173 Days after Lockdown - 13th September, 2020

The weather was perfect, 24c and a gentle breeze. We can often have good weather in September, maybe because it is my birthday, and you know what they say about the righteous! We were lucky to have Carol, Lynn, Sue & Paul for lunch today. Whilst we always comply, as infection rates are increasing, we now have to live under the Rule of Six and any thoughts of larger gatherings are shelved, for now

Nibbles: BBQ'd Squid with 3 salts (Steve & Marion Page 93!!) (see below for the full recipe)

Appetiser: Seared Scallops, Lemon Mayo

To make these salts (or variations of each)

Citrus: Grated zest of half lemon, half grapefruit or lime or both mixed with 2 tablespoons of Maldon Sea Salt

Chilli & Garlic: Finely chopped chilli pepper (seeds discarded and 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped

Salt with squid ink: Shop bought!

Other ideas are szechuan pepper, coriander seed, mustard seed etc etc

Add each version to a pestle and mortar, or grind until fine, spread thinly on a plate and let dry at room temperature for 3 hours or so.

Use as you would normally use salt as a seasoning

The squid and the scallops were both quickly seared on the cast iron Halo on the Monolith, a quick squeeze of lemon juice and seasoned with the salts

Lunch: Baby Back Ribs, Grilled Pork Loin Slices, Rosemary & Garlic Potatoes, Braised Fennel with Cheese, Baked Brocolli

Ribs were seasoned with salt for an hour or so, then rubbed with my version of a Memphis Dust (Sugar, Paprika, Mustard, Garlic, Onion) and cooked at 107c for 4 to 5 hours on the Monolith

Dessert: Treacle Tart, Salted Caramel Ice Cream pr Plum Crumble and Clotted Cream

Maggie asked me if I would like a cake and I asked, and received Treacle Tart. Lovely pastry, perfectly sweet treacle made with brioche crumbs

Thank you, everyone. Maggie always spoils me for my birthday, and it often seems to last over a whole week

Comments

333 Days after Lockdown - 20th February, 2021

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PUT YOUR POO IN THE POST & COP A FEEL What a lovely Sunday afternoon First visit from Damien & Karen since Karen's personal lockdown sometime ago. And they bought their very cheeky little chappy with them 'Murphy' Before posting this I discussed whether I may add the post that Karen added to her Facebook and she kindly agreed, wanting to spread the message. Many of our friends and family have gone through or indeed are still dealing with the disease. The message is simple, even now with Covid-19 in our midst, be aware of your body and make sure to take advantage of any health screening you may be offered This is a long post, but please do not skip this part and go straight to the details of lunch at the bottom Karen - It’s been a while since I’ve given everyone an update and this is because healing from the lung operation has been complicated due to an infection and also the results weren’t as I had hoped. During the operation the...

222 Days after Lockdown - 1st November, 2020

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