Plantes Vertes

I have heard from a chef that the finer the potatoes are cut before boiling, the more starch leaks out and the gummier the soup. So you want to cut the potatoes into fairly large pieces. I understand that bit. What I don't get is why this makes a difference to the finished soup, since the potatoes are generally crushed or pulverised into tiny pieces in the end anyway. Maybe the starch leeches less after cooking. That's what I heard, anyway. I imagine it depends on the starch content of the potatoes as well, so variety is probably important.

If you add a stabiliser to a non-fatty liquid and put it through the siphon it will produce a foam with a substantial body that won't collapse immediately. Not the same as (lighter, less solid than) a mousse but you can make them without cream. Stabilisers would include eggs, agar-agar and starch. Otherwise, a soufflé or flan might give something similar to the effect you want.

No Mientas 2oz Gran Centenario reposado tequila 2oz grape juice 1/2oz lime juice 7 basil leaves 2 bsp citrus bitters 3 drops Angostura bitters Garnish - basil leaves Muddle basil, shake, strain over ice

There's the Tompkins Square from PTD; an offspring of the Vieux Carré: 1oz Rittenhouse Bonded Rye Whiskey 1oz Clear Creek Kirschwasser 1oz Maurin Quina ¼oz Bénédictine 1 Dash of Angostura Bitters 1 Dash of Peychaud's Bitters Allspice Dram rinse Stir over ice, strain into rinsed coupe, cherry garnish

It's nice that you could do this with your wife.

Rafa will not fail us; his courage knows no bounds.

Diluted Spirytus Rektyfikowany. A high-consonant spirit. No I could not find green walnuts, so it's made with ripe ones. But yes, no sugar.

*160-proof Counting schmounting

Serendipity #2 2oz calvados 3oz apple juice Brut Champagne 7 mint leaves Muddle mint, fine strain, top with Champagne, mint sprig garnish It was delicate and delicious.

Kill and Wait 1oz Bénédictine 1oz Cointreau 1/2oz walnut infusion Brut Champagne Shake everything but the Champagne, strain, top with Champagne It's based on a B2C2, but I swapped the oz Courvoisier for 1/2oz of the walnut infusion, which is 80-proof. This seems quite strong.

... proclaiming the Holy Spirit. Good at jokes, me.

The last time I moved countries I gave my unopened dry goods to a young person's hostel in my building - so perhaps can donate yours? Then you only have to use the opened ones. Don't panic! With the vine leaves, rice, red lentils and white beans you could do some Middle Eastern food; gigandes (white beans in tomato sauce), dolmades and lentil soup. Baklava would take care of the pistachios and Turkish delights for the icing sugar and rose water. You can give the sweets away for farewell gifts if you get too full!

You could cut a green mango into spears and marinate it in a mixture of bird's-eye chillies, fish sauce, brown sugar and water, then grill them and pour the rest of the marinade over with some chopped coriander.

'Oh Gosh!' is the unfortunate name of my Daiquiri Day cocktail. 1.5oz Havana Club 1oz Cointreau 0.5oz lime juice 0.25oz simple Lemon twist Shake and strain It's zingy.

Thanks for spreading the Good News, Rafa.

They noticed you got a new oven and decided to get on your good side!

Only one way to find out.

I try this method of tipping all the time and people just laugh at me. Little did they realise that when I get famous, they would've got rich.

You came across this how? This has been a big thing here the past few years. You know, I just watch from afar... Has it not arrived in Europe yet? I am perhaps less au courant than I would wish to seem Although it's true, I stay away from bone-stuff when I can... You're right, and there's an efficiency aspect too; this way you deglaze bone, face and quite likely lungs too, all at the same time. ETA No, the internet indicates that this is not yet a popular way to imbibe over here. My pride is safe for now

You came across this how?

Hands up who wants to be Moe? [Me]

In the Picasso Museum of I forget now which city, is a paper napkin into which your man once burnt a smiley dog face with a fag end. This blurry mason jar doodle picture might some day make your fortune, Rafa!

This is a marrow soup. Marrow is one of my favourite vegetables and I am astounded that it is so little appreciated. My experience is that it is far less frequently bitter than courgettes, and it's a lot cheaper. I love it's texture when simply steamed - it goes sort of creamy when it starts to disintegrate - so I've never got much beyond just adding some garlic oil and eating it with salt and pepper. But this soup was worth missing out on my marrow mush As you can see, the soup I make has not improved in looks very much but it seems to have much better flavour recently. The things I've changed are: 1) not sauteeing the main vegetables before adding the liquid, just boiling 2) adding a lot more liquid than previously and 3) adding a lot more onion than before. The soups seem so much fresher now and the texture is better. I guess it's worth changing an old technique once in a while. This one was one large marrow, boiled in a good 2l light stock, 2 medium onions and 4 cloves garlic, sauteed, lemon juice, salt and pepper. ETA: I add lemon juice to my soups for sourness, but this would be an excellent marrow and yogurt soup.

Or transfer to a wood barrel for a fabulous barrel-aged Manhattan... Sure, but we're talking about the rest of our rye and vermouth...

I guess it's worth a second shot then! I think my big error was too much salt. Thanks for the tips.