Got flu ? Reach for the Green Chartreuse…

Don’t risk the overcrowded surgery, try this secret remedy. A measure of green chartreuse well diluted with hot water and sipped over half an hour. Recommended to me by my sister who was advised by the qualified practitioners at Peatlings in Bury. The French liqueur has been made by Carthusian monks since the 1700′s and contains 132 different herbs, but don’t bother looking for it in a supermarket, go to the wine doctor.

Wine lists on i pads

In the New York Times (yes, I’m that kind of girl…) I have just read an article about restaurants listing their wine lists on i pads and increasing sales by vast amounts. This is because people choose on average more expensive wines than they would from a tatty old book, perhaps because they can see much more information about the wine than usual and can cross reference things like the grape or the area. How long before that comes to Suffolk eh?

My bank holiday breakfast…

…was made wearing my new apron.

Elderflower Cordial

GCSE’s over for this week, so time to show Danielle how to make elderflower cordial. The flowers are fantastic at the moment and have picked them while the sun is out – as recommended by others. No citric acid though so will add lemon juice and hope for the best, whatever happens this is going to be a lot cheaper then buying it in the shops.

 

Flat White has arrived in Bury

For years I have been trying to establish the name for the coffee I like  – strong espresso with hot milk, no froth and not too big.  It’s not a capuccino or a latte or even a machiata… at the Earls Court restaurant show they said it was a ‘Bloody Akward’. But then I heard about Flat Whites and today I tried my first one in BSE! It’s at Costa and costs £2.25 - more than any of the others on sale. I asked the server why? She told me it requires 3 shots of coffee and a special technique to pour it so it’s ultra smooth; not because it is the newest thing on the market. Mine was delicious – but still too milky and far too big.

The sloe gin is good…and reviews that are bad.

Tasted my sloe gin over Christmas – very nice.

Some people have asked why I don’t put bad reviews on here? Because there are too many restaurants serving ordinary or worse food – that’s why. I could write something about mediocre food every day - the tiny overcooked overpriced portion of sea bass I had at a Bury hotel, or disgusting local Chinese takeaway or cheese on toast made with sliced white bread topped with a plastic wrapped cheese slice and melted in the microwave – I’ve had all of these. But I want to celebrate good food and hope that sooner or later you will tell me where it is. If you’re not on here it’s because I haven’t been there or I have, and it isn’t any good.

Sloes – but am I too fast?

An abundance of huge dusky purple sloes in the hedge at my sisters house – they are so big I am not sure if they are sloes or damsons? They have the sloe mouth-puckering taste but am I supposed to wait until there has been a frost to pick them?  I dug up some of the artichokes last week because the leaves were yellow and dying – although I know its a bit early - I couldn’t wait to look at them as it’s the first time I’ve grown them, they were big and bright white, but had no flavour at all. Apparently they need frost too, I could put them in the freezer…? I  have a nearly empty bottle of gin so gather enough sloes to fill it, prick them all over, add sugar and a cheap bottle of gin from Elmswell Co-op and we’ll wait and see.