Fresh Local & Wild

The entrance belies the size of the interior.

— to be continued—

Afternoon in Lincoln

An hour late in Lincoln, then a detour Tibet Marks.

— to be continued—

Digging the garden

Several days dry, no rain. Prior to dry period, too wet to dig. Ground dry enough to dig.

A couple of years ago large clods. I made the mistake of raking after a few weeks.

Following year, let soil weather down, then raked. No large clods.

Digging today, a fairly fine filth, no large clods.

Soil structure improving. Spreading compost helps. Spread compost after a period of heavy rain. Keeps moisture in and nutrients drain into the soil.

Forked to aerate top layer of compost heap. Coffee capsule impaled on fork, had not decomposed.

When I next dig out the compost heap I will be able to better establish have compostable capsules composted or not. Those that have not will either be thrown into a new compost heap or end up on the garden with the compost spread on the garden.

Shop Zero

When I last visited Nottingham a couple of weeks ago I noticed a zero waste shop. Yesterday I decided to pay it a visit.

Helpful young lady. Food range limited due to stocking other stuff.

I stocked up with muesli from Suma.

Next to (almost) The Specialty Coffee Shop.

Afternoon in Nottingham

Hard frost in the morning. Lunchtime pleasantly warm in the sun.

Train to Nottingham busy. Passengers not wearing masks. Guard walks up and down train, turns blind eye. Last day mask wearing mandatory. It will get a lot worse. Bus and train companies should make a condition of carriage.

Why new seats in the streets that are very low.

Tunnel through derelict Broadmarsh shopping centre Deliveroo serfs.

Effy latest coffee from Manhattan we try brewed with Origami using Origami filter paper.

Walk up the street and round to The Specialty Coffee Shop.

I look in Kitty Cafe. A lovely black and white cat.

Cappuccino at The Specialty Coffee Shop.

My reason for the detour to visit new zero waste shop, Sho Zero.

Pass by Paste. Closes for lunchtime but last visit open. Now closed, gutted. A member of staff says hi. Says lunchtime menu will no longer be available. A retrigradecsteo.

Lunch at Ugly Bread Bakery. Environment. And yet an improvement.

Espresso at Kigali.

— to be continued—

Chicken thighs on skewers

Ask local butcher nicely, four chicken thighs wrapped in streaky bacon.

Big mistake, M&S casserole vegetables. Maybe suited to stews or casserole but not for this dish.

M&S Meditetanean mix suited.

Otherwise potatoes, red onion, red pepper, courgette.

— to be continued–

Pork chops and Hesselback potatoes

Pork chops and Hesselback potatoes served with cauliflower cheese.

Usually I pop pork chop in an oven, maybe surround with roast potatoes, an hour later ready.

A variation on pork chop in Gordon Ramsey Fast Food, only instead of sauce added later, add at the start.

Take small potatoes or slightly larger cut in half. Thinly slice, but not all the way through. Two parallel sticks helps.

A little oil on a roasting tray. Pork chop in the tray, season with salt and pepper, surround with the Hesselback potatoes, drizzle oil on the potatoes.

Now we take to another level.

Finley chop an onion and a garlic clove, into a bowl, add broken pieces of walnuts (I forgot), season with salt and pepper, add olive oil, mix.

We now spoon over our Hesselback potatoes. If spills over onto the pork chops, that is fine, indeed it is what we want.

Finally, sprinkle a tiny amount of herbes de Provence over our pork chops.

Fan oven 150C for an hour.

Cauliflower cheese on a shelf below our pork chops.

A very tasty dish. Cauliflower cheese goes well with Hesselback potatoes, Hesselback potatoes go well with pork chops.

I did make stock, but it was not required.

Cauliflower cheese

Left-overs from cauliflower steak ideal for cauliflower cheese.

Slice off the little florets. Halve, quarter, any that are too big.

Hot pan, olive oil, drop in the cauliflower florets.

Season with salt and pepper.

Add a couple of knobs of butter.

Add a sprinkling of paprika.

Add double cream or extra thick single cream.

Add vintage Lincolnshire Poacher cheese. Save half for later.

If need, add a little milk.

Simmer.

Empty into an oven-proof tray.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

Season with a little salt and pepper.

Fan oven 150C for an hour.

What comes out an hour later, not the creamy white cauliflower cheese familiar with. This is cauliflower cheese taken to another level.

Served to accompany pork chops and Hesselback potatoes.

Loosely based on bacon cauliflower cheese on toast from Ramsay in 10. Also drawn upon mushroom stroganoff.

Bacon cauliflower cheese on toast I will try next.

Afternoon in Lincoln

For several days hard frost in the morning.

Walk and Ride to Lincoln Cathedral.

Not usual driver. Passenger not wearing a mask face in the cab of driver.

Scaffolding being removed from the front of Lincoln Cathedral exposing new stone carvings.

Fish n chips Elite on the Bail.

Walk down Steep Hill.

Espresso at Madame Waffle.

Nottingham mid January

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