Blether

I find deep-frying a good solution to an abundance of parsley - it gives a surprisingly different flavour to go with the predictably-different texture. I wonder how it'd work for oregano - do you feel like being the one to tell us ?

PM'd. It does involve a recipe for blending your own "Mild Curry Powder" - either call it a masala or tell yourself it's not Indian food... in the same way that none of the Indian food you eat in the vast majority of Indian restaurants is Indian food because they use the same techniques. You need to use boneless lamb leg in place of the beef in the recipe, it's the only cut that'll work.

With respect to you. liuzhou, I don't agree that "curry powder" is such a distinct difference between Indian and faux-Indian cooking. The Indian grocers from whom I buy my spices target an ex-pat Indian audience and sell numerous spice mixes: "fish masala", "tandoori masala" and the like, which in being ready-blended ground spice mixes are, to my mind, curry powders. Likewise, North India's garam masala and the Bengali Panch Phoran are common commercial spice blends. As for turmeric, white pepper, black pepper, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, anise, safforn, long pepper, cardamom, rose petal, nutmeg, mace, fennel, and grains of paradise... the moghul cuisine of North India and its strong connecton with imperial Persia tell me that there isn't a black-and-white distinction there either. David, if you're looking for the basics, I believe a mix of 2/3 coriander seed, 1/3 cumin and as much chilli as you like are the most basic spice mix or "curry powder". For myself I'm eyeing various recipes along the lines of "shah jahani raan" for when I have the time. One of the most standout lamb dishes I've had was "Lamb Pasanda" at Khan's in Westbourne Grove, London - a Pat Chapman recipe I have makes it boneless lamb pounded (pasanda, IIRC), marinaded in red wine & spices and finished with cream & nuts. I think the last Indian lamb dish I made myself was Awadhi-style kofta.

That looks & sounds superb, Bruce. I've been playing with omelettes too, lately, most often simple-parmesan jobs, but your multi-curry with fresh galangal sings out. Likewise everyone's breakfasts - I've been looking away from the sour-cream cake because sour cream is such a luxury round here. Ann_T, you did the toast-bacon-tomato thing on purpose, didn't you ?

Interesting combination with scallops. "Kakuni" is a generic Japanese term for stew. "Kurobuta" in English is 'Berkshire'. If you enjoy the flavours, then a recipe like that is a great idea for you. Also in Japan, the "char siu" that is served on ramen is made with pork belly (unlike Chinese char siu which is normally made with shoulder, I think). In Japanese yakiniku (Korean Barbecue) joints, "sam gyop saru" aka sliced pork belly became all the rage a few years back when there was a Korean boom here sparked by the TV soap "Fuyu no Sonata". Thai-style 'moo ken' is a good way to prep pork belly for eating over the medium term - chopped in about 1/2" size, heavily salted and fried over low heat for a long time till crunchy right through. The French call much the same thing "rillons", and of course you have the choice of rillettes too, which are time-consuming but delicious. Recently I've been cutting belly into 1/4" batons, salting it and keeping it on hand in freezer and fridge for pasta carbonara or amatriciana, ad-hoc stir fries, or the bacon part of breakfast.

Those are the salmon scotch eggs from whoever's it was, somewhere on the Devon or Cornwall coast, are they ? They look great. That's an idea I stole too, just haven't gotten round to actually making any yet Mind you, another eG thread in the last day or so has inspired yet another scotch egg idea...

Scotch, per post #14, old boy.

Whisky: Technology, Production and Marketing by Inge Russell says that the three-year minimum aging was only introduced during the First World War to reduce the volume coming on to the market and prevent drunkenness in munitions factory workers.

Over at homedistiller.org, there's a chap who says: Gotta love that signature.

Here: faggot & clapshot, a microwave reheat (rather than a comedy duo). Camera still in for repair. Backup camera... decided to work for me today ! Couldn't be bothered zapping the faggot juice separately, so we get this semi-meltdown situation that's suddenly so fashionable. Before you cringe, know that that faggot is a riot of peppery offal with the nutty goodness of oatmeal and hints of sage & lemon thyme. It's a shame the camera missed the wealth of rising steam. I could go out and work in the fields now, except for being a white-collar neb. Ann_T, your food and photos are always so enticing. Can I ask you for the Canadian's take on peameal bacon ? Potato pancakes, grr again.

Heheh. Sunrise is more traditional than either electric light or Television, eh ?

Oh yes, and... Lurpak (the Danish Dairy Board's brand) positioned itself as a premium product in the UK over . Enough rich Brits in Manhattan for it to be worthwhile ?

The list is long, distinguished and dynamic. Someone called HP sauce; that's the same here. Oatmeal, though I've dropped its name elsewhere, has in the last couple of years, in fact, come into range if you have Costco access and can use 5kg before it goes off. I used to lust after Heinz salad cream, but after many years when I finally tried it again, either its formula or my taste had changed and I found it revoltingly chemical. Sausage skins from the UK. Bovril is not sold in Japan - probably the lingering 1950's-issued ban on British beef. In Thailand in December it was THB300 (about 12 bucks) for a 125g jar, and I still bought three. After swearing so loudly in the aisles that fellow shoppers looked up and a retired GP came over to share the pain. Link sausages. Good salt-shaker salt. Microplane graters ? Yes, many items of foreign-style kitchen equipment & cookware. I've probably a longer list of imported / foreign foods that are priced ridiculously on the retail market but that can be had sensibly if you search out suppliers (e.g. flours, spices).

Is there such a thing as over-porking, RRO ? I must remember to give the OED a call and put in a pre-emptive block. I think I've misled you by being brief before I was clear - this isn't as a coating, it's mixed into the sausage meat. AAQuesada, the sausage is normally cooked so it crisps up on the outside (being sausage, the meme is "well done", so there's not so much need to cook the outside quickly. (for the purposes of this thread I'll not open a discussion about 'black' or cast iron in a skillet. My copper-sandwich stainless ones will do everything they can and more, IMO. Dang ! I tried to resist, really I did). I don't even know what a'plancha' is, though I'm guessing 'plank' i.e. griddle. My going on about it is just girning over price, in which I shouldn't be indulged. I would be interested to know how much wheat germ costs, where you are. Too many products in Japan that are culturally unusual end up being taken as a gouging opportunity, or end up crazy-expensive because they're low-volume - I'm looking at you, oatmeal - and not being familiar with its overseas prices, I can't judge if wheatgerm is one of them. Sausage aside, I think there's plenty more interesting discussion to be had about wheatgerm. andiesenji, in each case, what do you like about the wheatgerm addition ? Flavour, texture, appearance, nutrition... ? I'm still interested to hear, too, anything about the process of wheatgerm production. This jar of Kretschmer's says it is indeed 'Toasted'. Each grain looks to me much larger then would be the amount of germ in a single wheat grain. How does it get to this form ? If flour-refining takes out bran & germ, to what degree is each separated in a 65%, 70%, 85% exraction flour ?

Ha ! Yes... but it's not a stuffed sausage - think of a breakfast sausage patty, or the sausage in a McDonald's muffin (cough). To answer your questions, the sausage mix includes pork, and I can get skins here, in fact, and I also have in stock a good amount of dry sausage skins that I brought over from the UK.

I'm thinking of it as the ball & chain round the ankle of my sausage-life. How to give that sausage extra outer crunch ? I use rusk (well, breadcrumb) already as filler/binder/fat retainer, but that stays soft.

Heidi, thank-you, thank-you. That is a most timely piece of advice: jeez, it even says it in big letters on the lid ! Ziplock'd & freezered.

Nice idea, but maybe more to do with the relative cost of barrels left over from importing foreign booze, compared with barrels made new from the vast swathes of oak forest in the UK's massive area of land, that hadn't been whittled down at all for purposes like shipbuilding ? It ends up tasting too much like sherry ? "Right, let's f***ing burn 'em". That's the Scottish way... Just as an aside, by legal definition, even the lowliest industrial-scale grain spirit cannot be called or blended into scotch whisky unless it's aged three years, IIRC. I'm enjoying following the discussion.

Well I frittered away my time this morning in aimless pursuits. Last time I amde a gratin (back before the earthquake) I made extra and put a good pint of cheese sauce in the fridge. And I'm especially glad I did, what with the disruption in milk supplies. So in the remaining half hour, a quick breakfast of leeks gratin, dusted from a great heat with cayenne, & a 2-egg omelette with a little marjoram from the herb garden. Rather a spiffy combo. Sweet iced lemon tea poured from a bottle (Kirin's Gogo no Kocha), and I'll have hot tea & toast to follow. Will it be the marmalade, one of the curds or the Waitrose raspberry jam ?

Thanks, Mjx, that answers my question beautifully. A friend who used to be in the butcher trade back in the UK recommended it to put some crunch into a skinless sausage (a raw-meat sausage for cooking). What you say adds up - I was surprised how soft the wheatgerm is, as sold.

That cake does sound & look great. And avocadoes on toast, RRO ? Grr. Here I'm indulging in ethnic food. While my camera's in for repair (and it turns out my spare, old camera has given up the ghost entirely), I've an obscene sliced-sausage sandwich on extra-long-proofed breadmaker white (I remember now why I'd stopped doing that, it's like trying to slice embroidery). I've put in so much sausage it's sticking out the sides, there's HP sauce on it and breakfast tea on the side. Vegetables ? What are 'vegetables' ? And the swimming pool's closed for the time-being, too My homemade sliced-sausage is the business now, though - peppery hot, meaty, rich, crisp, and with that essence of authenticity in the perfected spicing. Just a wee bit more polishing needed.

Might work nicely if you brush the leaves w olive oil beforehand ? Otherwise, raw, in my book, hand-shredded to avoid bruising as Paul says.

And I'ｄ ask why bake the basil at all ?

Which is also true of a carful of foodies, but only the porcupine gives you pricks on the outside. (ANNOUNCEMENT: self-deprecation is the new black). For dinner last night I made faggots, of all things (report to follow). If in the meantime you're wondering what faggots are, I advise you to approach internet search engines with caution. (ETA: robirds, I thought the meatballs looked good, and I'm also intrigued by what they are but haven't yet gotten round to finding out).

Breadmaker white; roast pork loin with garlic from a few days ago, last May's homemade onion chutney mixed with mayo; chingensai leaves "nucleaire". Tomato juice & Lea & Perrins out of frame. The usual Kilimanjaro press coffee. ETA: Jeez, RRO. If we're going out drinking, can I stay for breakfast ? - or is that a pleasure reserved for hobbits ?