I picked up this Bialetti Musa coffee maker this week for the price of two flat whites; bargain. I fancied exploring an alternative to my alloy-bodied moka pot and indeed the coffee is different. Slightly less punchy but still a smooth hit of coffee taste. A good start to my day.

I read some online reviews that slated this for not making good espresso: moka pots don't make espresso; they extract coffee between 1 and 2 bars of pressure whereas an espresso machine uses a pump to extract at about 9 bar. A completely different result.

Online reviews and blogs are only as useful and trustworthy as the knowledge of the people writing them.

The former Williamson Power station, now abandoned and unloved. Too dangerous to demolish safely, apparently. It's been there since 1949. Built to power the industrial estate. Now best known as SupaSkips, the bankrupt recycling company that bought the site.

This is a diary picture rather than a 'photograph' but I had fun developing the Raw image, having shot into bright sunshine. Also, shot on the ultra wide setting to get it all into frame. I like the distortion.

As the water is added I stir the liquor to ensure all the grounds are covered. The CO2 in the grounds is released, forming that nice scummy surface. I set a timer for 5 minutes and leave everything alone.

The timer has finished and the croissants are now warm and golden. It's time to stir some more, gently, and plunge the coffee.

First, mash a banana in a bowl.

Most people are horrified by how long I keep bananas. But I think they improve with age, up to a point! The one on the left has definitely reached that point; soft, very sweet, at the apogee of its deliciousness. Ready to be mashed.

Tofu, chick peas, in a Jalfrezi sauce. Add pickles and serve on couscous. Nice 👍

Handelsbanken plc is a UK-based bank that appears to be a subsidiary of the better-known Swedish bank. It was interesting to see a branch here in Lancaster. It has the air of a 'private bank' similar to Coutts, but I believe that is not so.

They have a nice building.

The shocking state of the paving slabs is common across the rest of the city, regretably. Here, being on a hill, rainwater tends to run under the slabs, washing away the supporting sand. This leads to general weakening of the pavement/sidewalk and breakage.

I call it lunch. But maybe it has a name.

Sausages

Black eyed beans

Onions

Butternut squash

Tomatoes

Garlic

Herb mix

Baked in the new rubbery baking mold.

Glazed with strawberry jam, coz I could.

45 minutes at 160 deg C

More moist than heretofore.

It'll do.

Prickly things, they used to be put into wooden frames and used to brush down guardsmen's red tunics. Teasels are very effective at raising the nap on cloth and are gentle enough to use on cashmere.

Time to shut the window.

Mister Lincoln, hybrid tea rose.

Just wandering about and this caught my eye.

Sometimes only tea will do.

21 July 1990 - Berlin - where the Wall stood, Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' was performed. Cyndi Lauper opened the concert. It was electrifying.

I don't have any pictures from those days, so here's a wall near me now. I'd love to meet the artist.

Today's cooking for 40

What's on special offer today?

Red capsicum

Red onion

Spinach

Garlic

Stir fry veg mix

to which I added

Canned tomatoes

Passata

Veg stock

Cannelini beans

Red kidney beans

Yoghurt, Greek

Farfalle pasta

Balsamic vinegar

cook and simmer for 90 minutes

80 pence per serving.

only one return..."too many bits".

can't please everyone 👍

A peacock butterfly takes off from a thistle flower. I liked the blur here as it reminded me of the butterfly's movement.

I think this will make a good marmalade spoon.

It looks suitably grand to celebrate the morning.

Seen today on the window of a local bank. Lynette's window paintings stay for a while, but are not permanent additions, sadly.

Today is also the 80th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter. That's worth thinking about for a moment, I'd suggest.

www.un.org/en/

And a short film, here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCOkMWv5TB0

The bees love these. Seen growing over a canal bridge in town.

What's on offer today?

Broccoli

Tenderstem broccoli

Onions

Beetroots

Mushrooms

Chick peas

Red lentils

Sweet cabbage

Garlic

Sweat each layer

Starting with onions and building up

Add veggie stock

Boil briefly then simmer for 40 minutes

Finish with a cup of balsamic vinegar

Serve

Garnish with mixed cheddar and mozzarella

Seen are the pilae that supported the floor of the Roman bath house. Hot air would be forced through the space.

Lancaster War Memorial. The memorial was designed by Thomas Mawson and Sons and was unveiled on December 3, 1924.

I still mourn for my friends killed in Iraq and other places. I've processed the survivor's guilt, but it pops up unexpectedly still.

The Garden of Remembrance is a peaceful and well-maintained oasis.

At low tide the sands just go on and on. Birds feed on the creatures living just below the surface. All is well. Until the tide sweeps back in at a surprisingly fast rate. There's even a bore that, when the wind and moon are in the right alignment, can be several meters high.

The danger really is extreme.

I love this handsome tree. you can see that it was cut down once but had regrown from the remaining stump. A real survivor.

My neighbor's cat sometimes goes walkabout but comes back to guard the front door. Here he is today.

Jameson's whiskey is aged for at least 7 years: "Not a drop sold till it's seven years old."

This soup has been in the fridge for almost a week; it's been a busy day so I was hungry (again!). The last portion of tomato soup looked a bit dull, so I dropped a handful of spinach leaves in with the soup when I heated it up. Finished with a good grating of old 'mousetrap' cheese, a hefty dollop of homemade yogurt, lemon juice, and a few twists of black pepper.

It was 'proper reet good' as we say here!

The new student accommodations - studio apartments - are built on the site of where sails for ships were made.

Rents are at full commercial rates, contributing to the big student loans that most students take out. Higher education is a big business.

Giles Gilbert Scott was the principle architect of Battersea Power Station. Much later Frank Gehry set out this transformation and reuse of this icon of South London.

This seen in 2019.

Gilbert Scott also designed the K6 telephone box (1935).

Tune:

youtu.be/FJCUIWrVPkw?si=x6wriXfa2EY3yTn6

I've been thinning out some of my accumulated stuff - these Tupperware boxes had to go. While I loved the colours, the fact they didn't nest for storage always baffled me, to the point of irritation.

FYI the Tupperware Party became a thing of the past in 2024 when the firm changed hands. No more high pressure sales from Aunty Mildred!

Missing Takeo, T.

A homeless person makes a temporary home in front of the town hall's door.

The pretty and fragrant flowers of the whitebeam.

Seen in a supermarket carpark.

As in many countries, there seems to be an epidemic of shoplifting. Increasingly ingenious and complicated means to prevent 'shrinkage' are being employed. Some supermarkets use facial recognition cameras and systems. The annual cost of theft to UK retailers is more than £2 billion, which gets added to prices.

Red beetroots

Carrots

Red onions

Celery (not red!)

Garlic

Secret herbs n spices

Stock

Slow cook overnight on low

Blitzed, yogurt added. Ready to serve.

Samphire is a succulent, salt-tolerant plant that grows in littoral areas. What you see here is marsh samphire; it's the stuff that some of our sheep graze on, giving the meat a distinctive sweetness. Sometimes, samphire is also called 'asparagus of the sea.'

I got this clump today and lightly boiled it, which made sure it was clean of any impurities and bacteria. The local water comapny isn't as careful about dischages into the lakes and bay as we would prefer.

Some toast, some grilled sardines, pickled cornichons, and preserved tomato, and a dash of lemon juice is all I needed for a tasty and nutritious tea today.

This is part of my 'cooking on a budget' project, designed to make healthy and tasty food available for very little money.

If you are interested in learning more about smphire, read on:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samphire

Ham cooked overnight in the slow cooker, with bay leaves, pink peppercorns, onion, garlic, on carrots and mushrooms.

Served on couscous with pickled radish, and carrots. With Dijon mustard.

I don't like labels, having been assigned a variety of them throughout life. However, it can be handy to label food with what it is, and when you should use it by.

Rootling around on my Chromebook, I found this picture that I took some years ago.

I haven't used the Flickr app on this thing before, prefering to use Chrome. But let's see what happens!

The Kenneth and Avon Canal runs in the south of England between Bristol and Reading.

IDK how long it would take to get here, but it's at least 260 miles away. That's about 2 weeks of steady cruising just to get this far.

You need to run the engine for about 6 hours per day to power the batteries for the fridge and lights and other electrical items.

Many boats have small log burners for heating, which are essential during colder months.