The storm blows on. Today I'm accompanied by the patter of something coming down, dashing against the windows. It seems to be an icy mix, somewhere between rain & hail. I suspect on the fells across the water it will be snow.
The Fox , meanwhile, has got Big Ears, our slow cooker, out. He's made an Italian beef stew. We're going to have it with polenta for a change. I think we've only had polenta once before. Although it's fairly nondescript in itself - rather like mash or boiled potatoes, I think it should be a great accompaniment to a flavoursome casserole. As polenta is recommended for the meal, polenta we will try. It will certainly be a change.
Last night I found myself getting quite cynical. We watched "Masterchef: the Professionals" on BBC2. The finalists were sent off to work in the 3-star Michelin restaurant El Celier de Can Roca in Spain. I couldn't help wondering if they hadn't gone there as an excuse for the judges, Greg Wallace & Michel Roux Jr, to have a free, what must have been expensive, taster meal, on the BBC. Much as I appreciated the imagination of the Roca brothers - the idea of baby squid served on a bowl of smoke, or the sheep dessert coated with a fleece of candyfloss - I couldn't help thinking there must be somewhere nearer home they could have gone, or for that matter was it really necessary for the judges to go as well. Certainly they hadn't attended all the meals in the other great British restaurants the contestants had been sent to in earlier rounds. I know I'm just being cynical. And it was a great opportunity for the contestants to experience quite a different style of cooking. Maybe I'm just envious.
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