Hot Rest Day - Sea Bass - Sauce Vierge

A Rest Day - Carbon Footprint almost zero. Car stayed in garage. 76F and no wind. Wowee. June.

I decided to cook the sea bass, and Picture 1 is Anon 1's 'Sauce Vierge' being prepared. Had to use 'white instead of red wine vinegar' and 'chopped shallots instead of spring onions' but other than that it is kosher. Being a Delia graduate I have no problem in using whatever I've got. The well worn kitchen knife on the chopping board is ancient and non stainless steel i.e. it goes black and rusty but a few swizzles up and down the 'steel' and it is sharper than anything else I've got (except for Y that is). I can perfectly well understand that chefs take their own knives with them if cooking away from their own kitchen. The elegant sheet of paper is torn from my mouse-mat (see previous issue) and, the basil-cutting in the stem vase will root; trust me. Coriander we have in the garden. Y is good wth coriander and it always self-sets and there's plenty at the moment.

Regarding the actual meal. I can only give myself 5/10. Sea-bass fillets weren't available so I cooked the fish whole, confident that I would be able to separate top from bottom and remove the bone. My confidence was misplaced and I made a right balls-up. Bits of fish all over the baking sheet. My gnocchi was/were overcooked and gooey. The 'sauce vierge' however was 10/10 as were the mixed veg. Y, loyal soldier that she is, pronounced the flavour excellent and that the only thing wrong was I'd cooked too much gnocchi. I didn't allow for the swell-factor.

Picture 2 is some sort of bee. I don't think it is a honey-bee but who knows. It looks as if I've pulled its wings off but they were moving too quick even for the magic Nikon. I liked the critter's shadow on the cistus petal though.

Aren't 'cistus' lovely at the moment with their crumpled paper look. The effect isn't really apparent in this picture because the bee is sharp and not the flower.

Isn't this 'no smoking legislation' becoming incredible. I had read the other day that, if you have a 'study' at home to write in you are allowed to smoke therein. But, if you sell an article, it becomes a work-place and smoking is illegal. According to Sandra's paper it gets even more ridiculous. You may smoke in bed, unless you happen to be a prostitute !!

My throat continues to sound ( and feel ) as if someone has stuffed an old fashioned football rattle down it. I've tried several different bottles of jollop and they all say "non-drowsy" - I suspect that the drowse-inducing ingredient was the bit that did you good. Bring back Zubes and Codeine Linctus; at least you knew they had morphine in them.

Y is reading Richard Dawkins' 'The God Delusion' and says that, so far, she finds herself wholly in agreement.

Tomorrow we are going over to Carsington Water to see David and family and it is to be hoped that the weather is like this again.

It will be lovely to see them even if it pours. Sleep tight.