Blether

Purists say it's the only starting point for making real ghee.

Summer tomato soup with cream and lentils, served cold with some homegrown oregano leaves. 24-month prosciutto crudo, for a treat.

Hi again, Patrick. What do you when you need a couple teaspoons of ground coriander seed, or a couple of cumin or freshly pan-roasted cumin ? It sounds too like you've not tried Marcella's pink shrimp sauce with cream (the recipe's easily Googled, I know because all my books are in packing cases !)

Hi, Franci. How do you make your marinated peppers ? They look delicious.

IME colopur as a gauge for bread is a dangerous game. Fine if you're always using the same flour and you know what colour you like it at, but different flours brown to startlingly different degrees.

Marcella Hazan often uses the following formula to specify a quantity of tomatoes: " 2 pounds fresh, ripe tomatoes, prepared as described below, OR 2 cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes , cut up, with their juice " Is there a concensus on eG as to how to read this, or a definitive definition, even ? As I understand it a standard 14oz can of tomatoes is 400ml volume, of which 240ml - a cup - is tomatoes. So do I use the complete contents of two tins here ? Or lift out the tomatoes, cut them up and use them together with the juice that cutting them releases ?

On warm waffles - optionally dust with icing sugar (Bordeaux mobile vendor style), or top with whipped cream (don't look at me).

Hassouni, did you already share your method for tadig rice ? I for one would love to hear it. It must be a good thing to make in Japan, where I think tadig's little known, but where - before the advent of the "o-kama" electric rice cooker, the browned / singed rice at the bottom of the pot was known as "o-koge". (Of course these days "o-kama" for other reasons is slang for a gay man, and "o-koge" is what they call women who like to hang out with gay men / a gay man). I've had a go at tadig once or twice (recipe from a book, less-than-perfect results) but it's been a while.

Champ.

Arf arf ! The reason for the use-by date is the water content in the raw fat. Rendering eliminates it (1) by boiling it off and (2) by leaving it in the cut chunks of fat - up to the point where they go brown. These pieces - properly browned - will also keep well. The French call 'em lardons, IIRC.

That's one tied-up bar, isn't it ? I'd be surprised if any recipe that works with Myers doesn't work equally well with Bacardi, because of the nature of the rum flavour. You won't get the same drink, but the flavours will work as well together. And if you simply can't do without that dark-sugar flavour, tip in some molasses - a little at a time - till it's how you like.

If 200g leaven = 100g flour + 100g water, then the totals are 750g + 100g water = 850g; and 100g + 1000g flour = 1100g and the hydration is 850g/1100g = 77.3%.

Over (bain marie) heat, right ?

So I'm back home in sunny (really) Tokyo. I had lunch one day from Vero Cibo - the panino (prosciutto, tomato, mozzarella, the first on the menu) and coffee were both excellent. It was a drive into the town centre for me, though. I hit the place about quarter to one, and waited 10-15 minutes from order to having the food in my hand. With the High Street closed to traffic, parking was difficult and being on a double-yellow line made that wait extra interesting. I was reminded that I was in a foreign country when, eating in the driver's seat, I found my hot, moist sandwich came with no paper napkin in the bag Poacher's Pocket, I drove down to on Tuesday night, stupidly without checking first and only to find it closes Monday & Tuesday. I didn't get the chance to go back. Next time, along with Drakes & London House.

Great pic of the pasta !

Two of us ate at The River Cafe on Monday night: we managed to get a table despite leaving it till Thursday or Friday to make a booking, and when it came to it the room was full - and what a great room, big, high-ceilinged, and attractive. First course for me, San Daniele ham, served with a rich crepe flavoured with sage: - delicious ham; the crepe flavourful but too much for me to finish, I left some of it so's to enjoy the rest of the meal. My more-sophisticated dining partner went off-piste with a chunk of Gorgonzola from the cheese list on the back page of the menu. It seemed to satisfy. Primo, we both had Agnoli of rabbit - an excellent dish, tasting of the rabbit and the pasta, with the support of lemon & thyme (was it ?) in the stuffing and the oil & cheese dressing just right. I forgot to shoot it till I'd already started eating: Secondo, I had grilled Dover Sole: It was served with beans that were moist and smooth, and a roasted or char-grilled red leaf that was done just right. The fish too was cooked well, the flesh moist & delicious and the skin nicely browned. There was however too much salt on the skin - not inedibly but noticeably too much. It came without instruction to avoid it, and when afterwards the waiter enquired if everything was all right, I mentioned it. His response was "I will pass that comment on" - nothing more was said of the fish, but when the bill came, no sole ! Embarassingly I forget now what my dinner-mate had. Two beers on one side, a glass of Prosecco on the other, total paid GBP123 for two.

Your Millser wouldn't ?

Here we go again... dinner on Friday was at the William Bray, a country pub in the rather lovely village of Shere, that was recommended by the lady who part-owns the apartment I'm staying in. It turns out to be owned by Julian Bailey ("the Stig") and the dining room is adorned with 60's/70's racing pictures like James Hunt on a sunlounger and what from a distance could be Jackie Stewart standing over a Brabham. The room was only maybe a third full - not great for a Friday - but I enjoyed a good meal. The wine list is extensive and split nicely into sections by type - like "Fruity, aromatic whites", and "Full, intense spicy reds". I guess that they take their wines seriously and the menu included a flyer for a vertical tasting of Mt Difficulty on 28th March. I started with a Moules Mariniere, that was delicious - the mussels still juicy, a lightly-creamed sauce tasting mostly of them with subtle celery, shallot & leeks, and the salt perfectly weighted (not always an easy thing to achieve). GBP7.95. Next I chose the braised blade of beef: Great flavour, nicely tender meat. If I were to find fault, I'd want more sauce with a piece of meat this big. Good, nonetheless, and I'd a glass of Argentinian Malbec that helped things along nicely. GBP16.50 for the main; the wine was, what ? Six quid a glass ? I thought about finishing with something sweet, but in the end I'd 'nae room'.

So... I've made it to Wild Garlic so far, at the top of Guildford High Street. Executive Summary: Good The interior is a nice blend of urban & rustic, and the service relaxed and trouble-free. The second page of the menu's all about steaks, and of our able of seven, five had one of the various steak/sauce/accompaniments combinations, and all pronounced them very good. I had a generously-sized lamb shank, cooked nicely tender. Scottish scallops were a popular starter, also enjoyed, and my own pigeon breast with lentils in jus was well-flavoured.

Thanks, whitecat. More for the list.

How about last time ? What's Brunswick stew ?

The reason there is no plural/singular distinction in the word 'pasta' is that it has its own collective noun: "a festoon of pasta".

Clams with home-made bacon: with buttered toast. Garlic, parsley, lemon juice. And a splash of water.

It's getting repetitive, but another shepherd's pie. That's the last of the lamb: 11 meals (I mean feeding 11 people) out of twenty-odd bucks' worth.

... and now I remember that I asked my friend-who-knows-these-things about your cutting board question. There was a long answer, but the short version is: "use surface battens (e.g. 2 x 4 offcuts) to keep things square & in plane. Use our old friend Saran wrap to keep the battens becoming part of the glue-up."