nov 30th

Emails received trying to persuade me to buy things; 4
Things bought, Village Shop, Potatoes, purple sprouting, bananas, cucumber, milk, marmite rice cakes, ice cream,   Bramleys, bananas, unseasonal soft fruit and veg.  Hobbs House, Sesame seed baps.  Flowers from Jaquaranda, Ham from the other Nailsworth butchers
Things cancelled, 0.
Things cooked, Burgers, pickled cucumbers, coleslaw, banana split, cooked ham and elderflower jelly  
Mince Pie for breakfast.
It had snowed.
Headed to Nailsworth this morning steadily in the car to get ingredients for tonight's 1960's milk bar.  For speed and convenience I used the other Nailsworth Butchers £11 for a weeny bit of ham to cook for the boys school victorian feast.  He won't be taking it all.  I then headed to Horsley, via Kingscote (road closure and icy lanes),
to the wonderful Horsley Community Shop http://www.horsleyparish.co.uk/Village_Shop/home.asp for basics.  Got all I needed except gherkins but bought a cucumber which I pickled instead, worked a treat.  I have challenged the shop to get me Kaffir Lime Leaves, I have run out.
We made delicious burgers, cheating using Anthony Smith, from Hobbs House Bistro's leftover Burger mix.  We served these on toasted sesame buns with pickled cucumbers, Leon's autumn slaw, scraps of leftover cheeses, and homemade ketchup or oh so chilli smokin' chilli sauce.  All washed down with strawberry milkshakes and followed by banana splits with roasted almonds and maple syrup.  I had cooked the ham for the boy and suddenly remembered Henry's amazing Victorian Jelly, so out came Bompas and Parr http://www.jellymongers.co.uk/ , all was good till I decided to save the ham stock too.  Suddenly there was a lot of measuring jugs and I muddled the two, oops, well now with all f the last of Junes elderflower cordial we have a jelly potentially setting for tomorrow, december 1st.  The advent calender is full, but not with the nativity set, we can only find a King at present, we will need to have a Holy family search tomorrow.