AspiringLuddite @AspiringLuddite@medievalist.masto.host

Behind our street is a berm or dike between the buildings and the relief channel for the river. A week or two ago, as part of construction work next door, the vegetation was stripped off of berm behind that lot. We were worried that this would mean our local hedgehog, David, would stop visiting since their route into our garden was on that side.

Happily, last night David showed up again!

Back in the 70s, we had HBO for a while because the signal wasn't scrambled and my dad built a satellite dish out of a metal sled and a coffee can.

The other month we pulled it down from the loft above the garage, and I took a picture of it.

The tomatoes are in!

And the sage, well, it's a beast.

My new cheese press is here.

Here are some cats.

This is our horseshoe raised bed from last week. In the back left is tarragon, down center are the chives (some flowering), front right is the rocket, and behind that is rosemary.

It is that time of year ...

After 18 days in the box, the sausage is down from ~950 gm to ~500 gm. Which means it's edible and, happily enough, pretty good.

Yesterday was my first time back in the office since ... hmm ... 24 December. So it was the first time I had my rings on since then, so I don't put them on if I'm not leaving the house.

They're good rings.

The headcheese turned out very well. The broth/gelatine is a little darker than usual because I leaned into the nutmeg on the spicing. Good even without mustard!

Also - made spätzle yesterday for the first time, using the knife-and-board method.

Pretty good result, I think.

The fox was back last night.

Tuesday, mushroom and onion pizza. For those playing at home, that means we've still got the courgettes. There would be no box this week since we would be away, and a plan was in place for the courgettes.

Courgette parmigiana!

Sunday, BLT sandwiches! Toms from the garden, bacon from the shops, lettuce from the box.

Monday, I made black pudding with buckwheat rather than barley, and stuffed the red pepper with it. I also stuffed some of the onion tubes from that giant from the garden.

Look at this magnificent fellow from our garden! That's an onion not a leek, and those greens at the top are hollow. That's peak performance, that is, and the inspiration for a meal to come.We also had tomatoes from our garden, which were in the sandwiches we had Thursday

Saturday, if I remember rightly, I decided to take some of the young sauerkraut and make frittery things. My notes suggest leftover pork to go with.

As we often do, we had pasta on the Wednesday, with a side salad using some of the lettuce, and tomatoes from our garden. For Thursday we decided on toasted cheese and tomato sandwiches. Some cabbage and carrots would go to coleslaw and the rest to sauerkraut for later.

Friday we opted for a gratin with sweet potato, cod, and onions. And speaking of onions ...

The 'red onion squash' looked perfect for stuffing. Coconut milk rice with poached fish, roasted broccolli and onions, and the roasted squash seeds. The rest of the coconut milk went into a curry sauce.

We finish out the week with jacket potatoes topped with leftover chili; and a skillet dinner with all the remaining veg (cabbage, carrots, broccoli stems, onions) roasted, then put on the hob topped with egg and cheese. (3/3)

To mix things up, I made cornbread with added whole sweetcorn and jalapenos. Served with pork chili - the leftovers of which will appear later ...

Also one of our favourites which we haven't done in a while - rice noodles with Thai(ish) peanut sauce, blanched cabbage and carrots, and a few tomatoes from the garden. (2/3)

Menu planning thread!
Menu planning thread ... the Riverford box last week contained sweetcorn, potatoes, onions, carrots, red onion squash, savoy cabbage, red pepper, and broccolli. That gave us some interesting options for the week's menus ...

We hadn't done pizza in a while, so the red pepper went to that, along with onions, some pepperoncini peppers, and a bit of what was on sale labelled 'Germam [sic] pepper salami.' (1/3)

Roast veggie burritos - roasted carrots, onions, and potatoes. Homemade salsa, plain yogurt, and pickled jalapenos.

the rest of the potatoes go to Syracuse style salt potatoes. I took some belly pork slices, hit them with my usual dry rub mix,and let them go low-and-slow. Broccolli florets will go in the oven for the last while to finish the meal. (3/4)