkish figs and Jamon Serrano Reserva. Plus bread. And some unpasteurised hard cheese