Warning!

We have been phoned up half a dozen or more times this week by a number withheld which wants to know, in a subcontinental voice if not from a subcontinental call centre, what sort of washing machine we use. Sometimes they just call and there is silence, sometimes you get the full washing machine patter. What on earth are they up to? One would not have thought it was anything much to do with our washing machine. Is it a matter which I could trouble our shiny new PCC with? Will he have teams of people fielding emails of this sort? Chris Grayling certainly does and in my very limited experience his machine works well.

More interesting, I have been experimenting with a new sort of fish soup, at least a sort of fish soup which I have not made for a while. Slice about 2oz of pork tenderloin into 1cm cubes and fry gently in butter. Add a couple of coarsely chopped onions and fry for a bit longer. Peel some potatoes - number according to the number you plan to feed - slice them coarsely and place on top of onions. Cover with water and simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes. Slice about 12oz of skinned haddock fillet into bricks maybe 1cm by 1cm by 3cm and place on top of the simmering potatoes. Stir the fish in a bit - gently so as not to knock the potato around too much - and simmer for a further five minutes. Not bad at all but I think on the next outing I will use smoked haddock (see 11th November). And maybe I need to consult some Irish potato experts about what sort of potato would be most suitable; ideally something a little firmer and yellower than the whites I used today.

And then some news from Waitrose. The good news is that their Lincolnshire Poacher is proving a reliable hard yellow cheese. It even has rind for those who are sentimental and we are getting through a fair amount of the stuff. Read all about it at http://www.lincolnshirepoachercheese.com/.

The bad news is that their whole meal bread is no good, despite the fact that the whole meal bread I have been making with their whole meal flour is fine. The lady behind the counter explained that the stuff is nearly made in a factory somewhere and then delivered to the fairly small kitchen behind the shop for finishing. This probably accounts for the bread not being properly cooked and having a rather sticky texture. But it does not account for the flavour which I do not like at all. So, this morning, I thought I would try one of their premium breads, cooked off the premises, on this occasion a mixed wheat and rye sour dough. A plus was that it was properly cooked and the bread had a good texture. The minus was that I do not much care for the flavour of sour dough bread. But it was better than their regular whole meal nonetheless.