Lincoln coronavirus free for all day forty-four

Last day of August, last day of summer, thick cloud, cold, raining.

Many people around, city centre crowded.

Lincoln Central Market, fruit and veg stall pulled out, desolate.

Outside the market, ice cream van with engine running, coffee truck has pulled out.

Walk and Ride to Lincoln Cathedral.

Lunch Elite on the Bail. Busy. First time busy.

Tea at Bunty’s Tea Room. Interesting WWII theme, but otherwise not impressed.

Cappuccino at Coffee Aroma.

I learn at M&S they are discontinuing and selling off many of their food lines.

Bus leaving Lincoln, nearly every passenger not wearing a mask.

Beef stroganoff with basmati rice

Local ingredients, quality ingredients.

From local butcher, rib-eye steak, butcher asked to cut into thin strips.

Vegetables, mushrooms and onions, from local green grocer.

Basmati rice from local zero waste stall. And paprika, including smoked paprika.

Cold pressed extra virgin rapeseed oil from local butcher.

White wine from local wine merchant.

Hot frying pan, cold pressed extra virgin rapeseed oil, add beef, salt,  cook a minute or so each side to brown and sear. Decant onto a plate, keep warm for later.

Chop onions and mushrooms into large pieces.

Add onions to the hot pan, a little oil, turn down the heat.

Add the mushrooms.

Once the mushrooms started to wilt, add back the strips of beef.

Sprinkle with paprika.

Add a slosh of white wine.

Add double cream. Ideally crème fraiche, but lacked to hand.

Allow to simmer on low heat, the cream to bubble.

Whilst cooking the onions and mushrooms, basmati rice in a saucepan, top with boiling water roughly one and a half times the rice, add salt, if available crack a couple of cardamom pods and a star anise for aromatic flavour, bring to the boil, allow to simmer until cooked. If necessary drain the rice, fluff up with a fork. Remove cardamom and star anise from the rice prior to serving.

Dish out the rice and stroganoff.

Tasty but not as tasty as my previous attempt. I think mistake double cream and possibly sloshed in a little too much white wine.

The steal though tender, succulent and very tasty.

Appalling treatment Lincoln Central Market stallholders

Lincoln Central Market is a disgrace, years of mismanagement by the clueless jobsworth responsible for the market who could not organise a piss-up in a brewery.

Last year the highly popular fruit and veg tsall that had bene in the maorket for three deaceds was kicked out on a prestext. Why? Beauces the publicly highlighted the mis,amhemnt of the market the dire straits of Lincoln Central Market follwoing dades of neglact.

Steve abd Beth aocoanted for oveer 80% of market footfall. Their abscne left a gaping hole and the market never recoverd.

A repacement frut and vegaatble stall was found, they are pulling out nbed of this month.

Look around the market, vast empty space, tat, stallholders who cannot be arsed to turn up. The few stalls worth visiting do their best, but on a hiding to nothing when souuronded by tat.

Stallholders have no been given notice to quit. have nbene invited to one to one intervoews with the local council.

Tse oen to one meetings are crude intimidation and bullying by tghee council. There should be an open publci meeting to to which all are invited, including local community who are impcated by the collapse of the market.

Alternatve accomadition offered? Not to andyones knowleded. One stalholder has been told, talk to estate agents.

Any stallholders invited ti tsghe meetings, must take an inpoendent third party as a witness. Do nota ttend on your own.

Plans for the market: turn into a food hall with street food, demploshe alley where cirrentky abutchet and fisghmonger, turn into a binge drinking bar.

Does Lincoln reallky need ayet another ninge-drinking bar.

Street foodm its atsya it in the name, food eaten on the street. But the dusfunctional coukcil idea of street food is the travellibg junk food ciucus.

To see how bad thse food halls can be, vuit Cutlery Works, Kelham Ilsand in Sheffield, earky afternoon not the stomach churning setbch of the various stalls hanging in the ait stale vcookingma nd that is after they have findihed cooking.

The Greek junk food did not last long, appears to have alredty oulled outm neither the coffee trucjk parked outside.

Lincolnm a counry town an agriculatural county, but lacks a viable market.

Courgette stuffed with minced pork and sweet potato served with basmati rice

Last week, left overs from a few days before, a courgette stuffed with minced pork and sweet potato, left over popped in a casserlole dish and when cool, in the fridge

Taken out of the fridge, then when reache room tempeature, fan oven 150C for thirty minutes.

Basmataie rice, brought to the boil in a pan of boiling water, allowed to simmer.

Serve.

Mowing the lawns changing the cut

Lawns looking like fields, barely any grass cut when I mow.

I try a few trial cuts, existing setting, a lower setting.

I go with the lower setting.

I lost track of the number of hoppers I had to empty.

For me, too low, grass cut too short. I need a middway setting, but there is not one.

How I have now cut, would have been ideal before it rained. For the moment I will live with it.

Not all the grass cuttings on the compost heap. I prefer to layer, add some later. Well actually I don’t, I prefer to be well mixed, but this is next best.

Lincoln Steampunk Festival 2021 cancelled

Last year Steampunck cancelled due to coronavirus  pandemic, cancelled agin this year. Organisers somewhat foolhardy attempted to hold this year but fortunately fell through.

A gew lost souls wandering around Bailgate and Steep Hill.

Steampunk would usually  take place during the August Bank HAugust y weekend.

Festivals that have taken place, have caused a massive surge in cornavirus cases.

Lincoln coronavirus free for all day forty

Cool, cloudy, autumnal day, cold north wind.

Walking through Central Market, fruit and vegatble stall low on stock, soon to pul out. The short-lived Greek junk food stall appears to have already pulled out.

Outside, the coffee truck apears to have given up, not seen all week.

Look in remainder book shop whilst wating for the Walk and Ride. 7 Ways already a remainder book. Maybe publishing too many, another about to be published. How many recipes can realistically  churn out, if publish overpriced cook books every year?

A few lost souls wandeirng around, Steampunk Festival canceled, not safe due to coronavirus.

Walking down Steep Hill, popped in Steep Hill Wine, a bottle of white wine.

V60 pour over guest coffee Mind the Cup at Madame  Waffle.

Early afternoon and late afternoon, corporate chains the allure already worn thin, not a single person outside seating. The same earlier in the week.

Espresso extraction in slow motion

Beautiful.

Stunning slow motion of espresso extraction.

Lincoln coronavirus free for all day thirty-seven

Thick cloud, cool autumnal weather.

City centre crowded. Gangs of yobs roaming the streets.

Walking through Lincoln Central Market fruit and veg stall returned. Saturday it was striped bare. All very odd.

Shocking treatment of stall holders in Lincoln Central Market. All are being kicked out with no alternative site on offer. Now they are being called to one to one interviews, no dates given. This is intimidation by a Council bully boy. No one should attend on their own, they should ensure that they take someone with them. At least one stallholder has been told, go talk to an estate agent.

Stall holders left in a limbo, cannot look for alternatives when future not known and council leaving it too late. What should happen is an open public meeting, all are invited including local community. But sadly stall holders will once again let council bully boys walk all over them.

Walk and Ride up to Lincoln Cathedral.

After lunch walk back down Steep Hill.

cappuccino at Coffee Aroma.

Seven Districts Coffee House

I visited Seven Districts during lockdown several weeks ago. Today was my second visit post-lockdown.

Not easy to get to, at least not by public transport, middle of nowhere at Welton Hill halfway between Lincoln and Market Raisen.

I was surprised busy, as no passing footfall.

An excellent job on the renovation of what was once a failing pub, half coffee house, half roastery. The roastery is visible through a glass window.

Out the back a large garden overlooking open fields. On my last visit music was playing. I am pleased to say not this time. It would be a shame to spoil the peace and quiet.

A shed that serves as a second servery, only wasn’t though people in the garden thought it was.

I was fortunate, an espresso from the La Marazocvo linea mini

Inside I stayed for late lunch, avocado, halloumi cheese on toasted sour dough bread.

I expected excellent coffee. An added bonus excellent food.

The cakes looked tempting, but i did not try.

I recommended have a stall at Sleaford Street Food and Artisan Market at Mlllstream Square in Sleaford, first Saturday of September.

Chatting to the barista I recommended she checked out on YouTube

• James Hoffman
• April Coffee

I would also add

• Create by Stefanos Domatiotis
• European Coffee Trip

I also recommended

• The World Atlas of Coffee – James Hoffman

Had I thought, I would have added

• Latte Art – Dhan Tamang

On leaving, I picked up a flier for Seven Districts Coffee Society, coffee subscription with a difference, every three months receive a book. I assumed a coffee book, but on reflection, maybe any book. I am fussy what I read, eclectic tastes, though maybe a good idea to jolt people out of the rut of their reading habits. Excellent idea if coffee books, as people will learn more about coffee, interaction with barista when not busy. May be throw in a few food books to widen horizons.

• The World Atlas of Coffee
• Latte Art
• God in a Cup
• The Devil’s Cup
• The Monk of Mokha
• Coffee: A Global History
• London Coffee
• Tastes of Paradise

A long walk to Welton along a country lane to pick up a bus into Lincoln.

Once i reached Welton, no signpost for the centre of the village.

No bus timetables at bus stops. Luckily not long to wait before a bus turned up.

I had hoped to visit a coffee shop Seven Districts have opened in Nettleham but the bus was direct to Lincoln, did not detour via Nettleham.

• PHOTOS Seven Districts Coffee House