Food, Really, Ish

Achieved a bun today. I saw another demonstration where a girl did two pincurls either side at the front, but using rollers which were hidden inside the hair, and added height, then the back rolled up into the Victory roll. Very effective in a rockabilly kind of way.

Several queries about the ground rents today. I am composing a letter to the bank, who have been attempting to pay at least a dozen standing orders several months after I wrote to cancel them. Fortunately the accounts are closed so the money bounces back. A fairly quiet day at work with not many calls. I hope Romy is having a good time in Spain.

Grocery shopping from Ocado is arriving tomorrow morning so I shall stay in for this. I had not realised it is Shrove Tuesday next week, so will purchase a lemon or two. Not sure whether Julian is going to turn up and do blinis, so I shall probably make some batter in the morning and put it in the fridge. Also, it is Chinese New Year, I think on Thursday, but a lot will be going on in Soho the following weekend. Time Out arrived today with a booklet containing all the events.

I have been thinking about menus and googling one or two things today. It all reminds me for some reason about the time when I had a green dinner party and dyed everything green.Also when we were at college and made some crazy and only just edible art dishes. I made a singularly revolting tower block from cheese, someone made gingerbread mens front bums, there was a rice mountain, and various colourful carved vegetables.

Perhaps for this telly thingy I should make a huge pile of mashed potato with sausages stuck in the top with jelly and ice cream for pud? In 'The Broons' comic from the Scottish Sunday Post I seem to remember this dish appearing on the family supper table, along with another image from my memory of Desperate Dan in the Beano comic eating Cow Pie - huge bones sticking out of an enormous pie. Other retro ideas: prawns with grapefruit, Black Forest gateau, Steak Diane (flambee at the table - could be horrendous if it went wrong) ditto lobster Thermidor etc. etc.

I do rather warm to the idea of bangers and mash, especially with fried onions and frozen peas. No starter, but a hunky pudding like jam roly poly and custard. I am inordinately fond of a decent trifle, made with no jelly, using Marsala instead of sherry, and lashings of home made custard,cream, fruit optional but good jam or fruit puree essential, and studded with old fashioned glace cherries or ratafias and toasted almonds. Some rumtopf fruit could be good in here.

The more modern food I eat, the more I yearn for really old fashioned dishes. I remember when pheasants were so high it was quite difficult to eat them, but roasted to perfection with game chips and all the right vegetables they were absolutely delicious. Nothing was better than my own freshly picked mushrooms with gammon after an early morning expedition with my grandmother in North Devon, or a lobster just brought up from the pots by a fisherman neighbour at our holiday home in the Isle of Wight. I think this is what has driven the latest obsession with pickling and preserving.

I can't believe I am drivelling on writing all this bollocks - I know - it is late at night and earlier I was watching Jamie At Home, cooking some nice stuff. He even included some frozen peas, bless the lad.