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| What are those? You wouldn't like them. |
New medical matters have intervened since my last post but, while these events have been - and are - quite demanding, I’m inclined to look for other fish to fry for the blog.
Books? Movies? Telly? Politics? Warfare? Nah, I’ve chewed on these over and over and none supports my oft-repeated belief that no blogger – even of only average intelligence – should ever confess to “there is nothing to write about”.
Grandson Ian is staying with us and in stark contrast to his granpaw he is absolutely fascinated with kitchen work. Four or five cakes (all different styles) have been baked, innumerable variants on the curry theme have appeared as if by magic, as well as quickies I’ve dreamed up just to test him (“Yeah, I feel like an omelette – a cheese omelette, that is – oh, and perhaps with spring onions**. Sprinkled with parmesan. Why not? Fluffy of course.”)
Ian disappears for an hour and I know where he’ll be; all 6 ft 4 in. of him, bent sedulously over the sink, eagerness apparent. Is the work sometimes mere drudgery? I ask, given that all such work is drudgery for me. Very occasionally, he says. For like all proficient cooks I know of, he hates to repeat himself.
But Ian is no one-trick pony. He’s hot as the hinges of Hell on computer matters, a subject that has recently bubbled to the surface regarding a switch in my investment platform.
As recompense I offered to buy him lunch and was prepared to spend big bucks. But no, he preferred a very old-fashioned fish-and-chip shop in nearby Monmouth. It was like travelling back in time, he said. Just in case you’re wondering, my lunch (see foreground) consisted of faggots. They would be a hard sell in the USA.
**In the US – scallions.
Colette: I also like stuffed heart, kidneys in madeira, and liver with fried eggs and bacon - all dishes that would put me beyond the pale at the average US dinner-table. When I lived in the US I was amused by the national reaction towards offal; not so much that Americans didn't like it, they seemed terrified by it..
ReplyDeleteParadoxically, I dislike fresh peas, much too sweet. Mushy peas are based on marrowfat (ie, much larger) peas which are dried, stored for ages, reconstituted in water, and boiled until they become a slurry. No claims are made that they promote health.
Also a "faggot" in the US has an entirely different meaning and I wonder how it evolved over there?
ReplyDeleteAvus: I had thought it unececessary to explain why faggot would be a hard sell in the USA. The second link is not exactly obscure. As a term of abuse it dates back to 16th century England when it was applied to women, thus, possibly, winding its way via allusions to "sissy" and "nancy" and ending up in its present usage.
ReplyDelete