Thread 11 - TalkLair: “The candle flame gutters. Its little pool of light trembles.”

[Kucinghitam]

Whoops, missed the filling up of the previous thread! (thread 10).

Although the nights are gradually drawing in, the new lair of JTT escapees is all cosy and homey inside. The hearth is glowing, the walls covered in dubious artwork, books by non-approved authors line the shelves, rugs are down on the floors (and assorted pets curled up on them).

We just won’t mention the gnawed bones of our prey over there in the corner of the cave…

It's a lovely little cafe. Normally daytime only, brunch and cakes, but once a week they do an evening opening with a different theme each month - Korean last month, January will be Sri Lankan. Always really imaginative food.

The funny thing is it's vegan but run by a meat-eating former butcher. Two doors down is a very meat-based restaurant that does this sort of thing - run by a vegan.

Thank you, @SinnerBoy that is really heartening to hear.

This evening I went batshit mental with what I ate. I wanted macaroni cheese which was, of course, out of the question. I still wanted it though so I bought cheapo macaroni cheese from Morrison's. It was microwavable and when it was done ... and beware this is disgusting ... I sucked the cheese sauce off the pasta, which wasn't bloody macaroni anyway, it never is with cheapo shit, and then when I'd done that, I got all the partially burnt bits off the side of the plastic and ate/drank the cheese sauce. I was a disgusting monster, but I did enjoy it. I think I'm going to make some fancy cheese sauce tomorrow and eat that for my dinner. I'll get some good mature cheddar and maybe some parmesan and also use my truffle cheese. I'll probably feel a bit sick but I'm grand with that!

Sounds totally rational to me Mouse.

Bint that menu is wonderful! I would have made a total pig of myself and I'm not even vegetarian!

Just read the festive nights recipe and my god it is lush. I'd probably forgo the sticky toffee pudding but the rest of it, oh yes.

The African night looks good too but as I'm less familiar with the flavours and as there's a lot of curry it would have to be on the milder side for me to be able to eat it. It looks grand though. What a wonderful place to eat. I love that they do a monthly themed night, that's such a good idea.

An excellent plan, Mouse - a multi-cheese version of Tiroler käsesuppe.

That menu looks quite adventurous; I'm a veggie, but I have no idea whether I'd like it or not. But I'd give it a go!

I've looked up that soup, @BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn and it sounds lush. I shall just call my cheese sauce cheese soup!

Bint's menu looks irresistibly delicious, I would inhale every course (and I'm a carnivore!).

I also love the idea of a cheese soup!

That menu looks facinating. Strangely, though, I didn't find it appetising. I've found many food items seem over-complicated to me these days, and yearn for simple things done well. But then, I'm the kind of old curmudgeon that dislikes bits in his cheese too.

But - ! We found a terrific Indian restaurant in Formby last week where I had the very best masala dosas ever. They were huge, very thin, perfect amount of crispy. Bowl of sambar, cocnut chutney and tamarind something, about eight quid each. We actually spent much more than that because we didn't realise what splendid specimen dosas we were going to have, and foolishly ordered some curries and some samosas too. The samosas where pyramids of crispy pastry and pretty substantial too; not the usual triangles of meh, usually accompanied by equally meh spring rolls.

We're off for a family meal there again on Thursday.

That Indian street food place notwithstanding, restaurant prices seem to have just about doubled since covid, I reckon. We were at a birthday do at a Chinese place last night, and it was pretty good, esp the duck pancakes, but the prices...! It doesn't seem more than a year or two since a single dish was around 5-7 quid; now they're all around 12 quid, and this was in a markedly indifferent place.

Yeah, the crispy duck was good, buy £27 for a half? Does that seem high?

£18 for a half and £29 for a whole one around here (East Kent coast) so yes, that seems high to me. Prices did go up after Covid, until they realised that people don't have any more money and moderated their expectations!

I've just bought two persimmons. How are you supposed to eat them?

I just cut them into segments. The whole thing is edible (apart from the sepals).

Khourman in Mrs. Sinner's language; you just eat them like apples. Cutting into neat segments is much less messy, of course.

Thanks both, I'm looking forward to trying them.

I love persimmons!

Also love the look of that festive menu and would wolf it all down despite not really liking celeriac or jerusalem artichokes. I like simple food with great ingredients cooked really well but I also like fancy. I’m vegetarian but often favour vegan in nice restaurants.

This morning the two sycamore trees in the gardens beyond mine were full of magpies. There are often a few around but today there was a big gathering (maybe twenty). Also in the trees, two pigeons and two larger black birds (crows, I guess, but couldn’t see them clearly).

I've wondered about those noisy gatherings of corvids. What are they talking about? We say 'It's like a goddamned town meeting!'.

Just had a Zoom with my twin brother, who is working abroad and we haven't had the chance to catch up for a month, so now feeling very pleased. He's in France and he was describing all the fabulous boulangeries and delicatessens and what have you, where he's staying. They sound amazing.

Boulangerie is such a great word. It even sounds tasty!

Edible words, that would be interesting!

I'll swap your celeriac and jerusalem artichoke dishes for my cauliflower cheese and pudding.

Deal!

You know those posters on lampposts asking you to look out for missing cats? Well, one appeared in the village today with the most brilliant photo of a strikingly handsome catten emerging from the door of a washing machine with an expression of utter outrage: How very dare you disturb me? I generally have a good look at those photos, just in case, but they are mostly unmemorable. I am absolutely confident that if I come across this particular cat I will recognise him.

So, I had a minor miracle happen this evening. Today I bought some ready meals called Little Dish. They are ready meals for children, toddlers I'm guessing. After yesterday's experiment with the macaroni and cheese, I thought I'd give them a go. It was two for a fiver so I bought a macaroni and cheese (proper small bits of macaroni, probably smaller than usual) and a fish pie. Tonight I decided to try the fish pie thinking I'd probably be able to deal with the mash (carrot and potato) and the sauce. I heated it up, had a bite and remembered that children's food is horribly under seasoned so added lots of salt and pepper and went back to the food. I had no idea how small the bits of fish were going to be, I could hardly even tell they were there other than by the taste. I ate it ALL! ALL! Obviously, as it's a meal for toddlers it was really small but the perfect size for me. I ate proper food. Mushed up food, yes, but an actual fish pie! I'm so happy. Tomorrow I will try the macaroni cheese. I feel like my life just got that little bit better. It wasn't straightforward. I ate very slowly and had to stop every so often to make sure the last bite I'd taken was going down properly but it was worth it just to eat like a normal person. I'm going to stock up on the Little Dish meals because hallelujah, I ate food!

Hurrah!