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I've just roasted (well, dry-fried) coffee beans for the first time. The beans are currently cooling, but I think I had the hob heat too high, as the results are visually a little uneven.
 
The tasting's the thing, though. 

 

Oh my, that's one hell of a brew! A little over-roasted for my taste, but incredibly aromatic.

 

More practice will make for better and more even roasts in future.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Second attempt at coffee roasting/frying. I started on medium heat, then raised the temperature in two steps 'til the husks started cracking.

 

I also used a very thick-bottomed saucepan, to even out the heat distribution and stirred the beans more than I did last time. A much more consistent-looking result.

 

This batch will get its first grind for tomorrow morning's cuppa - I will report back.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Depends on the size of the shop. The larger ones have a very good and varied wine section. Not sure about the beer, and the spirits are a mixture of own-brand and major brands. 

 

The food (both fresh produce and ready-meals) tends to be of good quality and the packaging will say if its freezable or not. 

M&S Simply Food stores do some really good quality beers. Cheap they ain't though.

"I'm from a fishing family. Trawlermen are like pirates with biscuits." - Lucy Beaumont.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Ox cheek, cooked in a roasting bag in the slow cooker with the standard mirepoix mix (plus smoked garlic and three crushed juniper berries). Very easy, very tasty, extremely cheap.

 

I served it with chunky sweet potato chips/fries and horseradish mayonnaise. I was going to steam some green beans, but forgot 'til it was too late. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. I will eat something healthy tomorrow*, okay?

 

I brought a knife to the table, but the meat was so tender it wasn't used. 

 

*yeah, right; I just bought a haggis! 

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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  • 3 weeks later...

Been meaning to post this for a while. If you have a Lidl nearby and you're a wine drinker, I would urge you to check out their Spring Wine Collection. There are some exceptional wines. A white from Tokaji Furmint that isn't a desert wine (traditionally associated with the region) is particularly good. Two Australian Cabernet Sauvignons (Coonawarra & Margaret River) which at only £6.49 are frankly better than any reds I have had for under £50. An Australian Clare Valley Riesling is also exceptional. A New Zealand Syrah at a slightly more expensive £8.99 is also outstanding.

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Been meaning to post this for a while. If you have a Lidl nearby and you're a wine drinker, I would urge you to check out their Spring Wine Collection. There are some exceptional wines. A white from Tokaji Furmint that isn't a desert wine (traditionally associated with the region) is particularly good. Two Australian Cabernet Sauvignons (Coonawarra & Margaret River) which at only £6.49 are frankly better than any reds I have had for under £50. An Australian Clare Valley Riesling is also exceptional. A New Zealand Syrah at a slightly more expensive £8.99 is also outstanding.

Lidl is a bit of a frustrating shop for me. As the crow flies, my nearest branch is actually quite close, but a park, a reservoir and some convoluted streets in between make a trip there a longer journey than I fancy most of the time.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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I'm currently a bit broke so am working my way through my collection of emergency tins.

 

Boeuf Bourgignon budget style...

 

Two tins of stewed steak

 

One tin of new potatoes

 

One tin of petit pois and mini carrots

 

Smoked lardons

 

Thyme

 

Salt and pepper

 

Crushed garlic

 

Big splash of red

 

Slap it all in a pan and heat.

 

Served with home made bread.

 

Will last me three / four days by the look of it.  Tastes just the right side of ordinary.

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I'm currently a bit broke so am working my way through my collection of emergency tins.

Boeuf Bourgignon budget style...

Two tins of stewed steak

One tin of new potatoes

One tin of petit pois and mini carrots

Smoked lardons

Thyme

Salt and pepper

Crushed garlic

Big splash of red

Slap it all in a pan and heat.

Served with home made bread.

Will last me three / four days by the look of it. Tastes just the right side of ordinary.

And I always imagine you hunting wild boar in the garrigue Tim.

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And I always imagine you hunting wild boar in the garrigue Tim.

I was surprised when the Bears visited Toulouse last month.

There we were in the home of Haute Cuisine and all the food outlets specialised in English food....

Kebabs,Pizza,Indian, Chinese....

Ron Banks

Midlands Hurricanes and Barrow

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I was surprised when the Bears visited Toulouse last month.

There we were in the home of Haute Cuisine and all the food outlets specialised in English food....

Kebabs,Pizza,Indian, Chinese....

 

 

Tragic. There was a period about 20 years ago when buying M&S ready meals was de rigour amongst 30 something metropolitan French yuppies.  About the same time, French farmers were driving tractors through the windows of MacDonalds'. I know whose side I was on!

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Lidl is a bit of a frustrating shop for me. As the crow flies, my nearest branch is actually quite close, but a park, a reservoir and some convoluted streets in between make a trip there a longer journey than I fancy most of the time.

 

Lidl's is my nearest supermarket, but due to budget restraints, I do a shopping list & stick to it. Lidl's does not always have all the herbs I want & have to trundle up to Asda, or Sainsbury's. Their Aussie Chardonnay is £3.49, 12.5%, and is good enough for cooking. Their meat is the best of the supermarkets in Hastings/St. Leonards-on-Sea area, apart from the butchers in Queens Arcade, & Kings Rd. I don't rate the butchers on Norman Rd at all.

 

Queens arcade also have game, and Kangeroo, & Venison, plus some great "home-made" sausages.

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Lidl's is my nearest supermarket, but due to budget restraints, I do a shopping list & stick to it. Lidl's does not always have all the herbs I want & have to trundle up to Asda, or Sainsbury's. Their Aussie Chardonnay is £3.49, 12.5%, and is good enough for cooking. Their meat is the best of the supermarkets in Hastings/St. Leonards-on-Sea area, apart from the butchers in Queens Arcade, & Kings Rd. I don't rate the butchers on Norman Rd at all.

Queens arcade also have game, and Kangeroo, & Venison, plus some great "home-made" sausages.

Lidl have very recently widened their range of fresh herbs. On the subject of fresh herbs, why is it so difficult to get chervil?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Salted liquorice. Interesting.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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  • 4 weeks later...

I had lunch here today. Imaginative and tasty recipes (check the menus), and decent sized servings too. We intended to eat at the excellent Caravan (next door), but we would have had to wait for a table.

 

Nice to see the chef, Bruno Loubet, working in the open kitchen, too. I understand that the way a modern restaurant works doesn't require the star to be constantly present, but there he was, making tortellini. Gave us a nod and a smile as we left, too - he looked like a contented man.

Edited by Futtocks

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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  • 3 weeks later...
Christ, why has buying proper pork scratchings become such a lottery these days? 

 

If I don't know the brand, I don't bother unless the bag's transparent, because I've had too many disappointments of late. There seems to be a trend towards crispy puffed skin dusted in flavourings, instead of proper hard scratchings with a layer of fat.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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  • 4 weeks later...
Ribs tonight, for the Football. A dry rub applied, before refrigerating overnight. Then 1 hour in the slow cooker unadorned, 2 hours with sauce on and 15 minutes in a hot oven (with a bit more sauce) to get 'em sticky all over and crisp at the edges. There's some black treacle and liquid smoke in the sauce, in addition to my usual ingredients.

 

Ribs_zpsadqf8g1b.jpg

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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pork scratchings with fat here. Hope me gnashers hold up

Pork scratchings without fat are not pork scratchings; they're chicharrones at best, and tasteless puffy disappointments dusted with artificial flavourings most of the time.

 

There ought to be a EU correct nomenclature directive about... oh.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Pork scratchings without fat are not pork scratchings; they're chicharrones at best, and tasteless puffy disappointments dusted with artificial flavourings most of the time.

 

There ought to be a EU correct nomenclature directive about... oh.

They was called Q from black country snacks, very nice too

Caught by a feckin speed camera. try these I did and it saved me a heap o money and penalty points.

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  • 2 months later...

In the slow cooker for tonight, a couple of lamb neck fillets with shallots, chervil, English mustard and garlic. All inside a roasting bag, to keep in all the flavours.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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In the slow cooker for tonight, a couple of lamb neck fillets with shallots, chervil, English mustard and garlic. All inside a roasting bag, to keep in all the flavours.

Mmm I'll be round in 30, I'll bring wine

"Freedom without socialism is privilege and injustice, socialism without freedom is slavery and brutality" - Mikhail Bakunin

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Mmm I'll be round in 30, I'll bring wine

Too late, I scoffed the lot.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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