Monday, September 28, 2009
Good days and bad days
Being a bit short of cooker space the other day, I thought I would try a one ring version of the usually reliable lentil soup. So cook up the lentils in the usual way. About half an hour before consumption, add some carrot. And then, instead of doing onion and bacon in butter, separately, and adding in at the end, just put the onion and some chopped Cheam ham straight in with the carrots, thus saving one ring. Product quite eatable but not as good as the regular version. Texture slightly grainy, presumably because there was less fat to smooth things down. Ham did not do as well as bacon. Bacon comes thicker and fatter and cooks to a loose but lumpy texture with a strong taste. The ham was too firm and just stayed as what looked like pink flecks in the soup without all that much taste - despite having a good strong taste in sandwiches. Nevertheless, despite defects, FIL thought it was OK and we finished it off at the third time of asking this lunchtime. Although I should say that on the third and last occasion I saw fit to gee it up by adding the left over brussels sprouts from yesterday.
Brussels sprouts which tasted fine but which were quite small and and reasonable proportion had bugs in their base - despite their not having been sold as organic. Bugs cut out OK but this did slow down preparation by approximately 37%.
And today two issues from Cheam. First, I get to the baker to find out that there are no white bloomers left, small or large. So I settle for a slightly dearer round loaf with a sort of large brown star baked into the top of it. Looked OK. Not stale, but no good at all for cold shoulder of lamb sandwiches. A bit dry without the slightly rubbery texture of properly cooked bloomers. Odd how much difference it made. Somewhat annoyed, being rather fond of cold roast sandwiches. The bread would probably have done much better as an accompaniment to soup or cheese. Must make mental note.
Second, off to the greengrocer for some salad for lunch. Very chatty greengrocer at the till, chatting away through the whole transaction. Discussing, as it happens, the weakness in my memory bank whereby if a shop on a high street is changed, within a week or so I don't usually have an idea what it was before. But by the time I had loaded the salad up and got to the traffic lights, I thought that I had paid about twice as much as I ought to have done. Maybe £15 instead of £7.50. Being so full of chat, I just paid without thinking. Three alternatives. One, yet another senior moment. Did not pay £15 at all, and for some dubious, Freudian reason I am making it all up in the subconscious. Two, the chatty greengrocer made an innocent mistake. Three, the chatty greengrocer likes to try it on from time to time. To pit her wits against the customer. Fairly low risk, as if she is pulled up, she just flusters about a silly mistake. And then does not try the same game on the same customer for a while. Now I have no idea which of the three alternative apply so I don't go back. People get quite touchy about money mistakes. But it leaves me feeling a bit cross. Must remember to keep an eye on the bill. The same sort of thing used to happen in TB from time to time. One thought one had been short changed - change for a £10 note instead of change from a £20 note being the usual wheeze - but not sure enough to challenge. Then one remembered for a while to keep an eye on the change. Eagle eyed staff soon worked out when the guard had dropped and off we go again. Not a lot of money but irritating to have people taking advantage in this way. Generally speaking, if I am overchanged and notice, I return the extra.
# posted by Jim @ 8:19 AM 
