......... Slow roast belly pork for us tonight - bought from a supermarket that insists on proper housing for the pigs so equivalent to British pork. Much of the European mainland has yet to implement the new standards. .........
I made a trip to Sainsbugs this morning as their tv ad says they'd got a special offer on gammons - Hurrumph! only on Dutch and Danish - there's no way I'd buy it. I went to Waitrose on the way home and bought two large smoked gammon joints - one to take to MIL as part of our contribution to Christmas, and one to keep her and cook for the New Year. They both had long dates on them and look great - and were British bred and reared.
As the daughter of a former pig farmer there's no way I'll buy foreign pork or bacon - their welfare standards are nothing like as good as those in the UK.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Tootles, doesn't matter in the least if your mince pies aren't all matching, what matters is how they taste. And your kitchen definitely beats mine hands down. My tomato soup goes down a treat as well but I think that might have something to do with the red wine and cream I add to it when it's ready to go. Mind you, one or two people have been somewhat horrified when they've seen me pouring in the wine but alcohol is of no interest to me unless it's useful for adding flavour to food.
Now we're stuffed to the gills again - this time chicken thighs, chorizo, sweet peppers, garlic and canellini beans in a smokey paprika and tomato sauce mopped up with lots of garlic bread - think there's enough left for half a dozen more bowls full if anyone's interested, otherwise it's going in the freezer
I've got presents to wrap today, but hopefully I'll find time to make some mince pies to take to my daughter and son in law tomorrow when I take their presents. She's working some long shifts between now and Christmas Eve, so don't suppose she'll have a lot of time for baking.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
OH loves mince pies but I can only get them if I trek to the English store 30 miles or more away and then they're mass produced factory things with far too much pastry. I make mine either open topped with a drizzle of icing or else just a star of pastry which doesn't cover the whole thing.
English class with the scientists today. Theyv'e had mince pies in previous years so I'm trying them with Christmas mini muffins from the BBC Good Food website. They're a mix of mincemeat and dark chocolate and I've already got the mincemeat soaking up some extra brandy........
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
I go to England in November and buy crackers (see family as well though) as they don't sell them in France.
My mince pies looked like yours, Tootles, but without the decoration. 75 were eaten at the Carol Service and 25 I took home. Other people made them too. I wish I knew how Gemma did that.
We are encouraged to buy French meat in France. There is a big pig farm near us. They live in fields with sheds for shelter. In the spring and summer the fields are full of huge sows with lots of babies. The sows lie in the sun and the piglets play.
The pigs are very big, the legs are huge, usually sold in slices.The pork crackling is usually removed. They sell it separately to boil with beans (haricots). I think it's revolting - all soggy, fatty and white. Lots of the eggs here are free range, I only buy free range eggs. The veal calves aren't separated from their mothers, they live in the fields with their mothers, not in barns, so the meat is darker and tougher than the veal I wouldn't eat years ago in England.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
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I made a trip to Sainsbugs this morning as their tv ad says they'd got a special offer on gammons - Hurrumph! only on Dutch and Danish - there's no way I'd buy it. I went to Waitrose on the way home and bought two large smoked gammon joints - one to take to MIL as part of our contribution to Christmas, and one to keep her and cook for the New Year. They both had long dates on them and look great - and were British bred and reared.
As the daughter of a former pig farmer there's no way I'll buy foreign pork or bacon - their welfare standards are nothing like as good as those in the UK.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Tootles, doesn't matter in the least if your mince pies aren't all matching, what matters is how they taste. And your kitchen definitely beats mine hands down. My tomato soup goes down a treat as well but I think that might have something to do with the red wine and cream I add to it when it's ready to go. Mind you, one or two people have been somewhat horrified when they've seen me pouring in the wine but alcohol is of no interest to me unless it's useful for adding flavour to food.
Dove.. maybe they've got an offer on the furrin meat as everybody is buying UK.........
Now we're stuffed to the gills again - this time chicken thighs, chorizo, sweet peppers, garlic and canellini beans in a smokey paprika and tomato sauce mopped up with lots of garlic bread - think there's enough left for half a dozen more bowls full if anyone's interested, otherwise it's going in the freezer
Well, that'd be really good
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Tootles, you shouldn't leave those out on the forum when I'm around..
... I only took one, really it was only the one, (so far) ...delicious
GemmaJF - how on earth did you do that?!! I had to take a second, third and fourth look!
Thanks DorsetUk. I like the sound of your Tommy Soup recipe. Right up my street!
Just trying to muster up the energy to go to work - I'd rather be baking and gardening.
I've got presents to wrap today, but hopefully I'll find time to make some mince pies to take to my daughter and son in law tomorrow when I take their presents. She's working some long shifts between now and Christmas Eve, so don't suppose she'll have a lot of time for baking.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
OH loves mince pies but I can only get them if I trek to the English store 30 miles or more away and then they're mass produced factory things with far too much pastry. I make mine either open topped with a drizzle of icing or else just a star of pastry which doesn't cover the whole thing.
English class with the scientists today. Theyv'e had mince pies in previous years so I'm trying them with Christmas mini muffins from the BBC Good Food website. They're a mix of mincemeat and dark chocolate and I've already got the mincemeat soaking up some extra brandy........
I go to England in November and buy crackers (see family as well though) as they don't sell them in France.
My mince pies looked like yours, Tootles, but without the decoration. 75 were eaten at the Carol Service and 25 I took home. Other people made them too. I wish I knew how Gemma did that.
We are encouraged to buy French meat in France. There is a big pig farm near us. They live in fields with sheds for shelter. In the spring and summer the fields are full of huge sows with lots of babies. The sows lie in the sun and the piglets play.
The pigs are very big, the legs are huge, usually sold in slices.The pork crackling is usually removed. They sell it separately to boil with beans (haricots). I think it's revolting - all soggy, fatty and white. Lots of the eggs here are free range, I only buy free range eggs. The veal calves aren't separated from their mothers, they live in the fields with their mothers, not in barns, so the meat is darker and tougher than the veal I wouldn't eat years ago in England.