The magpies are out again. Such happy and playful corvids.

I love all the lore and traditions that surround these birds.

Schönen Feierabend! The celebration of the evening, literally. It's time to put the tools down, and kick back a bit.

This is a Becker 'Bel Mondo' tea light, made at Georgshütte, Germany, some time in the 1980s. It's nice to look at in itself, but comes to life when you light a candle in the middle. It's for keep your coffee or teapot warm, but makes a nice backlight for any room.

The factory closed in 1989, so this is a bit of a gem to have found.

And yes, I am feeling a bit nostalgic today!

Now corrected after George's timely reminder.

Today is the start of British Summer Time. Would someone kindly inform the weather people 😁

Mix of strong and ordinary white flour. Beef dripping as the fat. Great toast!

cajun chicken pasta

Also called zebra plant, Haworthiopsis fasciata. It thrives on forgetfulness and neglect. Let the soil dry out completely before watering. Mine flowered recently, so it seems to be working.

One of the places where I volunteer has awarded me a pay increase of 100%. So pleased. So I'll get nothing, as usual, but twice as much nothing. Joy 👍😁

piping isn't as easy as it looks on tv!

Porridge with honey and chia seeds.

A busy morning ahead.

It's a policy that makes a lot of sense. If you buy everything online, don't be surprised to find an empty high street.

The tamper has a spring inside to help obtain a consistent pressure. I've set it at 8kg.

The morning winter shot that supports health and brings a little clarity to morning haze.

3 lemons

3 limes

A good chunk of ginger

Whole or ground turmeric

A clove of garlic

Honey, mānuka if possible

A stick of lemon grass

1 star anise

500 ml water

Into a jug

juice the fruit

add chopped ginger, turmeric, lemon grass, garlic

add star anise

add 500 ml very hot water

infuse for 30 mins while allowing to cool

remove star anise

pour remainder into blender and blitz

decant into a bottle and chill

drink a large shot everyday to protect against colds and sore throat

A BMW i8 stops outside my kitchen while I pause for a moment. It's not a Deliveroo driver making a collection. How cool that would have been!

In 1840 England was surveyed in detail and mapped at 5 inches to the mile. This helped to map the cholera epidemic as well as apportion land and property taxes and tithes.

The survey also supported the 1841 census (the first of its kind).

Heat some oil on medium-low, add a chopped onion and cook till translucent. Add 2 cloves of chopped garlic and some ginger. Stir and don't allow to burn.

Add rice and water to the rice cooker and switch on. The rice will be ready when the rest has cooked.

I noticed this creature on my jacket today. I think it's an Asian ladybird larva.

Asian or harlequin ladybirds come from Japan and were introduced in some countries to control aphids. They arrived in UK in 2004 by accident.

As predators, they have been known to attack butterfly larvae and eggs, which is a problem.

Using Adrian Cronauer's catchphrase and catchy artwork, I was attracted by this packet of coffee beans.

The beans do indeed make a pleasant pour over - a delicate. floral taste. I once bought Vietnamese civet cat coffee. The cats eat the berries and excrete the beans ... you can read about it elsewhere. It was OK but not worth the expense. And now I'm looking for some Black Ivory coffee - these are beans from northern Thailand that have been eaten by elephants, which partly ferment in their guts prior to excretion.

Making coffee without any faff. Sometimes it's the best way.

Make lemon curd.

My first attempt.

"Sumayah’s Simple Lemon Curd recipe - The Great British Bake Off" thegreatbritishbakeoff.co.uk/recipes/all/sumayahs-simple-...

A simple downpipe need not look purely functional.

In my working kitchen this morning. How nice to find. How thoughtful.

Now, doesn't that sound altogether posher than 'fish fingers'?

Minted peas, crushed potato with garlic and cayenne pepper, and Polish-made tomato sauce (from the 'World Foods' section in the supermarket) because it is way cheaper than the others, and tastes better, too.

Linux-users may see the logo for Manjaro (well, it's close). I used to run Manjaro on an old Thinkpad, and it worked very well with that hardware.

In other news, walking is a bit of a problem at the moment, so I haven't been able to get outdoors for today's shot.

I made pesto.

As time goes on, I believe the whole world is at war, but that physical fighting isn't everywhere at the same time.

Another thing occurred to me too; any country consists of its people and its government. They are not necessarily the same.

living in an apartment need not exclude gardening from ones routine. I've planted hyacinth and frittilaries for next year. and potted up the specimen that I rescued from the trash. it's been recovering over summer and has put on some strong growth.

The last slice of apple pie. The pastry had softened, so a few minutes of heat, and some yogurt, strawberry sauce, and pistachios made this quite a passable dessert.

sleepy boy

This is a national dish of Colombia. It has lots of tripe which i adore. My mother brought me up on offal and its hard to find anyone serving it these days. I had this at Tooting Market. And yes it really is that yellow. Colombia has many beautiful exports and their cooking is just one. Mondongo. You want some, don't you?!

Enjoy every moment while it lasts.

In your charity, please pray for the people of Jamaica today as they recover from this tempest.

I had a friend who added salt just like this. He did it to take the micky out of pretentious TV chefs ("pretentious, moi?!), but he did it so often that it became part of his style.

Just larking about.