There were three big things that happened today. One of them was The Thesis which feels never ending but will have to end (for now) tomorrow because it has to go back to Mirinda’s supervisor. The second big thing was the monthly market and, finally, there was dinner.
Yesterday, during my weekly trip to our wonderful, proper butcher, I purchased (along with various other bits of meat) two beautiful lamb shanks. (Veggies might want to look away now.) Today I used them to make saffron lamb shanks. And it meant three hours of a glorious scentful extension and a ten minute tastebud sensation.
My morning at the market proved why it’s always good to be nice to the people who serve us. For a while now, I’ve been buying the marvellous pickled asparagus from a couple who take great pains to make the best pickled asparagus IN THE WORLD!
It occurred to me at some stage that I could always take the empty jars back and, maybe, they could recycle them. Fortunately they have their email address on their labels so I wrote and asked. They wrote and replied that, yes, they would love them returned.
And so, each market day, I take the empties back, have a good chat then buy some more. Of course, once the season has long gone, so have the pickled asparagus so I then have to wait for the next lot.
Fast forward to this morning when I delivered three empty jars. The Pickle Lady told me she was very glad I’d come today because she had something for me. It was her last jar of 2018 pickled asparagus. They were close to their end date but she knew I would eat them before then and, rather than chuck them, she saved them for me. And, if I promised to bring the jar back, she’d let me have them for £1! How could I possibly argue with that?
We had some with lunch. They were very, very good. She told me there should be new season jars from next month but I’d have to store them for a while before opening. I said I’d have no problem with that…though the temptation would be huge.
I also bought some more smoked fish and duck, both delicious and goats cheese, ditto. It was an excellent day’s hunting.
Yesterday, I forgot to include a photo of the girls with their hair cuts. Freya wouldn’t stand still but I forced Emma. I’ll do the same with Freya tomorrow.
The title of this post comes from a sentence in The Thesis. Apart from an excellent, if somewhat surreal, blog post title, I reckon it would be a great name for a band.
