This evening's offerings

Bread sticks. Straight out of the oven
I have used 250 Grammes of flour, and the rest is just guesswork . Salt, oil, water and fast action yeast.

Dan Lepard's Chocolate Chip Buns

Made half the quantity , as I just want to see if they are worth doing.
From the Guardian Weekend last Saturday. Are they worth making? Undoubtably yes.I had a tiny one to try, it was everything thing he said it would be soft and comfortingly delicious and not over sweet.
Half the recipe made four rolls and four round buns,enough to be going on with.

Today's effort. Parsnip, cheese ,thyme and sage bread

Effort it certainly has been since I managed to unsuccessfully juggle a bottle of olive oil , hoping to pour some onto my bread in the oven. falling , it broke into smithereens all over the floor .... There was glass and oil , such a mess, and me in danger of slipping over and then who knows what I might have done? I had to get a neighbour to help me clear it up.
Thankfully the bread looks and smells delicious and I hope will taste equally good. I am taking it to friends for lunch today I have only made half the amount given in the recipe.

For vegetarians Don' t read the following post.

Last week it was very definitely time to pluck the pheasants that were hanging in my shed for four days, since it was unseasonably warm they certainly needed doing.
Imagine if you can.
I am sitting outside in the drizzle at a table with some warm water in a bowl beside me,and the bird inside a binliner which was inside an old washing up bowl, which was on my lap.
Now to start. One handed. Not easy!
The first bird was easy, but the second one not so, and I ended up with feathers everywhere . However I HAVE actually done them, even though I had to joint the second bird.
I did not take a picture if this!!

Today I have been using up bits that were in the fridge.i made a sauce of half and onion, some soft tomatoes, ditto three mushrooms plus garlic, herbs, some red wine( naturally) chillies and smoked sea salt, finally adding some bits of German Smoked Ham.
Then I soaked some noodles and mixed them into the sauce, hey presto. My improvised supper

Just cooked my fantastic roast meal

Spatchcock poussin roasted in the oven for an hour, with garlic, lemon pieces and bay leaves underneath it, finally for the final five minutes ,a dusting of fennel pollen over the crispy skin.
My mouth is watering at the thought of eating it, and with it I have just wilted some spinach. That's enough.
Can't wait ........

Chillies!

Here are the chillies that were brought back from Italy. tomorrow I shall make roasted chilli jam, a recipe given to me by someone in South Africa.

Here are three of the nine jars made just now. The chillies were a complete nightmare to peel, even though I had put them under the grill to blacken the skins. They are also fiendishly hot, I had streaming eyes,and had to enlist a friend to help peel them ,as with only one hand I kept on getting chilli flesh all over my hand, not a good idea!
The jam is first blitzed in the processor then white wine vinegar added and finally dark brown sugar and white sugar . This is boiled up until it reaches setting point . However, I do have dinky little jars for them. The three are on a side plate, so you can tell they are very small. Shall I dare give some as Christmas gifts?

Sunday Breakfast

Blueberry pancakes,loads of coffee,croissants with homemade jams plus smoked trout and scrambled eggs. What's not to like?
We had the pancakes with some runny honey rather than Maple syrup, and they were fine.

Last weekend I made some crunchy relish,the recipe says to use Tamarind, but, I didn't have any, so I sent a grandson to look for some in the Supermarket. As he couldn't find any,I used lime juice. This week I discovered Tamarind in the Thai section when I was shopping, so decided to make more ,with the correct ingredients. There are four main ingredients red cabbage, grated carrots ,some finely sliced ginger and red chillies. Plus sea salt,tamarind or lime juice, Nam Pla a Thai fish sauce , rice vinegar and palm sugar
It is quite noticeable how the jar made with the lime juice is much redder and brighter than the one where I have used the tamarind. The juice should be drained off before using but it keeps for ages in the fridge.
Oh I almost forgot, I made some marmalade as there were three Seville oranges in the freezer from early February, cooked with some lemons and a couple of sweet oranges it has made five jars, which should be enough for the family to have before the next batch in 2013.