Cheese Review - pt 1

Roquefort - 9/10
Like an oily salty stilton. Aged in caves. Unsettling texture (bat shit?) but spreadable. Very nice.

Bleu D'Auvergne - 9/10
Another bluey, very close to stilton, but milder.

Demi Pont L'eveque - 4/10
One of those gooey French creamy cheeses that smell a bit sweaty. Half of this is rind, which I'm not sure you can eat so went in the bin. Not massively unpleasant but boring processed dairylea tastes better.

Totem Tomatoes

http://www.garden4less.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=xTM269
These produce loads of tomatoes in a small space.

Marrow and Roasted Garlic Soup

from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/3292157/Readersrecipes-marrow.html

• 1 large head of garlic
• 4 fl oz/110ml olive oil
• 1 marrow (mine weighed about 3lb/1.5kg)
• 2oz/60g butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1.5 pints/850ml chicken stock (ideally homemade, otherwise half-strength stock cube)
• Salt and pepper
• 5 fl oz/140ml single cream
• snipped chives (optional)

Heat the oven to 400F/200C/Gas mark 6.

Break the garlic into cloves, leaving on the skins. Put the oil in an ovenproof dish and turn the garlic cloves in it until they are coated. It may seem a lot of oil, but any less and you risk burning the garlic. Roast for 15 minutes. [note: They were a bit overdone when I did this, maybe try 12 mins] Cool slightly, then press out the pulp and mash it. Discard the skin and any hard or coloured bits of garlic. If one or two cloves burst in the oven, they will have to be thrown away, too, unless you can salvage the soft, creamy white part. Strain the oil and use it for other cooking.

While the garlic is cooking, peel, deseed and chop the marrow. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and soften the onion without letting it brown. Add the marrow, stock, garlic pulp, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer gently until the marrow is soft. Cool, liquidise until smooth and sieve. Reheat gently, without boiling, and stir in the cream [Note: Don't overdo it! + if freezing any, do before adding cream]. Scatter on a few chives before serving if you like.

Jolokia comparison

Jolokia chilli comparison

Easy Courgette Recipe

From www.twowests.co.uk/weblog/archives/2006/07/growing_courget.html

"What you do with large courgettes is you cut them lengthwise in half, scrape out the seed and seed fiber with a spoon. Then you get some tomatoes and onions or salsa, or precooked rice, or anything you like cept peanut butter and you stuff the hollwed out inside of your courgette. Then you add olive oil or butter if you insist to your stuffing as a drizzle and then you put the other half back on top and bake at about 375F for about 45 minutes or until its done. Its done when poking it with a fork is really easy. You have enough courgette to feed about 4 people if its 12 inches long and you stuffed it astutely so what you do is ask some friends over who like wine and tell them to bring something you have never tasted before. You then drink wine and have supper and drink more wine. A proper ale is okay too but it is illegal to have stuffed courgette with an american brand of beer."

Big Fish, Little Fish, Cardboard Box

...is a dance to this tune

Used a lot at UK holiday camps (eg. Haven, Park Resorts).
Quite surreal when you've had a few drinks.

This is how you do the first part of the dance - link
Here's Bob the Builder's version - lyrics altered though (shame!)

60s dance crazes illustrated

http://www.sixtiescity.com/Culture/dance.shtm

Arthur Worsley - Ventriloquist

Arthur Worsley - Ventriloquist act - via WFMU

Veg soup recipe

Veg soup recipe

Makes 4-6 bowls

* Splash of Olive Oil

* 1 Onion, finely chopped

* 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

* 1 celery stick and/or carrot, chopped

* 1kg vegetables (cooked or uncooked), chopped

* about 1.5L vegetable stock or water

* salt and pepper

- Heat oil in a large pan, add the Onion, garlic and celery and/or carrot and cook gently, covered, for 5 to 7 minutes

- Add the vegetables, stir around and cook for five minutes. Add enough stock Or water just to cover, plus some salt and pepper then simmer gently for 10 minutes, if using cooked vegetables, or about 20 minutes for raw vegetables.

- Allow the soup to cool a little and then blitz to a creamy smoothness with a hand-held blender or in a liquidiser. Adjust the seasoning. Reheat in a clean saucepan to serve.

Chilli Notes

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080211185645AAApyCz

http://www.chillies-down-under.com/pickling-chillies.html

saving chili seeds

http://www.g6csy.net/chile/growing.html

http://www.canningpantry.com/pickling-chili-peppers.html

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070509043514AAlTlqa

Belle Isle Middle School being pulled down

http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=20081016_167554&DISPLAY=FULL

http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=20081016_167556&DISPLAY=FULL

http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=20081016_167559&DISPLAY=FULL

ARMCHAIR THRILLER

ARMCHAIR THRILLER

Gordon Ramsey's Brussel Sprouts

http://www.channel4.com/food/on-tv/cookalong-live/cookalong-live-the-series/week-7/how-to-cook-brussels-sprouts_p_1.html

First make sure you prepare the sprouts properly by trimming the base and removing any grubby outside leaves

Next chop them in half, this makes them prettier to serve and quicker to cook.

Cook the sprouts for 2 minutes in a pan of boiling salted water, lid on. By keeping their time in the water relatively brief, it prevents the sprouts becoming too waterlogged and also preserves their colour.

Make sure you drain the sprouts thoroughly. It’s important to get rid of any excess water so you can sauté the sprouts properly and pick up a bit of colour in the pan.

Drizzle them with olive oil and season with a little salt and pepper.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and when up to temperature tip in the sprouts.

Crush in the garlic and toss to spread evenly through the pan.

Add the butter and cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Letting the butter brown lightly adds a nice, nutty flavour.

Scatter in the flaked almonds and allow them to toast lightly.

Squeeze over a little lemon juice and serve.

CAN Cannibalism

CAN Cannibalism

Mussolini and On Time Trains

snopes.com: Mussolini and On Time Trains

Alexei Sayle Pirate Video

This is from The Alexei Sayle Pirate Video (Springtime, 1982)

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-XL9rGtZ8Uo

Remember getting this out on video at the time. Supposed to be rare now.

Scoville Heat Scale

The Scoville Heat Scale for Chilli Peppers and Hot Sauces
or this one which ranks more chillis

The World's Hottest Chilli, and here

Jim Flora :: Galleries :: Record Covers

Jim Flora :: Galleries :: Record Covers

Spooks Biscuits - DoYouRemember.co.uk forums

Spooks Biscuits - DoYouRemember.co.uk forums

House on the Rock - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

House on the Rock - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia