TweetHere is how I made ghee, or clarified butter, from good quality unsalted Cornish butter made by Trewithen Dairy, near Lostwithiel in Cornwall. Sometimes mass-produced ghee that you get in those vicious cans taste a little rancid and top-quality ghee can cost a lot of money. For example, a small jar (less than 1lb or [...]
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Making paneer
TweetLast week I attempted my first home cheese by making paneer (Indian cottage cheese) from Cornish whole milk. 3 litres whole milk c.80ml lemon juice 1 square muslin or cheese cloth (c.30cm sq.) In a heavy-bottomed non-stick pan gently bring the milk to a boil. As it starts to break bubbles on the surface, stir [...]
Learning the 5-string banjo pt 3: My banjo practice
Tweet The best pleasure of learning a new instrument is actually beholding the thing itself. Even as a total beginner it was very important for me to choose an instrument I would love holding, looking at and appreciating its finer details. And this is a great motivator for practice. My banjo practices are irregular at [...]
Learning the 5-string banjo pt 2: Choosing what to learn
Tweet You can have a lot of fun researching, choosing and then buying your banjo. I certainly did. I also enjoyed joining the banjo fraternity/sorority at Banjo Hangout and I even joined the Banjo Player’s Union. I too have my 2011 special edition t-shirt and stickers, which I love. But none of the cosiness of [...]
Food and drink in Lombardy
TweetAs soon as I arrived on a late morning in March in the medieval city of Bergamo (Bergamo set on flickr), high up on a hill, the rain having washed its tiled and pebbled streets and the ochery renders of the Renaissance and Baroque buildings, food and drink were not far from my thoughts. It [...]
Dancing the way to livening up this blog
TweetThis blog has become stale, and a little dull, even to me. Train stories and socio-political goings on are all very well – and I have a lot to say about them – but I have become somewhat bored so I am going to try and start blogging about different things. I would like to [...]
Birdie Radio!
TweetWhile I lament the loss of several DAB radio stations, including Oneword, I was tickled to find that instead you can listen to birdsong – literally. Twist your DAB radio knob until you find the station, also called Birdsong. Birdsong was broadcasted when Oneword went off air. It was originally used for the test transmission [...]
White Nancy
Tweet One of my favourite cheeses. Newly discovered at Salisbury Farmers’ Market, White Lake Cheeses of Shepton Mallet specialise in excelling themselves in cheesecraft of the highest calibre. From their 600 goats, amongst which British Alpines, Toggenburgs, Saanens and Nubians the milk is tranformed into this most brilliant of foods.
Lemons, Amalfi
Tweet Lemons, Amalfi Originally uploaded by courgettelawn. Having had a very lemony dinner, it reminded me of the lemons I met in Amalfi last year. These were being sold in one of the local green grocers. Amalfitan lemons are too big to hold comfortably in the hand but the feel of their knarled skins sends [...]
