Stew

A week or so ago, it was Bastides time again. And since I seem, for some reason, to buy them in pairs, quite possibly the second to the first noticed at reference 1.

More or less the usual drill, with the addition of an orange pepper. And carrying on with the now traditional leavening of small potatoes, in their skins.

A variation was using rice instead of pasta, rice left over, as it happened, from the mackerel of the previous day. Mindful of the rather good rice they serve in the Estrela (with the most recent visit being noticed at reference 2), I thought to spice it up a bit with oregano, carraway seeds and a little oil. Followed by a spell in the microwave.

Right idea and entirely eatable, but it could be improved. Maybe something a bit more eastern? Maybe a touch of something yellow? Further report in due course.

It was a minor Sunday, that is to say worthy of something that warms, but nothing too grand. On this occasion, wine from Majestic and whisky from our local Costcutter, where, somehow, they come very close to the price of the big supermarkets. And they usually have a Guardian in stock. And they sell rather good white rolls, the last sampling of which was noticed at reference 3.

Furthermore, while all this was going on I managed to keep an eye on the manufacture of bread batch No.661, a batch which, as it turned out, turned out rather well. With the current story being that the appearance of the loaves is very sensitive to the duration of the second rise: too little and you don't get a good rise in the oven, too much and you get a collapse in the oven, not always fatal but never good news. All too easy to get diverted by something or other at the crucial time, despite telling oneself that one will pay attention next time. One thing at a time. 

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/08/out-of-sequence.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/09/more-park.html.

Reference 3: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/08/a-trolley-declined.html.