Glorious!

Truly wonderful naming for the restaurant, the range of desserts and so descriptive of the magnificent MPW in his recent Great British Feast series.

Can there be a greater gift than sharing the wonder of superlative foods with the many appreciative people who may seldom be able to enjoy them in Michelin-starred surrounds?

I very recently discovered this new offering was available at a major supermarket chain convenient for me.
Even more delighted to discover there were still a few on the shelves late on a Sunday morning despite the "bulk buy" offer tempting me to buy several.

The ingredients in each combination sounded delicious; flavoursome and evocative.
The presentation was superb, the delicate dishes contemporary and elegant, the labelling sophisticated. The plain black cover provided contrast, however I would have preferred one slightly more substantial.

Not an occasion for impulsive decision, these not-so-small masterpieces demanded deliberation.

First consideration was which varieties were still available. That narrowed the field with a marked absence of Strawberry mousse and vanilla & cream. A surfeit of home-grown strawberries this summer left no regrets at that exclusion.

I adored the thought of the Amaretti and blueberry trifle but was disappointed in the appearance of it. Never a trifle-lover, I turned my attention to the delectable chocolate-based offerings.

The Triple Truffle Chocolate Mousse looked seductive, indulgent dark layers offset with creamy white, decorated with a roll of white chocolate. The sprinkling of toffee chips (flakes?) must have been very light as I did not notice any; the thought was appealing. The texture held some lightness, taste was not unduly rich, the dark chocolate was not overpowering or bitter, portion-size just a little more satisfying compared with the White Chocolate.

The White Chocolate and Passion Fruit was inspired, the gold of the passion fruit layer against the creamy white chocolate reminiscent of clouds suffused with sunlight. That had to be my first selection and sampling this dessert at Sunday lunch confirmed the flavour promise. The natural sweetness was powerful and surprisingly satisfying after the initial desire for more.

Glorious! transcends perfection

River Cottage SPRING

Trailer for this Channel 4 series caught my eye so thought I might check it out, particularly as it included use of seasonal produce. Looking through the listings I saw it was scheduled for 9 pm so switched channels to view it.

Some very interesting items included in this episode.

I particularly applauded the butchery trainee for her fortitude in tackling a distasteful task ............... and even more for her skill in butchery. On the same subject, I was interested to learn that meat is hung in a chiller to age it and that there should be no blood. Not something I have ever thought of before, but explained why the 21-day+ dry-aged steak I enjoyed last month
seemed drier in texture and beautifully tender.

Next was the Bristol small-holding. Pleased to see it is to feature in another episode, look forward to following their progress. Good that some costs are mentioned, particularly when
considering the purchase of livestock and "housing" for them..

Then the Kennet crayfish invasion. I suspect many like myself were unaware of quite how serious the impact of that introduced species has been. Quite a conservation opportunity - trapping these introduced crayfish and supplying the restaurant trade could help fund some employment for reducing the numbers.

Several recipes looked simple and tasty. Tested the roast honeyed rhubarb today and found it very straightforward and nicely flavoured. Helped make better use of the oven by cooking it with a lamb casserole. Not Ivan's neck of lamb recipe which looks very flavoursome, unfortunately did not have the ingredients. Hugh's creamed spinach looked delicious, another
one I look forward to attempting.

Just what ARE they selling? Article 1

I looked around various websites to see what was available to the casual visitor. It seemed sensible to consider well-known websites such as Yahoo! , MSN and some major retailers.

Yahoo!
The index page seems to have a fairly standard composition based around a few broad-interest services such as News Feeds and Weather Forecasts; a Search Box; and Advertisements, together with a list of services. Click on hyperlinks and graphics to access other pages or forms.

The free Mail and list of Services provide opportunities for the site owner to build up targeted databases, which could be used as selling points to Advertising Clients.

The wide choice of services may have been intended to appeal to as wide an audience as possible to attract high visitor numbers whilst encouraging them to return regularly to the website. Both Mail and Services enable the display of a high number of solo graphic advertisements and a variety of advertisement styles.

Fort Brockworth

Visit to Gosport today to take in Sale at The Range. Huge store, quite a day out.

Lunch in their Coffee House by their Garden Centre. Supersized the Cappucino for extra 25p ....... estimated it at over double the size of the Regular. Interesting offers for breakfast roll and regular drink up to 11:30 am, then Soup and any sandwich. Jacket potatoes, sausage rolls, cornish pasties, toasties and a range of cakes were on offer too.

On the A32, impressive views of Fort Brockworth, one of the chain of Forts there. Immediately by the store car park too. Not far to Fort Elson or Fort Rowner judging from the map. The history of these Forts might be interesting to check out.

Grit lorry gritting the road on A32 above Fareham on the journey back, but seemed not to have gone far. Pity my Hampshire Council Tax does not provide for this service on my road too.

New Year's Day

First day of a new year.

Welcomed in 2008 with a drop of Prince Charles Edward's liqueur, Drambuie to the uninitiated, from a crystal liqueur glass. Watched the huge London firework display on TV ...... wow ...... global warming? Phoned a friend or several to wish them luck for the year.

Today's recipe: Emerald's pork casserole

Ingredients:
Pork loin chops - 1 per person
Cooking apples
Cranberries
Sliced onions
Sliced mushrooms in butter
Garlic cloves - quantity and variety to taste
Fresh sage leaves, chopped finely
Stock cube

Topping:
Breadcrumbs
Grated cheese

Layer all ingredients except toppings, in casserole, add stock cube dissolved in boiling water, cover with lid.
Place in oven and cook slowly until meat is done. Remove lid from casserole. Mix breadcrumbs with grated cheese, sprinkle over chops. Replace in oven and leave until cheese melts. Serve with potatoes.