THE PRESSURE IS ON

It was not until I posted last nights blog that I realised I had passed my two hundredth blog, I can not believe that I have kept going this long. I suspect that I haver become rather repetitive by now but hey, that,s life folks. I must admit I often wish I had something really amazing to tell you occasionally, the trouble is that amazing occurrences are, more often that not of an unpleasant nature so I shall keep quiet and not tempt fate.

My son was fitted with his stress recorder this morning as planned. We were expecting something a little more high tec than a rather ancient arm band, which apparently is supposed to inflate every hour and record the blood pressure on a small black box, it all looked a bit Heath Robinson to me, and every hour makes a sound that resembles terminal flatulence,but what do I know? Thankfully it does not appear to have disturbed the poor boy's sleep so that,s a mercy. I still say that it seems silly to cause the patient undue stress to see if he suffers....from stress!
I am now under starters orders for the last few hectic baking days before the holiday. I suppose I am under pressure too but even so I enjoy the challenge, I should be lost if I had no one to cook for, I should have to resort to dragging total strangers in off the street and load them up with mince pies and short bread!

I went to but some wine today, a lovely Chardonnay to go with the turkey and a rich Merlot for the feast of roast beef. Our beef is served on large trenchers of two day old bread, all the juices are absorbed in to the trencher and the over all effect is great fun. I always cook a huge joint of nose end of brisket, not the awful bone and rolled stuff that the supermarkets peddle but still on the bone and with all the fat left on. A twelve pound joint takes about five or six hours of slow roasting and for the first three and a half hours the meat is covered in foil and cooked in about a pint and a half of water to keep the meat moist. After that the juices are poured off and the meat is then cooked until crisp on the out side while remaining juicy in the middle.. During the final stage of cooking the roasting pan will fill with wonderful beef dripping, enough to do your roast potatoes for weeks, or if you wish it can be spread on hot toast and sprinkled with a little salt of even brown sugar. If you try this make sure you put plenty of the brown jelly which forms at the bottom of the dish on your toast with just a little of the fat. I imagine that at this point all the health fanatics well have run screaming from their computer terminals and I shall be branded a villain by the cholesterol police, so be it! Coincidently a joint of this size will cost less than a quarter of the price charged for a fore rib roast and it tastes better.

I made a batch of sultana scones this afternoon, I have not made any for ages and I did enjoy them.
Dinner tonight was a quick dish of Spanish chicken with assorted salads and wraps, this was at the request of both my son and Pa, I was happy to oblige.
My little cat twiggy now has a permanent winter roost on the bedroom window sill. She has discovered that she has a much better view of the garden and the lane than she gets down stairs with the added bonus of a large radiator to toast her little pink paws upon. She finished of the last of the partridge this morning , she adores any kind of game. When she had finished she washed her face and went to sleep, since when she has not so much as twitched a whisker, lazy creature.
I think that even a sleepy cat is fine company, a fire burns warmer and a room is always cosier when a contented cat is disporting itself upon the softest chair or on the hearth rug.

I hear that the snow is returning on Thursday, keep warm , if you can and stay safe,