I haven't soaked anything for a while, but I did it the way my mother did!

She would put the ham in a big saucepan filled with water, and leave it overnight, in the kitchen sink, with the cold tap just dribbling/dripping into it.

Since I retired and started making our own bread, I haven't felt able to buy anyone else's bread!!

I need to make some more focaccia today as it goes with the soup we have two or three times a week for a snack meal. The “semi sun dried” tomatoes I’ve tried on top are getting burnt, so I think that I will chop them small and mix them in.

Looks like my first effort!! :D If I really want Turkish Delight to eat, I'll buy it. The stuff I made last week with gelatine, is also a bit odd. The recipe said to leave it out to sweat, then coat in cornflour and leave to dry, then store in an airtight container. It didn't sweat on the tray. The ...

I mmade the alternative Turkish Delight. It's clearly gelatine set and not real. But it tastes OK and it works well to get the big pill down

We have some pots of Riesling mustard, bought in Germany from an artisanal guy who ran a snack bar on the Mosel. It’s very mild and goes well with smoked ham.

Thanks!

It looks as if I should make sauces, or thick soups.

I had been wondering if some might make my sticky malt loaf more like Soreen...

I've had two goes at making Turkish Delight, and both have been relatively unsuccessful.

But I had a search and found this: https://kitchenmason.com/turkish-delight-recipe/ It does include gelatine, which is I suspect is in a lot of Turkish delight. I may give it a go.

Does anyone have any suggestions for using up a pot of Xantham Gum powder? I have ended up with a 300mg pot of what is essentially Xantham Gum. It was bought as an aid to swallowing a particularly difficult pill that I take. But I found that making the thickest "sauce" with it, it doesn't ...

Does the German Deli still exist next door to Borough Market, near Neals Yard Dairy? I'm sure we bought Mittelsharf Senf there, along with Erdnuss Flippies. But it was some time ago.

aero, did you smell it or taste it, or both? I just smelt it. It was definitely bad. But it was an opened bottle and half used. If the bottle is sealed and has been kept in the dark, it may be OK. I have just finished a bottle of top quality olive oil that I bought almost 12 years ago from the Ital...

I threw some pumpkin seed oil out. The bottle had been opened and the oil had gone rancid.

I'm struggling with my baking mojo at the moment. OH is trying to loose weight and so I would end up eating all the cake. Just made another batch of bread rolls which we freeze. It's easier that making a loaf and slicing it and thawing out slices at requires. It's almost time for a stollen :) The fa...

We like a kurbiskernöl on green salad. It’s lovely nutty dressing. We discovered it in Austria.

Tesco sell it now, among others. It’s pumpkin seed oil.

I've not done any interesting baking lately. If I make a cake, we eat it and put on weight :( But I did some rolls and made another focaccia. I've tried studding with fresh tomatoes, semi-dried ones, olive and cheese. It tastes fine and goes well with soup. The basic bread is the River Cottage recip...

I think a litre is about the safe capacity.

I saw a comment today that said “Mexico & Canada are bordering on insanity”.

You assume that they can read

It was, and it was "quite big". The pudding crust was not stodgy. Nor was it crusty.

The fruit salad was substantial too. I only photographed the final course...

Just home from an excellent lunch at the Victory Services Club, near Marble Arch. I was a guest of a member.

I had Spiced Butternut Squash soup, Steak and Kidney Pudding and a fresh fruit salad. One of the others was complimentary about his salmon. The other meals looked good too.