Plantes Vertes

He's got a way with a dash.

This is sometimes called a Fig Leaf, I think.

Celery and parsnip:

I like potato salad made of baby Charlottes roasted with olive oil, lemon juice and lots of garlic, left to cool somewhat and added to roughly chopped watercress and finely chopped celery, cucumber and black olives, so the vegetables and potatoes are about 50% of the salad each.

That's cool, but... how do you make it all stick to the ceiling? ETA Wait... apparently Zacapa is 'aged at altitude'. Now I understand.

I've read that it can be made by steeping in the sun, rather than using hot water, but I'm on the wrong continent either to try it out or to pontificate on the niceties of iced tea tradition. Anyhow, I like to make peach iced tea with lemon grass. ETA and also to make it super-strong and then add sparkling water.

I do work in an office with an absurdly well-stocked bar. It has an extensive cellar as well. If I wasn't such a paragon of self-restraint my actual job could get pretty sloppy... Ah, the 'staff meetings'... But yes, those famous background plants are mine. I work from bed sometimes. Your I Should... there looks sublime.

Heh. I was getting worried there. :-) Nice salad. Hmm, poached eggs & leeks? Never tried that combination...but not far off from poached eggs with scallions, and pretty similar to doing it with negi or "big scallions", on reflection. Eggs embedded in cooked vegetables is my mother's preferred dish for weekends. I chose leeks in an attempt to cure her cold. Then she gave it to me.

Don't worry Huiray, you aren't the only one eating lunch around here. - Asparagus from my mother's allotment - Mushroom and asparagus salad I ate those. I also made poached eggs with leeks for my mother.

I made a Black Heart, because it's Saturday Night and I am Still Working. I had to take a relaxed attitude to the actual ingredients of the cocktail, because I didn't have half of them and didn't know how much of what to put in. So I improvised and then I guessed. One or both of those let me down I feel. Buffalo Trace Wild Turkey 101, Cynar, Luxardo Maraschino, coffee, Bitterman's Boston Bittahs homemade citrus bitters, a Laphroaig Bowmore rinse and orange oils. Then later I went for a Rhubarb and Grapefruit Shrub with gin and soda and the same bitters.

Understood May I ask what the other emphasized things are?

There's an exposition of chickpea varieties here. The small types are somewhat drier and harder and tend to split more, as far as I know.

This special word needs a drink named it, Adam. Although I understand it might not be that popular...

That is a superb neologism!

Just a note that simple syrup (1:1) is not saturated with sugar, not even close. You can even make rich simple syrup (2:1) and you would still be (slightly) below the saturation point. Thanks FrogPrincesse, and apologies for the bad information. I confess, my understanding of saturation is not what it could be

Mozart Dry Chocolate Spirit is unsweetened, I think, but I haven't tried it.

Simple syrup = water saturated with sugar Rock candy syrup = water supersaturated with sugar The flavour obviously comes from the sort of sugar and water you use. You achieve supersaturation by adding the sugar to the water over heat and stirring. That way you can get more sugar into the water than you could under normal atmospheric conditions. If you want to make it, do so in a bain marie and pour the ingredients into a mason jar so you don't end up trying to pour the stuff around into new containers and covering yourself in molten sugar. You also need to sort yourself out something amusing you can do with one arm, because you'll be stirring it for a good hour with the other one. Ahem.

The truth is, he looks like that in real life. It's uncanny.

Last night I went to the bar run by Adam George of this forum; the Garden Bar at the South Place Hotel in London. I very nearly had too many. Like an idiot, I failed to photograph the first one; Mai Tai, and I failed also to remember Adam's recipe (perhaps he can fill that in at some point). My friend went into positive raptures over this drink and started using a lot of superlatives. That was certainly deserved; I would call this drink quite restrained as the sweet and sour aspects were kept down without squashing the exotic flavours, so the rum could get in and cuddle with some lovely refreshing mint. That was great. Then I drank this Piña Colada (discussed by Adam upthread) (first pic) This is a cocktail I had believed to be rather revolting, but now I have modified my opinion. This version was far lighter and more discrete than others I've tried, with some very beautiful spices balancing out the sweet-creamy business, and way less pineapple than in previous examples I've met, which relieved the sugar factor. Next, I was very lucky to taste this twist on a Negroni (second pic), which Adam's colleagues were preparing for a party coming up in the hotel and which they described as 'guzzleable' . Following that, a Summer Romance; Kamm & Sons, Tanqueray and Dubonnet on rocks. That was also great to drink, with a very delicate orange aroma smoothing out the metallic side from the bitter elements. Here's a shot of Adam being hospitable to someone, which I 100% deliberately blurred to protect his identity (third pic). You can see the exciting decor behind the bar; the green parts are made of flowing water. The seating area is open to the elements, but has big canopies to protect visitors from typical glorious and clement British weather. Adam also turned out to be an exceptionally agile barman, a super-friendly person and very fun to know; thank you Adam for a great night. So, I really recommend this bar. If you want to go, however, you'd better make it quick; the bad news is that soon it will become members-and-residents only. There are two other bars in the hotel where we also had some very nice young oaked Chablis, so you may console yourselves in there.

Jim Beam Black is the same juice, a year younger and at a lower (but still respectable) proof, at less than half the price. We have the six-year old Black for the same price (or a couple of pounds either way), here on the dark side. You're liable to overshoot $40 for a lot of the products mentioned here, too Keeps us well behaved, I suppose.

No-one likes Knob Creek? The strong heat calms down in mixed drinks and its nice nut flavours and sweetness come out.

I, wh-- were you at my last party, by any chance? Hey, you invited me, bro.

It looks as if you've got the food and libations covered; my only contribution, then, is to ask whether you really want to call her your girlfiend. I mean, if she's down with it, that's cool... (Heh.) I have to admit, I don't get it Girlfiend. I need things spelled out like this often. Can I get back to you with more questions? Either way, thanks. ( )

Courgette/zucchini come in different shapes and colours and can be eaten raw. You can also get all different colours of bell peppers, including black, white and purple. There are also purple carrots and purple sprouting broccoli, and cherry tomatoes in all colours, or just tomatoes in different shapes. Mange tout (snow peas) are delicious and sweet. Baby corn or crinkle-cut raw carrots might be novel. Kohlrabi?

It looks as if you've got the food and libations covered; my only contribution, then, is to ask whether you really want to call her your girlfiend. I mean, if she's down with it, that's cool... (Heh.) I have to admit, I don't get it