jackal10

Florence Lin's Complete Book of Chinese Noodles, Dumplings and Breads Now sadly out of print, and amazingly expensive on the secondhand market.

Now the weather has turned hot, what are your favourites to start a summer supper? Any exciting ways to serve, such as with a contrasting sorbet or savoury icecream? My all time favourite is clear iced borscht, frozen sour cream. Others are Vichysoisse Gazpacho (and variants) Cucumber Schav (sorrel) Lettuce Tomato Jellied consomme Fruit soups: cherry, strawberry, berry

Its not so much about the law as good humanitarian common sense. If you can help someone get their life sorted, you end up with a much better and loyal employee. This is not just substance abuse (think alcoholic) but goes to things like support during family or health crises, bereavement, paternity leave etc. Of course its still up to the person to accept that help. If you are the sort of employer who will fire a someone during a family crisis (for example a single parent with a sick kid), then I don't want to work for you, or in the extreme case you make it not possible to employ a whole range of talented people. Of course with the economic decline in the US its easier to get staff, so you might not care, but it is still hard to recruit the best. Its also wasteful and disruptive to lose staff once you have trained them, got them settled in and part of the team, and got them up to speed. I guess a good example is Jamie Oliver's 15, which takes kids off the the dole queue, sorts their problems and trains them up.

The white spots are not normal, and could be due to several causes: a) Mildew. Sort of powdery, Not good, but won't hurt you, and the plant will probably recover Caused by hot, humid conditions, without much air movement. You can spray with a fungicide, but then i wouldn't eat the leaves. Most likely. b) Mealy bug - like very small bits of cotton wool. Wash off with soapy water. c) Bleaching from chemical or other sprays. Sage come in all sorts of flavours and colours, including yellow, purple and white varigation, but not white spotted, so far as I know. Jekka's herb farm lists 20 varieties.

Deep fried sage leaves for garnish Flavouring for liver or as a bouquet garni component or in a bean stew

Signature flavours from different cuisines: ginger and spring onion The creole "trinity" Pepper and salt Dill and garlic Parsley and fried onion Tomato, garlic, basil, EVOO Five-spice Quatre epice etc etc

I'm trying a modified Atkins style high protein, low carb diet. I've fairly painlessly lost about 10lbs over a couple of weeks. Modified since I refuse to give up coffee, or wine... I like it since one can eat as much as one likes, dine out without too much trouble. No problem with butter, or bacon, or cream. (3.3g carb per cup, whipped- I could eat 5 pints a day if I wanted, but not much else. But then if I'd just eaten 5 pints of whipped cream I wouldn't want much else...) The only difficulty so far was airline food on a 4 hour flight where the on-board meal was Pasta or risotto, with no alternatives I was reduced to picking the cheese out of a cheese sandwich. Serves me right for not taking my own. So today Breakfast was bacon and eggs, coffee Lunch was cheeses, cold meats, salad (Baron Phillip de Rothschild 2000 Vigonier) Supper will be Asparagus (butter or hollandaise), long-cooked brisket, coleslaw, strawberries and cream ( Manzanilla, Mas La Plana 95, Coonewara botrytis affected late harvest Gewurtz, 98). I'll cook some new potatos for the others.

Ham and eggs Ham and cheese bacon and eggs (sausage, black pudding, tomato, mushrooms, onions, potato pancke, fried bread) rhubarb and strawberies

Tea-marbled quail eggs are great. Hard boil, crack the shells all over then simmer for THREE HOURS in strong teas with 2 Tbs dark soy, cinnamon, star anise. Then peel. Serve on a bed of chinese "seaweed"...(fried shredded kale) Pullet eggs if you want them a bit bigger

Just dug the first of the season's salad potatoes - red white and blue. They are coloured all the way through, and if steamed, keep their colour when cooked. Red white and blue potato salad anyone? The white are Arran Pilot The red and blue are old salad varieties rescued by Heligan Gardens and sold as microplannts by Mr Fothergill. I've multiplied my stock up to where there are enough to eat. Good nutty taste, but blue mash is a little disconcerting.

This style is called "Edelzwicker", which means "noble wine," and consists of a blend of the approved white Alsace grape varieties. Rolly Gassman make a particularly nice one - "Terroirs des Chateaus Forts". I'm drinking the 2000 - luscious.

How nice to see so many Oxbridge alumni on this list! Yes, the dining scenes from Porterhouse Blue or C.P Snow are not exaggerated much. However only two colleges have ancient permission to serve Swan. (overrated btw - tough and muddy) In Cambridge only Peterhouse maintains its deer park. In many colleges Grace (in latin) has been said by a Scholar in Hall every single day since the foundation (1284 in the case of Peterhouse, 1584 for my college, Emmanuel). Since a scholarship is worth about £50, this works out to about £10 per grace... The practice of Sconcing has almost died out. This was if one comitted one of the table crimes - used the wrong cutlery or discussed one of the prohibited subjects (religion, sex involving those present, the food, or politics) one could be challenged to a "sconce". A sconce required one to drink a quantity (in some places a yard) of ale without stopping. If successful you could challenge your challenger, and so on until the loser paid for the beer. You could escape from a sconce by writing an apology, on the spot, but the apology had to be written in classical latin or greek... Next week sees the May Balls (held, of course, in June). Free Champagne all night. The fountain will be drained and refilled with wine. Doesn't do anything for the wine.. Strawberries and cream.. This year Emma has a Alice in Wonderland theme. May Ball Site Dining Menu: Smoked Chicken Consommé (Vegetable Consommé) Oven-Roasted Fillet of Salmon in Basil with Salsa Verde (Oven-Roasted Polenta with Salsa Verde) Chargrilled Supreme of Guinea Fowl with Sweet Potato Mousse and Pink Champagne Sabbayon (Chargrilled Aubergine Melanazzine) served with a selection of summer vegetables and Jersey Royal potatoes Queen of Hearts Pudding with Honey Fig Compote Coffee served with Frangelico Hazelnut Liqueur and Mints

You are right. I stand corrected.

You must have had bad haggs, or even worse a vegetarian version. True haggis is delicious. "Great chieften o'the pudding race" The predominate note is spicy pepper, then the onions, set against a background of liver and nutty oatmeal. The texture is distinct grains of oatmeal, with equally small sized pieces of the liver, moistened with enough of the fat and the stock just to be soft and cohere, but not mushy. Traditional accompaniments are bashed neeps (mashed yellow swede turnip) and chappit tatties (mashed potatos and butter). And a dram or three

Baron Phillpe de Rothschild for everday Vigonier

We just installed a reconditioned Jura X90 at the office for about £500. Amid clunks and whirrs it measures, grinds, compresses, pre-wets, and then brews Its fully automatic, and actually produces a decent cup of expresso, with good crema Hot water for tea, and foamed milk are options. We use Lavezza beans Later version of the machine are internet enabled.... Productivity is up...

By coincidence, my favourite wine merchant, the excellent Alex Riley [alex@alexrileywines.co.uk] has just written: My 6 Rosés (all are 2002) are: Mas des Bressades – the old favourite – Strawberries £5.10 Mourgues du Gres « Galets Rosés” - £5.60 Ditto « Capitelles des Mourgues » (delicately oaked) - £6.50 Ditto « Fleur d’Eglantine » Grenache/Carignan Raspberries Delicious ! £5.30 Ch. Haut Rian – another old favourite - £5.10 Torres Rosado – another old favourite – Cherries! £5.10 Though I have sold the Haut Rian and the Torres in several previous years, they have never tasted as good as they do this year. Take two each of the above delightful summer wines at a special price of £63. (These prices include VAT and duty - very high in the UK)

Picnic, while listening to Madrigals sang on the river. (high protein for some Atkins followers) Tea marbled quail eggs Local Asparagus, sea salt Gambas and smoked salmon en bloc Chicken legs and thighs marinated in soy, chilli and yogurt, then grilled (white and blue new potatos for those who could) Strawberries and cream Champagene Blossom Hill Zin 2000 Rolly Gassmann Gewurtz 2000 Coonewara Botrytis affected Gewurtz 95

We drank a Blossom Hill Zin 2000 last night while listening to Trinity College Choir sing Madrigals from punts on the river. Petillant. Good summer quaffing wine, unchalllenging and a bit one diemsional, but excellent in context. We followed with Rolly Gassman 2000 Gewurtz, and then a Coonewar Botrytic Affected Gewurts 1995 Heaven!

If very young (pods the size of you little finger) cook whole, like green beans If young (scar where the bean attached to the pod is green, beans still small) shell, cook in boiling water 10 mins or until tender. May keep their colour better if cooked in a low magnesium water like Evian. If older, cook as above, then skin the individual bean. The sort of pop out of the skins, but its a lot of work. Many ways to eat. On their own with butter and black pepper. Nicest if these are the first of the season With bacon or with small onions. Cold with viangrette In a risotto. Stewed with tripe or other offal, or a beef stew Pureed, or souffle....

You've heard of treacle mines? There is a rumour that my college kitchens are located on a tinned fruit salad well, next to the luncheon meat quarry.... Actually high table (for teaching fellows of the college) is remarkably good. They realised that employing cheap staff was a false economy, so recruited a Chef from serious establishment. The kitchen now turns out decent food, runs more efficiently and has much less waste. In addition the conference and corporate dinner party trade has greatly improved. That in turn has trickled down into the undergraduate food. The undergraduates get a choice of cafeteria or formal dining (gowns, grace etc). In order to make the formal dining more popular, and partly instigated by the students, they increased the price, and served better food and wine, It is now a popular (indeed, overbooked) social occaision. AS the college in in competiton with the other colleges for the best talent, both student and staff (we have something like 4 Nobel prize winners in residence), the excellence of the food and wine is one way to attract the best. For wine the college has something like 100,000 bottles laid down... but that is another thread

Anyone use Silpat baguette forms? Sipat forms Are they worth the money? Is the flexible form better than the metal ones? Is the black non-stick better than the red ones?

Bread has improved greatly here recently. Even supermarkets carry a reasonable range. You can get great bread in San Francisco...

View accross the herb garden towards the kitchen. The roses on the trellis in the foreground are Zephirine Drouhin and Ghislaine de Feligonde, with a bay bush on the left. In the background, round the kitchen window is Rose Guinee (the darkest of all roses) and clematis Fireworks

Now I have a shiny new digital camera, here are some pics of the ficelle I baked this morning. Shaping the dough: Retard overnight.... Ready to bake: The object in front is the lame, the razorblade on a stick used to slash the loaves In the oven: 20 minutes later. Good oven spring.: Final product;