Sowing Seeds

First, your question on the phone about comments. They remain private unless I choose to publish them to the blog....if you scroll down a couple of posts you'll see that one has "2 comments" printed underneath it. I've allowed the publication of one comment to me and my reply so, click on that "2 comments" link and you'll see how it works but, like you said, if you have a lot to say then email is better and remains private while giving me an easier way to reply.

A busy day today. You'll remember that Mondays always were Lesson day with David and last week he started giving lessons again so later on I have mine, followed by work followed by a return to David's to cook again. We've decided to try and copy a Spaghetti Marinara that he had once in a restaurant. He says that it was so good that he has never forgotten it. OK, but, I've made him go shopping for the major flavours...he keeps telling me that he has forgotten how to shop so I'm making him re-learn the hard way, by doing it; I've been out and bought the other stuff needed hoping that he'll get at least some Prawns. Actually I don't know why I used the word Marinara because it's not. It's Pasta with Seafood. A Marinara is a tomato based, meatless sauce given to Italian Sailors in days gone by, hence "Marin"ara, but even Pukka 5 star restaurants misuse the term so I'm not going to worry too much about sticking with it. This week's Chicken is in the oven, this time stuffed with a Homemade Sage & Onion stuffing. The other week while shopping in Fuengirola for the Haggis meal I came across some potted herbs so I bought one or two to keep Lisa's Tomatoes company out on the terrrace. One is a nice bushy Sage plant which, earlier this morning, lost a dozen leaves to my deft fingers only to be mashed with some grated onion, blood, sweat, tears and breadcrumbs and shoved up an orifice at one end of the bird. Been in now about 45mins and beginning to smell good. I'm not worried about using the stuffing as a side to any dishes though, I only want the flavour in the meat, so it was quite a loose mixture, not bound in any way, which will find it's way, eventually, into the stockpot still inside the carcass.

Talking about potted plants, yesterday evening Anna (Swedish Anna) came into the bar and announced that "I have something for you" to me. A polythene bag appeared containing some seeds. 2 types. A cotton plant and a Gourd that, once peeled and dried, can be used in the bath as a sponge. Anybody got some bath seeds?? I would love to grow one of them!! Anyway, very unusual, very different and she hopes that they'll germinate for me despite being 2 years old. Another customer in the bar immediately flashed her eyelids and before I'd put the seeds in my bag she'd acquired a few from me. Actually she offered to start the lot in her greenhouse and bring them back as seedlings but I said that part of the fun was starting from scratch, waiting for the shoots and then nurturing them so thanks, but no thanks.