Plantes Vertes

Mm84321, your garbanzos look a lot greener than the ones I am used to seeing - is that what they look like fresh?

Cheers! *clink*

Which of us has not, dear boy?

Your wish is my command.

Today I was able to encounter two colossi of the internet, when I tried Rafa's Bradley Manning. The moment seemed apt. I made it with orange and ginger marmalade, since that's what was hanging out in the cupboard, and it worked pretty well.

It's all so beautiful! *discreetly wipes tear from eye*

Think you mean Sunwrays.

I think it's cheating only to try and get the 'Wray' part into your puns.

Derby, since it was Derby day. Ruler of the World won at 7-1, ridden by Ryan Moore, for those who hadn't heard. I didn't win anything. I didn't lose anything either though! 2 oz bourbon ¼ oz Bénédictine 1 dash Angostura bitters Stir with ice and strain

Thanks Soba - it was good! I enjoyed following your week and I'll be attempting some of your methods soon.

Thanks, it was! No, if anyone's sick it's probably the Thai people ... But there's nothing wrong with me, so I'm pretty sure that soup does work!

*cough* 'Thai' *cough* soup: Ginger, garlic, red chili, coriander, lemongrass, shallots, lemon and lime juice, coconut milk, vegetable broth.

Curried carrot and parsnip. I do not love parsnips as they come but in soup they are so light and sweet that I forgive them. This time I added coriander and it made the soup.

But Soba, we need to know - how was the bread? It looked rather triumphant.

My sippy cup's reserved for d'Yquem and it takes more than a 15min shake to make me go colours, but I really like the sound of this and I've been saving my Skitel One for something special. Gonna try it thanks!

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.

A horrible flavour can develop if you don't sterilize the equipment correctly. I use boiling water and leave it for several minutes. I never take the flowers off the stems and it hasn't hurt so far so that's not likely to be the culprit.

Thank you for your heroic fortitude in bringing us this news, FrogPrincesse. By your suffering we have all been spared the Palm Beach Special

Heaven forfend!

Very nice. Soba will be proud. Of the omelette or the jaws?

Ah, I see now... My omelette skills lack rigour

I also took SobaAddict's one-egg Paris omelette challenge. My brother made it disappear in a single bite.

Yep, there's a lot! The salad (ie, not-potato) part is mainly watercress. And (I'm assuming from the first post where you initially mentioned it) it's dressed very simply, with just olive oil, lemon juice and garlic - maybe that clove-of-garlic-and-salt paste thing. Is that right? My dad likes olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and coarse-ground black pepper; I prefer 50-50 olive and vegetable oils, garlic, wholegrain mustard, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, salt, coarse-ground pepper and a pinch of sugar. I smash the garlic with the heel of the knife so that the juices come out but the clove remains intact, drop it into the vinaigrette and leave it to release its flavours for a bit.

Um, when did that summer actually happen?

Tamagoyaki is a very fun sort of omelette; you beat eggs with rice wine vinegar, soy and sugar and sometimes saki, and apply very thin layers to the pan, rolling each one in turn to form a cylinder or rectangular tube made of the egg layers wrapped around each other. Then you can use it to make nigiri. No doubt my technique is bad but I was able to get the hang of it fairly quickly.