Apologies to those of you who’ve been wondering where the new posts (and, on occasion, the entire blog) were over the last week. Two technical problems, one at my host’s end and one at mine, managed to combine into a freakishly awful whirlwind of complicated things I do not really understand. Bother my classical education. It’s all fixed now – welcome back.
Elderflower time!
A quick reminder – it’s that time of year again, so if you’re in a foraging mood, spend some time this weekend harvesting some elderflower heads for cordial and fritters.
You may also enjoy this article from the Times on wild foods, especially if your garden is as full of nettles as mine is, but please do not follow Prue Leith’s example and raid the nests of wild geese for eggs unless you want a serious telling off from the RSPB! If you really can’t live without a June goose egg and you’re near Cambridge, head to the fruit and veg stall outside the Grafton Centre, where they often have a large tray of goose eggs to buy.
Ugh
Apologies to those of you who’ve been waiting for an update; I’m busy getting over a bout of flu. It’s getting better – this is the first day I’ve been able to get out of bed and look at a monitor without coughing all over it and then being sick, but I’m afraid that the very thought of food is still making me want to crawl back into bed with a box of tissues and die quietly.
I am bored stiff. I’ll be back as soon as I can – in the meantime, I’d love to hear ideas about things I can do which involve lying very still and not using my brain too much (thinking hurts) in the comments section.
Radio silence
I hope you’ve all been missing me. Dr W and I are away for a few weeks’ work and (mostly) skiing on the West Coast of America. Normal service will resume in mid-February, but in the meantime I encourage anyone who happens to be in Portland, Oregon, to run as fast as they can to Typhoon at the Lucia Hotel on Broadway, where the Thai food is even better than it was at Lotus of Siam in Vegas. (LoS is the restaurant that Gourmet Magazine called the best Thai in the USA. Perhaps I caught them on a bad night and Typhoon on a very good one, but although LoS gave us a great meal, Typhoon gave us one that’s making me consider a bigamous marriage so I can get a green card and come and live in Portland so that I can eat there every night.)
Stomach bug
I’m laid up with a really nasty tummy bug at the moment, and I’m afraid I really can’t face writing about, still less eating, food without feeling very poorly. I should be posting as usual next week (this on the understanding that I don’t wither away and die from lack of sustenance in the meantime).
A reminder for Cambridgeshire and south Suffolk readers – the Reach Fair starts at noon on Monday May 7. Looking out of the window, I can see chair-o-planes, a coconut shy, a big whirring thing with a picture of Britney Spears on it and some swing boats. There’s a beer tent and a hog roast, and lots of opportunities to buy local produce like organic herbs from Snakehall Farm and local honey – please come and say hello if you’re visiting.