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Happy Yule!

 

Welcome the light.

Get the coffee on, he said.

Accurate scales build customer goodwill; so says the Herbert & Sons leaflet.

 

Here are the scales used to weigh out orders at Atkinson's. They may be old, but they are quick and accurate - I re-weighed my tea at home on my electronic scales, and the weight was spot on.

 

These scales were made sometime between 1910 and 1945. The maker, Herbert & Sons, was established in London in 1760 and is still trading.

 

You can see different models of Lion scales at 1:36 and 4:32 in this fascinating historical film, here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9wNJ78S2GY

 

You can read more about the Lion Quick Action Scale, here:

www.herberthistory.co.uk/userdata/files/light_on_the_lion...

   

Calendula, or even marigold.

I had to go out between downpours and saw this little clump of beauty.

Horseradish mayonnaise and cornichons. Cayenne for color.

After cooking the onions, and garlic, add the chopped fruit and veggies and let them sweat on a medium heat for 15 minutes.

Stir from time to time to prevent burning.

It's Friday, so that means making soup for a crowd again.

With a glut of cheap mushrooms, we're having mushroom soup today. Here's how:

 

In a big pan

Soften a load of garlic in some oil

Add finely chopped celery to cover the base and soften

Add some finely chopped carrot

Add finely chopped broccoli (it was cheap, and will add some body)

Cover and sweat for a few minutes

Add chicken stock

Bring to the boil for a couple of minutes

Uncover and simmer - let the soup reduce

Taste and add salt and black pepper as required

Add a load of Greek yogurt in the last 5 minutes before serving

Add some sherry (if you have it; I didn't) or some balsamic vinegar - it 'picks up' the general flavor

 

Serve

With croutons (I had some)

With grated or shaved cheese (because most people like it)

And some bread

 

Notably, I almost ran out today, which doesn't happen often. This recipe seemed to be a bit of a crowd-pleaser.

  

It's cold, windy, and rain hammers against the window. I have no desire to do anything today.

The Mercedes AMG A45 - doesn't it have a 'sharky' front end? Those skinny tyres on English roads would make a regular appointment with the chiropractor mandatory.

 

Near Weir Wood Reservoir

 

This is one of the volunteers who takes my blood to where it's needed. The blood service even sends me a link to the map to see where it's going. Rain or shine, the blood gets through.

 

Read more about Blood Bikes here:

bloodbikescumbria.org.uk/

He loves a cardboard box

Not sevruga but lumpfish roe on some buckwheat blinis with crème fraiche.

A cheap but no less delightful snack for the Christmas season.

 

The spoon is made from horn. Metal tends to add a taste to the delicate fish eggs.

For J

Mayo made with immersion blender.

 

How

Get a jar slightly wider than the head of your blender

Load in eggs

Add same volume of olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Your fave mustard. It helps with holding the emulation together

Some balsamic vinegar

Lemon juice maybe

Garlic. Lots.

Insert blender and whizz for 3 or4 minutes

Store in fridge

Eat often!

Blew my socks off.

Today's mandatory food shot. Pizza Toscana with Tuscan sausage and birdseye chilies.

Totally different from last year's goulash at home. Good food, company, and fun.

I won't upset proper chefs by calling this pesto.

 

2 bags of basil leaves

A chunk of Parmesan, grated

A handful of walnuts

2 big garlic cloves

Sea salt

Lemon juice

Oil

 

Attacked with the stick blender till I got bored (so not long).

Looks terrible but tastes epic.

"New Zealand's most modern brewery" it says on the side; apologies, I don't know yet how to selectively highlight that bit.

This was built in 1935 and operated as a brewery until 1955, when it was bought by the New Zealand Musicians' Club.

As a brewery it was operated by the Coutts family, who came from Germany originally. During WW1, the Kuhtze family changed their name to Coutts, having already naturalized. The family's know-how later became a cornerstone of later NZ brewing, by big forms such as DB.

The marketing slogan for Cascade Brewery was "Putting the Happy in Taihape".

I have been playing Skyrim recently. Walking about is aggravating an injury and I've been told to stay off my feet. It's enormously frustrating.

 

Skyrim is about fighting dragons, bandits, mages and any creature that moves, it seems. You have to develop skills, and one is cooking. There are many options from which to choose. Apple cabbage stew restores health, apparently, so I am making some IRL as they say. Or for real, as I might.

Slightly old milk produce this mad foam. Tasted nice though

Glasgow is not stuck in the past and there are many modern buildings, clinging like limpets to the steep streets.

Making coffee is a great rabbit hole down which to disappear when there's time. Start with some scales to help with consistency.

 

There are 20g of beans in the grinder, ready to provide a light workout for arms and shoulders when I turn the handle.

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.

 

I thought I'd give the top a light brush with milk during the end of baking. It's added a bit of shine and glow. I'll reserve the process for special breads for visitors or gifts.

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.

Soaking new whetstones.

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.

Morecambe Bay is a crucial habitat for birds. Clean water supports the shellfish and invertebrates that live in the sand and support bird life.

Mister Lincoln, hybrid tea rose.

Just wandering about and this caught my eye.

Sometimes only tea will do.

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