sheepish

Got offered a job here nearly 20 years ago. Didn't look like being offered any other jobs! Swffryd isn't too far. About 40 miles. But a lot of windy mountain roads. Or down the motoroway, but a bit further.

OK, you got me! :-) I haven't cooked with those because they aren't returned from the abattoir. I haven't cooked small intestine either, but I have eaten chitterlings in Argentina and they were very good.

Ah yes, I should have said. It's Cavolo Nero. Seems quite popular in the UK to the extent I can buy it in my local supermarket which is a good indicator of the banal. Just added to the simmering ribs towards the end of cooking so shares their salty, porky water. I'd like to think they are good ribs from happy pigs, and simple seem to be an Irish hallmark. Mrs Sheepish's Irish stew which is just lamb chops, onions, potatoes and water is a tour de force. Sadly I'm out of lamb chops at the moment.

I have. And this is how I like them, as part of a mixed offal kebab. Have made haggis too (with Ox bung not stomach), but you get an awful lot of haggis out of 4 lambs you just got back from the abattoir. Anissa Helou has a Lebanese lung stew in her 'The Fifth Quarter' book which I haven't got round to trying yet. She doesn't think much of it from her description, so I haven't been inspired yet. I like the idea of Sichuan 'Man and Wife Lung Slices' that I've seen on a few menus, but I don't think restaurants tend to use real lungs, and I haven't found a recipe that suggests how to prepare them for that.

Lunchtime update! Bit hectic at work today so my plans for cooked lunch have been shelved in favour (yes eGullet spell checker, that is how you spell favour) of cheese and biscuits. Mrs Sheepish was visiting Nottingham last weekend and picked these up for me. Montes de Toledo which I'm guessing is goat's milk, and is definitely semi-hard. Epoisse, which is a favourite of mine. And Lincolnshire Poacher, which is kind of cheddar-like. Cheese gets stored in my climate controlled cheese cave. OK, it's not a cheese cave, it's a wine cellar. All right then, it's the cupboard under the stairs, but it is insulated from the central heating and keeps a fairly stable temperature. We will be returning here later in the week! Also got some biscuits. The ones in the purple box are much too sweet for me. The rye crackers are very nice. So I know you're only really here for the sheep so I snapped them while feeding this morning. Couldn't get the light right on the camera, this was the best I could get. Have also been plotting Mrs Sheepish's birthday meal. Got amuse, starter and fish course sorted, I think. Still not decided on meat. I want something that we can drink a nice bottle of red with, which for me rules out pork, because pork goes well with something slightly sweet and for me that kills red wine. Exciting trailer for tonight's dinner. I am defrost duck's necks and pigs liver for some Sichuan themed fun. And a little taster of what I would have prepped for lunch today if I wasn't so busy working and updating eGullet food blogs.

I've told Mrs Sheepish to clean it up first. Only joking. She's reading these posts. :-) But in all seriousness, it needs a wipe down before I'm going to reveal it!

David. As you say, lamb prices are going up and up. I'm very much like an international pop star in that I have a very poor grasp of what lamb cost at the butchers because I never buy any. Last summer Mrs Sheepish was trying to kick start a local farmers market and sold some of our lamb. We had to price up the joints and I was amazed at how much it sells for in a supermarket. My understanding is that as China and India get wealthier they are buying up more lamb. That might be from New Zealand rather than the UK, but the lack for New Zealand lamb in Europe then pushes up the prices here. I'm very un-commercial because it really is a hobby for me, but reckon on about £35 profit per lamb. It can make you a living if you have enough land. Would it pay the mortgage on a farm you buy? Probably not. But then nothing will really. You also have to factor in the complex world of subsidies but I'd still think it's a very hard way to eek out a living if you don't get a farm handed down to you from your parents. The only bit of a pig that the dog might see are the lungs. I can use some lung. But a lot of lungs I struggle with. Everything else though, yep, eaten. If I can find some in Cardiff on Friday I'll buy some faggots, if nothing else to give American readers a giggle. They would be the traditional Welsh way to use up the squidgy bits from a pig.

Well I'm pleasantly surprised that thus far I haven't induced narcolepsy into all of eGullet. So onwards and upwards, and this evening it's boiled pork ribs with champ. This is a dish from my wife's childhood. She's from County Armagh in Northern Ireland. If you don't know what a Northern Irish accent sounds like, listen to the word Brad Pitt uses 75% of the way through each sentence in the film Snatch as his "Irish" accent veers from Wicklow to Antrim. Take some pork ribs. This is where my poor butchery comes into its own because there's a nice chunk of loin left stuck to these. You probably don't want the spine bit, although my dog does, so saw that off really quickly (or use a slow exposure on your camera). Simmer the ribs in well salted water for an hour or so. Meanwhile boil some potatoes. Mrs Sheepish's tip is to put the drained potatoes back in the hot pan to steam out some of their water and prevent the mash becoming soggy. Add a tiny smear of butter Add a pile of spring onions. Mrs Sheepish calls these scallions, but she's from Ireland and so doesn't speak English properly like I do. Spring onions! Serve with a bottle of two of Gwynt y Ddraig cider. Made about 10 miles from here in Pontypridd. Delicious Told you

Until I moved out of the city I was a vegan, so yes only really interested out in the sticks :-) Learned from books and a DVD. I'm not a great butcher, but it's very satisfying to do yourself, if slow. Turning 3 whole pig carcasses into joints, bacon and sausages is an exhausting way to spend a weekend.

Probably not too much butchery this week. I might be pulling some ribs from a lamb breast tomorrow. So here are some butchey library pics in lieu. You might spot this fella was a Welsh pig rather than a Tamworth.

Quick update on the sheep for those who asked. Currently have 40 breeding ewes, although I bought another 30 last month, just need to arrange delivery. They are primarily for meat. Fleece purchase is a monopoly in the UK, but as of last year we've started getting paid more than a couple of pence per fleece, although still not enough to cover sheering costs if you employ someone to do it. Welsh Mountain fleece is rough and oily. Excellent mountain weather protection. Not so good for a nice soft jumper. We keep a few lambs to grow on into their second year and then have them slaughtered for our freezer. The rest get sold through livestock markets. I have an un-herding dog. I run around pushing the sheep into a coherent group, and then she runs through the middle and disperses them. I really don't have enough sheep to justify a herding dog. They need a lot of work to keep them fit and interested. The theory would be to continue expanding the flock and make use of the common grazing rights on the mountains behind the farm. Then a dog would be a necessity to go and collect them.

Food and drink update! As it's the first thing my eyes finally begin to focus on I should introduce you to my cafetiere. A masterpiece of the cafetiere makers art. No matter what angle or pour velocity you choose it dumps a sample of your chosen beverage (mostly coffee) onto the table next to your mug. This is breakfast every day I work from home. I'm not a fan of early morning eating. But by mid morning I'm getting peckish and what better way to break fast than with a slice or two or Bara Brith. Mrs Sheepish is outraged I've chosen to showcase shop bought Bara Brith but as I'm not detecting the delicious aromur of a freshly baked loaf this will have to do. Bara Brith is a bit of a Welsh institution. A moist fruit bread that distinguishes itself with the addition of tea to the ingredients. I think you soak the fruit in the tea. Never made it myself, I can find out the details if anyone is interested. Anyway, it's jolly good. Bara is the Welsh word for bread. No idea what Brith means, but I don't think it's fruit. Later on we'll be returning to an Irish childhood memory with boiled pork ribs. I've had these before. They're worth looking out for....

I thought I'd use blog-eve as chance for a brief introduction. I'm Rob. I live just outside a village, around 35 miles North West of Cardiff, in Wales. For those of your not familiar with the principality, it’s the blob of land attached to the left of England. Mostly hills and mountains that tends to flatten out towards the coast. I have an 80 acre farm on which I keep an ever growing flock of Welsh-Mountain sheep, plus occasional Tamworth pigs and Welsh Black cattle. I'm not a farmer though, as any of my farming neighbours will attest to. I pay the bills “doing computer stuff” for a big telecommunications company, although mostly I can work from home which is great for me. I grew up in London, England, but have been living in Wales for nearly 20 years. I share the house with my wife and two small children. Food wise, I’ll eat and drink pretty much anything. I particularly like to investigate offal, although Mrs Sheepish isn’t so keen. So this week I’m going to try and show you the sort of things we usually eat, with a bit of bias to Welsh ingredients and recipes where possible. I’m very keen on Sichuan food too though, so there’ll be some of that. Plus Mrs Sheepish has a birthday next Saturday and as has become traditional I shall be attempting to knock up a relatively fancy meal for 2, so there’ll be a fair bit of prep for that. Oh, and Mrs Sheepish is Irish so there’ll be a bit of influence from even further to the left. Here's a couple of library pictures to give you an idea of where we are. Track from the farm towards the village Looking down from fields to the village Last year's Tamworths I’ll leave it at that for now. Tomorrow, food! And hope you don’t get bored until at least Tuesday.

Pressure on now then :-) I'll get an introduction up later before the excitement of blogging tomorrow morning's lavish breakfast of black coffee.

The El Bulli books. They don't even bother including recipes to interrupt the pictures. Recipes come on CD. At least they do in the '1998-2002' edition.

I find this a really odd statement, and I apologise because I haven't read the whole thread and may have missed something. "I was vegetarian for eight years and vegan for five. What a mistake! I totally regret it. I was always hungry," I was vegetarian for 17 years and vegan for about 10. The only time I was every hungry was perhaps at the end of a 100 mile cycle ride. But then I ate rice and pasta. I also ate leavaned bread - so maybe I wasn't a real vegan depending on how much you empathise with yeast. There are some people who have bad diets. And some annoying people who force their ideas on others. Some are vegan. Some are vegetarian. Some are omnivores.

Andy Hayler. Only one I actively look for and read every week. From my limited experience of visiting places he holds in high regard we seem to have similar tastes which is important if you only eat out somewhere swanky a couple of times a year and don't want to make mistakes.

The one Welsh name that may be known in international circles, Tŷ Nant, the water. The lovely people at Per Se, NY, were getting it wrong when I was there a couple of years ago, although I did put them right :-) Tea Nant. The accent (acen) on the Y elongates the sound. The sc-own/sc-on thing, I aways thought was working class / posh thing. But it appears to switch working class and posh depending on where you are in the UK. Where I grew up in London sc-on was posh. I have friends from more northern parts who insist sc-on is definitely the rufty, tufty, working class pronounciation.

Wasn't on for Friday lunch in October. But then there were only 4 tables taken so would have been hard to justify. I would have taken it though.

Made Pheasant and Trotter pie last weekend which was very good. Recipe from Fergus Henderson's Nose to Tail. Essentially a stock made from half red wine, half chicken stock, plus a couple of trotters and some veg. Strained stock and cooled. It sets *very* easily. Brown pheasant halves. Lightly brown some lardons. Soften onion. All goes in the stock in an oven dish. Foil on top and braise for 45 mins. Pull the pheasant off the bones and combine back into stock. Rest overnight and that's your pie filling. Pie crust made with suet. Nicest thing I've made in a long time. Pheasant was very pheasanty. Had hung for a week and it's been fairly warm here for November, 12-15C. Some tiny maggots around the vent by the time I plucked it - but I haven't told Mrs Sheepish about those :-)

Blimey. 3000 sheep on 80ha! I have 33ha and 80 breeding ewes. Must have much, much better grass where you are.

The Spicery sell them mail order (have bought a few bits from here, they're a good place to deal with). http://www.thespicery.com/pages/spices_menu/flowers/elderflower.html Agree fresh would be better, but you wont find fresh until May or June next year. And never seen them for sale, you just find a tree and pick them!

I don't have a guide to hand but I though it was 1 star was excellence in it's category. 2 star is something like worth a detour. And 3 star is just great. And they are peoples opinions, plus a bit of PR in new markets for the guide, Japan, HK, etc, which explains what individuals might class as discrepancies. I think. I could also be wrong but I suspect someone with two stars might have a reasonable idea how it works ;-)

I have the wrong pigs or I'm doing this wrong, but I can never get any meat off trotters. I keep them for stock. What recipes do you use?

Thats a big pig! I just butchered three Tamworths last week, about 90kg each (about 200lbs each?). At that size any joints and chops you get are generally too big for my use, although I did cut a few chops for comedy value! I bone the loins and cure for 'breakfast' back bacon. I keep the blade (I think in the US you call it Boston Butt) for pulled pork. Belly is about half on the bone (the ribs) and half off. On the bone I keep for roasting. Off the bone I cure for pancetta style bacon. Shoulders and most of the leg I mince (grind) for sausages and salami. Some leg meat I package up to cook as lean pork in stir frys. I keep the lower third of two brine cure for boiling hams. These are more than big enough to feed 6. I keep the cheeks and brains. The rest of the head I hack decent bits of meat to go in the sausage pile. I like brawn but I'm the only one in the house that does and I still have some left in the freezer from last years pigs so the rest of the heads have gone for the dog, and various birds of prey. Livers and kidneys I like to stir fry, or I might get round to some country style Pate with kidneys. It's gone in the freezer for now. I always have the best intentions for the lungs but most of them end up outside for the birds.