I’m away until October, gallivanting around Las Vegas and Phoenix in search of the perfect meal. I plan on blogging a very little (if at all), and I’ll be on Twitter a minimal amount too. I’ll be picking up emails as usual (and a friend is staying in our house while we’re away, so burglars beware).
What else? I have to thank the guys at Charlie Bigham’s, who sent me a week’s worth of ready meals which coincided very nicely with Dr W’s absence of a week (he’s starting an MBA, his existing MA and PhD not being sufficient, as far as he is concerned). I moved from sceptical to stuffed in one meal. I am not really a ready-meal person, but these are as close as I can imagine such a thing getting to a meal you’ve cooked yourself, and kept me very nicely fed for a lonely week. (I hate cooking for one. I always end up eating too much, and most of the fun for me is in having someone else to enjoy what I’ve cooked.) A hearty recommend in particular for the little 1-person pies. Now, these things are pricey – the lamb parcels in filo, which I particularly enjoyed, rocked up at £10 when I looked for them at Waitrose – but if you’re looking for something swanky to feed to last-minute visitors when you don’t have time to cook, I don’t think you’ll find much better.
I’ve also got a new camera – an Olympus Pen E-P1, which I have fallen hopelessly in love with. So far, only the peach and papaya jam post has been illustrated using it, but I’m amazed at how much better my pictures are turning out (the photos accompanying this post were all taken as I pootled around the village with it the other day). It’s exactly right for me – a four-thirds body means it’s smaller and lighter, so more portable than a DSLR, but it’ll still take interchangeable lenses; it’s a stroll in the park to use; it’s fabulous in low light (good news for restaurant photos); and look at the picture quality! I’m not a natural photographer; I have a lousy visual imagination and recall, so taking pictures for this blog is something I’ve always had to work pretty hard at. I’m absolutely thrilled at how much easier the E-P1 is making things. I am really looking forward to unleashing it on Las Vegas.
Back in early October. If there are any recipes you’d particularly like me to have a swing at on my return, please leave a comment here, and I’ll see what I can do!
