Je mange, donc je suis

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Cidre

Obligatory food post. After all, I’m just back from France: home of the gastronomes.

There’s something about eating in company that makes it very difficult to take photographs of the food. (Anyone else keep their food blogging a secret from work mates?) So, I’ll have make do with a list of salivating dishes and a discreetly snapped steak tartare (eating with P that day, which made things easier).

Being in Normandy, a lot of the food had a strong apple theme, with butter, cream and cheese being the backing singers. One meal that stood out in particular was a lunch during the conference, at which braised chicken was served with slices of baked apple. Dessert was a light, baked cheese mousse layered with apples, and garnished with what I first thought was a green cherry, but turned out to be a preserved miniature apple. I’ve since found out that there are very few producers of preserved mini apples, which made it even more special.

We were also treated to a banquet in a proper château, which, while impressive, was outdone by the food and the entertainment (two wandering magicians). The highlight of that meal, for me, was the palette cleanser of a shot of calvados poured over two scoops of apple sorbet. (There’s a name for this, but I’ve forgotten it… Something to do with alcohol killing the neurons that were making the synaptic connection… Update: It’s called Trou Normande.)

Speaking of alcohol, I’m no fan of cider/cidre, having had the standard fresher’s (next-day) reaction to a night of cheap pub cider. My second attempt involved a bottle of Scrumpy Jack from Cornwall, which left my tastebuds complaining for the rest of the evening. In fact, the only use for cider in my household is for the annual end-of-year baked ham. And it was even supplanted in recent years by coke (another awful drink I’ve never truly understood). So it came as a pleasant surprise that cidre is not only be drinkable, but also hangover-free. So that makes it three decent drinks you can make from apples…

Other delights of Normandy include huitres (oysters) (although I’m informed that those from Brittany are just as good) and cheese. I’m not one of life’s creative fairies, but a box of Pont l’Evêque could give me cause to write a symphony in ode to the sublime fromage.

And for those with a sweet tooth, those Normandes do some fine chewy caramels, along with a rock; flavoured with apples, naturally… The galettes (buttery hard biscuits) are also pas mal.

steak tartare

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Campaign to reduce cyclist deaths

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From BBC news: Campaign to reduce cyclist deaths.

“We will have officers out at various cycle routes across the city over the next two weeks who will be speaking to cyclists about road safety issues and ensuring they are not breaking the law.”

–Superintendent Colin McNeill, Lothian and Borders Police

How about targeting motorists and drivers of the lethal white van to make them aware that they have to give cyclists more room on the road? Or that cycle lanes must be respected, and even if you’re just nipping into the shops for 5 min, once you’ve parked in a cycle lane, you’re increasing the risk of a cyclist who has to swerve outside the cycle lane for your laziness?

Elgin and its environs

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Amidst all the rushing around over the last fortnight, I had some time on my hands before P’s brother’s wedding. And since I’ve never seen anything of Elgin other than the town centre at night, I thought I’d have a look at the ruins of the Elgin Cathedral. From the little I remember of the explanatory placards, it was built some time in the 11th century (maybe later) and was abandoned as a place of worship four centuries ago. And ever since then, the sandstone it’s made of (like almost everything else in Scotland apart from bloody granite-shoot-me-now-it’s-so-depressing-Aberdeen) has been crumbling. It’s a war of attrition for Historic Scotland to keep buildings like this safe for visitors, let alone intact or preserved in any way. All the same, they’ve done a great job, especially in the two main towers, which you can visit. I find it somewhat incongruous that while the stonework is falling to bits, all we can do is stick in new floorboards and windows to spruce the place up. Anyway, it was a pleasant diversion while I was kicking my heels waiting for events to kick off

Pavlova Bubbly 2 Wedding cake

Sidenote: What do other partners of groom’s/bride’s men/women-in-attendance do at weddings? The best man’s gf and I were pretty much at a loose end all day and night while our men were obliged to dance with every single female in the room except us. All the same, it was very nice to see the extended family and friends.

So what happens now?

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From BBC news: Merkel ahead in tight German vote.

Another suitcase in another hall;
take the pictures off another wall;
Where is Germany going to?
Don’t ask anymore.

Apologies for bursting into bad ALW music… What on earth are the Germans going to do now? I’m guessing a “grand coalition” is a euphemism for a mess of a hung parliament. And from the point of view of a female, why are the only women successful enough to lead a political party mainly conservative (small and big “c”)? It’s that need to have bigger, brassier balls than their male peers, isn’t it?

Ashes regained

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From BBC news: The day the Aussies were beaten

Back online after a week on “holiday” (more on that later). Don’t want to gloat. But am pleased that the English cricket team has finally cracked Australia. It was, to one who could not see any of the play, a close one. Both sides weren’t playing their absolute best the whole time, with Australia sorely in need of McGrath for much of the series. I was particularly impressed that England did not fall to the usual feeling of inadequacy, and rose to the challenge of superior Aussie bowling in the final test.

It’s a nice feeling indeed, not to regret what may have been. It all came right in the end.

Onward to winter and India!

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Roast lamb and tequila

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Roast lamb
Originally uploaded by framboise.

P cooked what will probably be our last lamb roast for a wee whiley. It was simply delish. Something about Scottish lamb just cannae be beat (although I’m sure the Kiwis will beg to differ). It may have something to do with the sheer difficulty of getting enough to eat in a typical Scottish spring/summer. But the flesh is tender and the flavour rich (but not smelly, Mom… you really need to try it). In fact, it’s so good on its own, you don’t need to marinate it or do anything else to it. Maybe a sprinkle of salt, pepper and your favourite spice (I like cumin and coriander, but P was trying to use up our stash of “Good with everything salt”, which has rosemary and lavender). Set the oven to 220°C, roast the shoulder of lamb (nae bone) for 20 min, turn the temperature down to 200°C and continue to roast for 15 min for every 500g. Rest for 10 min before carving, or all the juices will piss out and leave you with dry meat. Easy peasy. (OK, after reading this, P has confessed to leaving the lamb in for an extra 10 min because we had guests, who may not have liked it too pink…)

Because of time constraints, there wasn’t our usual mashed potato with nutmeg. But the cous-cous (also so easy to prepare) worked in a very Moroccan way. The veggies, while plain-looking, were pretty tasty: steamed, then sat in the oven for a bit with cracked coriander seeds. (You can tell I like my coriander, can’t you…)

For dessert? I bought a bottle of Sauza Tequila Gold back… So K and M brought margarita mix. I’d never tried it with calvados before. But I can assure you it works. I was also relliably informed that a small shot of Cointreau or Grand Marnier or even Amaretto works well too. And my little tip for the evening: stick the bottle of margarita mix in the freezer while you’re eating your tea… It chills it enough so you don’t need to add ice (of which there was none since the main ice-maker, me, was away). Bliss.