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A wild geranium, Geranium robertianum. It's looking thirsty and sun-scorched, but it will keep coming back.
Look carefully and you'll see the fat, explosive seed pods. Get this in your garden and expect it to spread!
A change is as good as a mossless bird in the hand. And other such wisdom. That, and a bag of wholemeal flour that needs to be used up.
Lancaster Shire Hall is visible through the trees. Once a court used to settle land claims and other business.
After 15 minutes in the pressure cooker, and a natural release of about 20 minutes, out comes the pottage, ready to serve.
Pottage was a staple in English cookery during the middle ages, and several recipes appear in the 14th century cookery book, The Forme of Cury. Essentially, it's vegetables, root vegetables, and legumes that are boiled up and simmered for several hours. Meat could be added, but it was very rare for ordinary people to have access to meat.
This is my own 'take' on pottage - the spices (cayenne, ras el hanout, sumac) wouldn't appear in England until the 1540s, and ras el hanout (a blend) was unknown in England until the 1970s.
Ingredients:
Onions
Garlic
Celery
Carrots
Mushrooms
Pak choi
Butter beans
Tomatoes (fresh and canned)
Ras el hanout
Cayenne pepper
Sumac
Rosemary (fresh)
Balsamic vinegar (to de-glaze)
Chicken bouillon
(Note: bouillon is higher in salt than stock, so use with care)
Method:
Saute the aromatics, and spices
Add everything else and stir
Cover with chicken bouillon
Cook under pressure for 20 minutes
Allow pressure to release for 20 minutes
Serve in a bowl with a chunk of bread
Crumble bread into the pottage if it's too thin and stir
Lunch
Hummus made with stick blender
Can of chick peas
3 tbsp tahini
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Ground pepper
Sea salt
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp water
Throw it all into a big jar
Blend in place on low to start
Finish on high
Eat some now
Put the lid on the jar and chill
Faff about with garnish if you must... Parsley, more oil, pretty red things like pomegranate seeds or chili flakes if feeling macho
Takes about 10 mins including washing up
The cayenne is a nice afterglow and my lips are still tingling.
It is possible to lightly toast some bread rolls in the air fryer. I don't have a grill and last time that I tried to use a pop-up toaster, everything caught fire.
These were slightly stale so I sprayed a little water, then a touch of olive oil. The rolls emerged lightly toasted and soft inside. Just right for breakfast.
The seed pods will dry out and eventually split, causing the seeds to fly out onto the surrounding soil.
Unless I get there first with a brown paper bag!
Formerly known as the trawler men's site, where nets were laid out, it became decrepit by the 1990s and abandoned. It was remodeled into this little park, laid out in the form of Morecambe Bay.
Opposite the statue of Eric Morecambe is this nice seaside cafe. Traditional English fare and they prefer you to pay with money over plastic.
After cooking a batch of pasta sauce overnight, it's quickly cooled before being stored in the fridge.
Peter Denton recently posted some lovely pictures of Cuba, which made me think of so many Cuban drinks that I have enjoyed.
Here's my attempt at a Cafe Cubano. Though I say it myself. it's a lush pick-me-up before heading into town.
It contains raw sugar and a short shot of coffee.
Originally built to carry a railway, the bridge over the Lune was converted to a roadway to accommodate Lancaster's one-way traffic system.
The way our garbage and recycling are collected. along with the frequency, have changed. It means I need to be at home when the bins are emptied in order to find sufficient space to get rid of what I can't reuse. The bucket I used till now is completely inadequate.
Sometimes this is just how I feel in the morning.
I usually don't listen to the news. I don't own a TV and never read the English press. But lately, the world's events have caught up with even me. What a sh*t show.
So, one way to address this is with music:
open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1E37hI12Q8qjsV?si=0f54b...
It's too warm to cook so I've mixed some ratatouille with canned tuna and some sliced red onions. I've run out of parsley but should pick up a bunch after rehearsal. Meanwhile, it's gone into jars and into the fridge to chill in time for tea tonight.
stay chilled y'all.
Spent today walking in the sunshine. The towpath along the Black and White canal looked good enough to make a postcard. So I think I'll do that in the morning.
English is not replete with words to describe a rainy day. I look north, to my Scottish cousins, who have the useful word, dreich. It's from the old Norse word, drjúgr, which means patient and long-suffering. To put up with weather like this when it is supposed to be sunny and warm would make anyone drjúgr, or dreich (which now means a damp, grey day). It's the kind of rain that soaks you before you even realise!
A gentle rain outside. I love how it affects the morning light in my kitchen.
Time for coffee and a sit down for a moment.
We have a special arrangement. It works, which is enough.
Some slightly tired celery, set to revive in a jar of filtered water. Chlorine in tap water is generally not good for this vegetable, and can even cause brown marks on the skin.
In Blackpool there is a trail of about 70 elephant models. There's an app to help find them. It's all for a charity to collect donations. A little bit of fun.
Health and safety regulations demand the garish warning stripes on the steps that lead into this red sandstone building. There's an expensive wireless access point above, but the paint on the door is flaking away under the blast from the sea nearby.
Leaving Kelvingrove for now. Even the door handles are works of art.
It was a great visit and I look forward to returning soon.
Hawthorn berries are full of vitamin C, slightly tart with a flavor redolent of apples. Maybe I'll make a syrup.
If your knife doesn't glide through a tomato it needs sharpening
Blunt knives can skip and that's when accidents in the kitchen often happen.
This was lunch today.
While waiting for a package to be delivered I catch up on some reading and admin. My wallpaper changes automatically, and here's a picture of Morecambe Bay from a few weeks ago. The moir effect seems to have been generated inside my phone.
My walk was longer than planned so I bought a small picnic at a convenience store en route.
Nary a bench to be seen so I sat on the grass and improvised on the theme of :déjeuner sur l'herbe. It was so nice in the sunshine.
Fun fact:
Brits buy about 10 million pre-packed sandwiches each day.
A bit overwhelmed this morning. Time to pause and calm down with some coffee and listening to Radio 3.
A beautiful, calm day on the river at high tide. The distant channel marker provides guidance. The tidal range is enormous and shifting mud flats can catch out the unwary navigator.
seat covering on a Stagecoach bus. Moquette is hard wearing and designed to always look clean as it wears. Clever fabric engineering.
I've seen several of these plastic stickers around town this week.
This plastic object could last for a very long time. I marvel at seeing bronze age objects that have been retrieved from the mud. Will a 'future me' feel the same about this plastic object? Does it add to the interest of this stone wall?
Am I overthinking this?