Plantes Vertes

The Whiskey Exchange also stocks the Yoichi 15. I've bought it online but you should check that it's available in the shop, as not all of their stock is on display.

This is the Daiquiri-type drink I made from the Kaffir Lime rum I started infusing a few weeks ago. 2oz Kaffir Lime rum (Flor de Cana 4 white) Juice and peel of 1/2 lemon 1" sliced ginger 1/2 TBS cane sugar Muddle ginger and lemon rind, add juice, rum and sugar, shake The lime leaves are a really good ingredient I think, but this was not the best drink.It had a slightly unpleasant stickiness and I didn't like the flat sugar taste with the unusual flavour of the lime. Once I tasted it I thought the lime rum would be nice with some non-citrus fruit, so I'll try that next time, but I manfully forced this one down anyway. It's called a Justesse.

Now we just need to find out which cinemas are serving these things... Actually, refreshments arrive on a little piece of grass like that in the Satyricon if I remember well. Further information on the herbiage and verbiage of entertaining in antiquity available upon request.

What did you think of the way those drinks were served, Adam?

Cucumber and yogurt/lettuce Gazpacho Fennel Avocado Pea (/and watercress) Watercress Borcht Beetroot Celery Carrot and coriander Are nice cold

Either sweet flavours like peas, fennel or celeriac, or rich meat flavours like pancetta and black pudding are classic accompaniments for scallops. Curry spices (ginger and cumin especially) are popular too, as are ceviche ingredients like lime, lemon, coriander and spring onion.

That does sound like a syrup. I was curious, because traditional Danish recipes (the only ones I've tried so far) yield a somewhat concentrated liquid that you dilute about 1:1 or 1:2 with water, while I have the impression that what you're getting something more concentrated, used perhaps by the spoonful..? Weather isn't looking too ghastly today, and I have several nice clumps of elders staked out Oh yes, it's much more concentrated. Dilute probably 1:6-8. Or choke yourself and then go into hyperglycaemic shock...

Ah, I didn't realise the stems would make such a difference. The recipe is: 2lb sugar 1.3l boiling water 4 lemons 70g citric acid 30 large elderflower heads Dissolve sugar and water over heat, cool. Grate in lemon rind, slice lemons and add to syrup. Add citric acid, stir, add flowers. Cover with cloth, leave for 48 hours. Strain through sterile muslin into sterile bowl, pour through sterile funnel into sterile bottles. Plantes Vertes, does this give more of a syrup or a concentrate? Also, have you come across any discussion of the reason for the long steep? I've found nothing and keep puzzling over it; my only guess is that it is intended to extract from any stalks present, and that their flavour is/was traditionally an intrinsic part of the cordial's overall profile. Sorry, I didn't notice this until elderflower season swung back round... Could you tell me the difference between the syrup and the concentrate? It's definitely very sugary, thick, sticky and sweet-tasting so probably syrup. For the long steep, I'm not sure either; I hadn't investigated but I see now that the recipes online suggest between 24hrs and 5 days, with and without stems. My guess is that the ambient temperature makes a lot of difference and that this explains different traditions to some degree; the rest of the variation is just random hand-me-down wisdom. I'm going to experiment and report back, so the next few days will see us both crazily plunging in and out of the undergrowth

Making elderflower champagne using this recipe: 8 pints water 575g caster sugar 2TBS white wine vinegar Peel and juice of one unwaxed lemon 6 elderflower heads I cut the flowers off this time, following the advice in this thread. You steep it for 24hrs, then strain through sterile muslin into sterile bottles (best are plastic ones with ridges, as these can expand without exploding). Leave in a cool place for 2-3 weeks. It smells beautiful already.

It's a very pleasant drink with a beginning, a middle and an end. Strongly citrussy and fairly sweet at the beginning, but still there's a refreshing bitter aftertaste from the gin and a nice equilibrium which allows the almondish flavour of the vermouth and the spice from the cognac to express themselves alongside the lemony side of things. The rum unites the more wintery cognac flavours with the lighter fruity ingredients. It also has a really nice texture. It's quite viscous without getting syrupy. I used El Dorado 3, Remy Martin Fine Champagne, Noilly Prat and Beefeater.

Adios Amigos from Trader Vic: 1oz white rum 1/2 oz dry vermouth1/2 oz cognac1/2 oz gin3/4 oz lime juice

I think it could be because supermarkets prefer to deal with very large producers to achieve purchasing efficiency, and it isn't possible to make specialist cheese on that scale. Here in the UK producers that deal with the supermarkets receive very narrow margins and rely on volume sales; the supermarket will not stock premium goods that will have a high price and limited connoisseur market. Supermarket cheese also has to withstand long transport times and be able to survive a large amount of handling and storage in suboptimal conditions, as well as being packaged to minimise spoilage. Again in the UK, many supermarket goods are produced within miles of the store but driven hundreds of miles to central distribution depots, only to be driven all the way back again for sale. Artisan cheeses will not be in good condition after this treatment, so there will be a large percentage of waste - the supermarket won't accept this. Indeed, the supermarkets' demand for consistency is probably another reason. A lot of food like bent cucumbers and knobbly potatoes is wasted or diverted to secondary uses like animal feed in this country because customers prefer a standardised product. Unless your cheese is made in a big factory it won't have that degree of consistency; it will vary according to the conditions and the ingredients.

Life is so hard!

I would suggest a money tree so you can move to a hot country and buy a greenhouse... But in the meantime (I think you live in Denmark? So a fairly cool climate...) you could also grow some cucumbers for garnishes, rhubarb and strawberries for shrubs, blackberries for cassis, sloes and damsons for gin drinks, apples for garnishes and juice, juniper of course and honeysuckle, angelica, orris root, lavender and rosemary, chamomile, caraway, fennel, thyme and coriander for your house gin and for bitters, also gentian for bittering, with artichoke you can make Cynar, then you want Maraschino cherries, elderflowers, lemon verbena, lemon thyme...

Doesn't glycerin taste sweet, though? I'm not sure. My suggestion is cellulose gum. It is colourless and flavourless and can dissolve in cold liquids, and it doesn't carry on thickening. It's used medically to thicken liquids for those who can't swallow easily.

Smoothies (fruit and yogurt/milk)

To elaborate on what Lisa Shock has said; most wine is not suitable for vegans because the fining (clarifying) process involves animal products, namely blood powder, isinglass from fish bladders, casein from milk, egg whites and gelatin, so this will probably be the first consideration when choosing what to drink. Most beer is made without animal products but not all. ETA Welcome to the site Peter!

furzzy - The crust is bread dough; the flammkuchen was originally made to test the heat of the oven before baking for the week. At least, that is the legend I heard when I lived in Alsace. 250g plain flour 10g fresh yeast 1/2 tsp sugar 125ml water (lukewarm) 3 tbsp oil 1/2 tsp salt Dissolve the yeast in the water, pour into a well into the combined dry ingredients, mix the dough, knead and rise for 20mins, knead and rise again for 45mins, preheat the oven to 250, knead and roll out, spread with crème fraîche, onion slices (I see Ann's are pre-cooked, which looks wonderful) and lardons, bake for 10-12 mins. You have to wash it down with Alsatian beer. It's the law. Variations: Forestière - with mushrooms Gratinée - with gruyère or Munster

It looks like a tasty Miró, Baselerd!

There's a short thread about Cobblers here (somewhat tangential to your interests perhaps), and maybe something in here could be useful cocktail-wise. Edited to make a sensible sentence.

Thai green curry: I ate baby corn for the first time. A revelation!

Glad you could find room in your budget for flowering tops of yarrow at least. Just picked it for free. Got all sorts of mud and twigs around here. We don't all live in the Big Village you know.

Bravo The Choc Doc!

Making Cynar: My budget could only accommodate one artichoke so I divided the recipe

You forgot the PICCALILLI!