Pirate gloves

Another knitting project finally complete.
Blue striped 'pirate' fingerless gloves for the freezing winter at the castle. Woolly for cold and fingerless for artefact handling. Stripes don't match tho, I haven't done stripes before.
Cheat's glove method...forget that annoying knitting in the round etc. Knit flat in 2x2 rib for wrist then stocking stitch then 2x2 rib for finger hole end cast off in stretch cast off. Knit thumb separately in rib and sew the hand and thumb together after.
Next project: a woolly headband with odd knitted flowers, for ear warming.

Paris eating

Sweet Things to eat in Paris....
I always try to eat food from the country where I'm staying and try different things. I'm not the most adventurous but these are some of the puddings I really enjoyed.....

Teeny chewy Macaroons (come in about a billion flavours)
Floating Islands (wierd yet addictive dessert of big ball of soft meringue floating on custard)
Caramel Brioche (brioche bread and butter pudding with fudgy caramel sauce, stodgetastic)
Rum Baba (actually just a bready cake absolutely swimming in dark rum)

Feel that sugar rush. Life is good.

Paris 1

Warning...unreasonable amount of Paris related blogging about to appear. First, I thought I'd share some of my favourite Paris places to see/shop/eat from this trip.

We stayed at the Aviatic Hotel near Montparnasse, a small traditional B&B (depuis 1856) with a Charming Hotel Award 2008. All fab apart from the noisy plumbing (also I suspect depuis 1856).

Fave Museums include the Musee Cluny (medieval art in an amazing medieval/Roman townhouse) Musee Guimet (Oriental collections including statues from Angkor Wat) Musee Carnavalet (history of Paris and pretty period rooms in a historic townhouse in the Marais).

Fave Parks are Jardin de Luxembourg (tree lined avenues around a luxurious palace and not too many tourists) Place des Vosges (small park in lovely 1600s square).

Nice shopping at Shakespeare and Co (classic English language bookshop opposite Notre Dame) Le Bon Marche (classy department store on left bank) Monuments of Paris Bookshop (in Hotel Sully, wonderful art, architecture, design, food books sadly French language only, in rooms with original painted ceilings).

Enjoyed eating at Hippopotamous (Steak'n'Frites chain but great food quite cheaply) Relais d'le Entrecote (famous steak house with no menu choice but amazing steak and wines) Montparnasse 1900 (classic restaurant with lovely Belle Epoque decor, traditional food and a very kind Japanese waiter) Le Pre Verre (fusion food in a traditional bistro).

A Brief Technical Interlude

I'm known and reviled by many people I know as a complete Luddite. Until now I had moved no nearer the white heat of recording technology than the video recorder......discount section of Asda Ashton-under-Lyne circa year 2003.
However, I would like to say how fantastic my new HDD Hard drive recorder/DVD player is. So easy, with menus like on a computer, no 24 hour clock or channel selection doofers. It's like an Ipod for your TV.
I suppose the companies love it cos you can't share the recordings, but DVDs are very cheap these days and there's Iplayer.
Now I need to buy all my favourite obscure films on DVD though......I suspect no joy with Fantasia or Scaramouche. Maybe I'm getting old or cynical but technology seems to be accelerating madly now which is A) scary B) brilliant C) expensive....!

Secret Ingredients.....

Every cook has a secret ingredient, which you can add to fairly bog standard things to make them more interesting/tasty......

Mine is:

"Geo Watkins Mushroom Ketchup. This rich mushroom ketchup was the secret of success of many Victorian cooks in making steak and kidney pies and puddings, roast meats, sauces, and soups. Try it on traditional cuisine or as a new flavor to modern cooking. (This is not a ketchup as Americans think of it, but closer to the ketchups which were used in the 1800's. Its consistency is more like a sauce.) "

Great in stews, chillis etc for a meaty flavour. I originally bought it because it has fantastic retro packaging.

Also Alistair's favourite...Tabasco Sauce.

Highly Recommended: OXO cubes, Ketjap Manis (Indonesian soy sauce...it's sweeter) a pinch of sugar (good with winey/beery stews) Mirin (a sweet Japanese cooking wine).

Strange Bread

A top tip:

Do not, as often advocated, try to 'relax' by making bread. I thought my arm would die from the kneading...so I don't think I did it long enough...so my bread was strangely lumpy and dense.

Also I was distracted by How we Built Britain (the C20th the South) with the Hindu Temple in Neasden and the Amazing Granada Cinema Tooting! Must visit..........

Steel Romeos

Suitably fortified after a hairy but ultimately triumphant day of work by...
M&S Beef Wellington
Clos de Riviere 2004
Homemade Tart Mamy

Strongly recommend a brilliant BBC4 programme The Shock of the New.
With sinister black leather clad presenter.
It was one of those progs where you feel brainier after you've seen it.....
Anyway reference technology, war, the new, art, consciousness.
Exhilaratingly intelligent and witty.

If you like this try the fantastic Kenneth Clarke Civilisation
and the Angela Carter book The Infernal Desire Machines of Dr Hoffman.

The Steel Romeos are in the painting The Bride Stripped Bare by her Batchelors Even which is both suggestive and sinister......