Plantes Vertes

We trained her well...

Perspective from the UK Along with most of my compatriots, I drink tea several times a day and would consider my hospitality derelict if I didn't offer a cup to someone visiting the house, so I also find the idea of a tea trend comical. However, knowledge about the grades and styles of tea has increased greatly since I was a child (it used to be either builder's tea - stewed, milky and dangerously sweet - or herbal infusions, which you had to buy in herbalists or healthfood shops and which most people considered highly suspect), and that seems to have occurred on the back of the greater interest in coffee that took off in the UK around 2000. A Japanese tea-house opened in my small hometown a few years ago, for instance, after all the traditional British tea-houses closed because of Starbucks and similar, and you can buy numerous types of tea in any supermarket. The thing that needs to happen next is for Starbucks and the far more careful and specialist coffee-shops that have followed it to learn how to make tea. I always drink coffee for a hot drink when not at home because a lousy cup of tea is just so woeful, but I would often prefer a decent cuppa. It's surprising that they still don't serve tea, given that it is the preferred beverage of the nation, the preparation of which most master in childhood. The coffee trend has benefitted recognition of tea but is currently hampering its realisation.

Exquisite chiaroscuro on that Laird's, Jo. Lovely glassware too.

I have no idea about the percentages of cheese that use ersatz rather than natural rennet (from my experience this differs greatly from country to country), but real Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano PDO is made with natural rennet as far as I know.

Just a note: traditional Parmesan is not vegetarian, as it contains rennet, which is an animal-derived coagulating enzyme. Vegetarian alternatives are available, and of course a lot of people who don't eat meat will still eat animal derivatives.

It is intended as a brunch recipe. David notes at the page on his blog where the recipe appears that Parisians are invariably hung-over come brunch-time; this, I feel, explains the small size of the serving, as some more substantial and less vegetable food will be both required and preferred.

Am I right in thinking you won't put any bones in the stock, or do you want to add extra meat as well as that on the bones?

Hi pto! Campari is bitter and tastes of oranges so will do the job in that respect, but it's also quite sweet and will add sugar to your drink. It's easy to make bitters so that might be your best plan. The minimum you need for the recipe is a bitter ingredient, the alcohol and the flavouring, if sourcing is difficult.

And garlic, of course.

I would also dry out the spinach fully in the pan. You could substitute watercress for part of the spinach, and/or add some herbs; mint is nice with spinach and nutmeg. It might be worth changing some of the butter for a peppery olive oil, and using shallots or onion rather than leek, as this will give a punchier flavour.

For pasta I would probably mix in some other greens like spinach and a few oregano or parsley leaves; mint on its own could be a bit full-on. It seems to go well with piquant flavours so a sharp goat or ewe's milk for the cheese. Pistachios, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. I would serve that on ravioli stuffed with peas.

Have not been mixing much lately but after an 18-hour shift I had never felt so deserving; made this from Jeffrey Morgenthaler, substituting Punt e Mes for the Vergano Americano. Beauty Beneath 2 oz Appleton Estate V/X 1 oz Vergano Americano ½ oz Cointreau 1 dash Fee’s Old-Fashioned bitters Stir; orange peel twist. Bitter, bracing, ambrosial. God drinking is nice.

No, not at all! Thanks for the info.

Didn't realise this; sorry for the suggestion everyone.

Made a composed salad to fill the gap between lunch and dinner today. Something's gone wrong with stock control at my local supermarket and they're getting rid of huge quantities of veggies for next to nothing every day, so I got most of the ingredients for 10p. Fridge and freezer are both full. Sauerkraut, beetroot, baby cucumbers, asparagus, tahini, toasted seeds, iceberg.

Martinis; more a remedy for pain than a positive pleasure.

Yes! I noticed it in Sainsbury's just the other day.

It's an ingredient in five-spice powder, and a main flavour in huo guo (spicy hotpot).

I added quite a gigantic amount of olive oil, which I find smooths out the tomato acid, and there was salt in there too which makes a difference, but yes. Yummy sour soup

The eGullet beacon shone brightly in North London last night, when I met up at 69 Colebrooke Row with two Canadian members representing Cooking and Spirits & Cocktails, and Confectionery respectively. What a great night; eGullet has more or less doubled my social circle so far. There are pictures of drinks in here, honest... did not want to blind us all with the flash and the result is a touch dim. AvignonMerlet Cognac, Chamomile syrup, Smoked Frankincense We could smell this drink across the room but the frankincense was far more evident on the nose than the palate. The cognac fruit receded into a very smooth camomile sweetness on the sip and this seemed totally to eliminate the alcohol sensation on the swallow. St James’ GateMyers Rum, Guinness Reduction, Lemon, Sugar (left) Royal OakAcorn Liqueur, Oak Bitters topped with Champagne (right) The pruney molasses notes were on top in the St James' [sic] Gate and I was a bit disappointed not to detect more bitter Guinness; the foam, however, was just about the most solid we'd ever seen and we felt sorry for the washer upperer as it showed no inclination to disperse. I liked the Royal Oak; Tony Conigliaro's bars have quite a few of these sparkling wine drinks infused with woodland flavours (including mushrooms at the Grain Store) on menus at the moment and they are quite pleasing (I have made a study of this). My criticism would be that these drinks evolve fairly little but the infusions are subtle and earthy and work well with the acid in the wine. It's also nice to have something light on offer for more refined drinkers We also checked out the Terroir (Distilled Clay, Flint and Lichen served straight from the bottle); the waitress explained that this was vodka redistilled with the addition of local, er, aromatics. In fact the flavours are rather attenuated, although we noted some 'pavementy' elements . The taste was not too far outside the range of flavours you'd expect from different vodkas. Worth trying but not explosive. This bar is not ergonomic and we all had strain injuries by the end of the evening as tables are at knee-height, but the servers were at the constant ready with the water and offers of more drinks and we had some great craic. Thank you, visitors, for taking time during your holiday to meet!

Orange Kitchen Sink Soup Carrots, swede, turnip, cabbage, sweetcorn, onion, leeks, garlic, vegetable stock, salt and pepper.... probably other stuff

For something that is not available in the US, maybe salep.

My housemate needed more than muesli this morning. Did him some eggs hollandaise with sauteed courgette on toast. Hope that's set him up for the day!

Me again Started back at work this week after half a year off. Totally overwhelmed with a big crisis immediately. I wanted to take a break and cook something nice but didn't really have time, so I did a rush job and wasn't very satisfied. I just threw all the veggies together in the pan and they went quite soggy and tough, not luscious and melting like when you cook them each carefully on their own. So don't do like me. Served with brown rice and roasted chickpeas. Still tasty. I ate it.