Sunday 24th January 2021 - Now That's Cold, The Kitchen Cabinet and Fig Jam

This morning, while our family in Bucks have been watching the falling snow, gradually covering their gardens, here in Overstrand we had just a sprinkling during the night and most of the white was frost. Maybe it’s too cold for snow. I know that sounds like a ridiculous statement but it is a fact – it can be too cold for snow. It’s certainly very cold out there, a proper winter’s day. Peter has been outside lagging the outside taps and he’s moved, our feral cat, Lunar’s house onto the patio. A neighbouring cat, who has taken a distinct dislike to Lunar, has been seen spraying her house, which has put Lunar off going inside. Lunar comes into the conservatory to eat but doesn’t stay long after she has emptied her dish. We hope, with her house in closer proximity to our home, it may encourage her to go inside as well as discouraging the spraying cat. Also being closer to the cat flap, into the conservatory, she may be tempted to come indoors.

I have mentioned before the radio programme, The Kitchen Cabinet, featuring a panel of chefs, cooking enthusiasts and a food historian. Listening to an episode, while eating lunch today, the panel were asked question as to whether they were banned for doing/using anything in particular in the kitchen. The answers were varied with one panellist saying he does the banning. Nobody is allowed to help him with the washing up. What! I enjoy cooking but when it comes to washing up, this is something I do not relish. This is despite, at the end of each meal, Peter always picks up the tea towel and dries everything, with the exception of any roasting or frying pans. In the evenings, I try to wash and dry up as I go along but if there is an accumulation of pots, pans, bowls and utensils, I can be heard to call in Peter’s direction, ‘I could do with a drier upper.’ The panellist went onto explain that he saw this task as one of creating organisation from chaos. Maybe I should consider looking at washing up from the same aspect – if I do, I still think I will be calling for a drier upper!

Today’s lunch was simple and an idea picked up while Peter was perusing the website for our online grocery shop. He spotted fig jam – I love figs – which had a good rating with one shopper saying it makes a great topping for a crusty baton spread with soft goat’s cheese. So that’s what we had today, apart from, I substituted warmed homemade bread for the baton. It was very good with the sweetness of the fig jam offsetting the slight acidity associated with goat’s cheese.

No snow here for me to photograph this morning but instead I captured another of Overstrand’s beautiful sunrises.