Going back a few years (and one Doctor incarnation), the Doctor and Rose go back in time to meet her father who died when she was six months old.  By preventing his death, she creates a paradox and inadvertently releases the Reapers, and leaves the Doctor powerless.

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As a special treat for you this Thanksgiving week, TheZoo presents the absolute latest episode of Doctor Who.  It’s a good one!  Enjoy.

Part 1 of 7 (each about 10 minutes long)

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Let me know how you liked this in the comments section!

I long for a good old fashion Sunday roast. Beef, lamb, pork, chicken. I love it all. Why have restaurants and hotels stopped serving such homely meals?

Yummy roasts with thick gravy, crispy roast potatoes, a few nice vegies, cauliflower bake, etc. Simple but delicious!

Bring back the Sunday roast please. You’ve got my business if you do.

Roel Loopers

I awoke in the early hours of Saturday morning to a most enormous storm (as did much of the UK). The wind was absolutely howling around the house and the rain sounded as though we were in full on monsoon season. Because the ceiling in my bedroom is sloped it sounded as though it was raining down directly on my head – (when the rats pay a visit it sounds like they’re about to fall on my face, but that’s a whole other story) and there were some sonic booms of thunder which were seriously scary. When I finally emerged from under the quilt I was dreading looking out of the window to see what devastation occurred and there was…nothing. Not a thing. OK the garden looks a bit worse for wear, but then again it would do at this time of year anyway, but the house is all fine, still standing and from what I can see intact (and clearly not now in Kansas or Oz for that matter). It’s amazing really but just shows that the builders in 1850 knew a thing or two about building to last!

Having, as I said, finally emerged from under the quilt and after fortifying ourselves with a very fat breakfast (well you never know what situation you might find yourself in), TG and I decided to venture forth into the weather. I had mentioned the message from the tv and radio that staying in was the best way forward and even offered to crawl back under the quilt,  but he was having none of it and so off we went. Having stopped to help clear a fallen tree on a back road and having dropped him off for his daily sporting fix I decided to brave that weekly challenge that is Tescos. Now if I told you that the rain was coming in horizontally in sheets, the gusts of wind nearly took me off my feet and that by the time I got from car to entrance I resembled the most drowned of rats, that would be no exaggeration. I was soaked through and looking most unattractive. Luckily this wasn’t the Saturday that George Clooney decided that Tescos in Ryde was his destination of choice, phew! Suffice to say that 30 seconds later the rain stopped and by the time the shopping was done a weak sun was coming through the clouds. Typical!

There is nothing better than being snuggled up in bed under the quilt and listening to it blowing a hooley outside – one of the best parts of the winter I think. We did also manage some live music (a 60s night where the singer, bald and about 65 thought that he was Elvis – he so wasn’t), some dancing (love dancing even though I’m rubbish at it, makes your heart feel light), Sunday roast with friends and putting the world to rights, oh yes, and mash and gravy. The perfect winter weekend! George missed out really…

Who can understand the global financial meltdown?  Obviously John Bird and John Fortune understand it completely!  Not sure that’s a good thing…

Part 1

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“Compensation for failure.”  Sheesh…

HT: 5thEstate

Inspired by having spent a day at work, I’ll give y’all an outline about how to go through the day with proper British meals! I have  to admit, I work in an Irish Pub, but the breakfast is very similar, and so’s the yorkshire pudding we don’t officially serve but the chef makes it anyways – for the staff to go with the Sunday Roast

Let’s start with the most important meal o’ the day: Breakfast!

The proper british breakfast consists of a few very hearty incgredients: Bacon, Baked Beans, Sausage or “bangers”, tomatoes, fried eggs and buttered toast. If you want it to be a real, full breakfast you can add black / and white pudding. I personally can live without the pudding, but bangers and bacon are a must-have! Have an English tea (Cylon) and an orange juice and the day can begin! Make sure you get the bacon really crispy, almost cremated. Some people like hash browns with their breakfast although that is a little amerikanised. The Welsh cuisine includes more seafruit, so a Welsh breakfast is served with cockles and laverbread of a kind of seaweed. I never tried it, since I’m not a big fan of seafruit. Especially not in the morning..

Here’s a link to a very, very full English breakfast (including hash browns, mushrooms and black pudding).

What’s for dinner?

If you are still hungry after a full breakfast, there’s a couple of lovely dishes I can recommend.

I feel obligated to mention fish ‘n’ chips, but there is not really that much to it is there? Except for one piece of advice: Have it in London !

Pie for dinner…

This does not have anything to do with Bridget Jones. Pies in England are traditionally made with meat, for example the Shepherd’s Pie – lamb – or the cottage pie – beef. Those two pies are made in a casserole with mashed potatoes on top and vegetables (carrots and peas) in the meat or on the side. Don’t forget the gravy!

This recipe does not include peas and carrots but tomatoes. You can’t have pie without decent gravy.
Shepherd’s Pie is not difficult to make on your own – as opposed to the delicious delight that is the following recommendation:

The Sunday Roast

Traditionally, the big roast dinner was reserved for Sundays, the day of rest. Not for the housewives it wasn’t! A Sunday roast can take hours, so it’s the perfect dish for the next big occasion. Christmas is coming up…

The way I know it, the roast is served with roast potatoes and/or mashed potatoes, peas and honey-carrots on the side and (can you guess??) gravy. If you want to use stuffing or not, that’s entirely up to you. I did a little research and found a traditional British stuffed turkey recipe with cranberries and chestnuts.

My favourite part – Desert

Apple Crumble

Actually, you can make a crumble with basically any fruit you like. The traditional British crumble is made with apples and custard (liquid vanilla pudding, more or less).

Banoffee Pie

If you decide to do it properly, Banoffee (Banana + Toffee) Pie can be a lot of work since the condensed milk has to be cooked and not burnt. Instructions will follow as soon as I get a hold of my former colleage who made lovely banoffee pie !

Our Blackadder serial continues with Blackadder joining the Royal Flying Corps to escape the trenches.

Blackadder:  For God’s sake, Baldrick, take cover!

Baldrick:  Why’s that, sir?

Blackadder:  Because there’s an air raid going on, and I don’t want to have to write your mother at London Zoo to tell her that her only human child is dead.

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Join us Monday for Part 5, General Hospital!

Blackadder organises a variety show in the hope of being able to escape the war by performing at the London Palladium. However, problems arise after General Melchett falls for his “leading lady”.

I want to cover your body with pepper, and then sneeze all over you…

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Part 4, Private Plane, will be our regular Sunday Roast.  See you then!

Despite problems with communications, orders for another mission arrive and Blackadder breaches regulations by eating the messenger. Can the Flanders pigeon murderer avoid the firing squad?

Mmmmmm, delicious plump-breasted pigeon…

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Our next episode, Major Star, will be shown on Thursday.  Stay tuned!

I’ve been busy lately. Real busy. But I’m pleased to say I found time for a little R&R in Devon, or South Devon to be precise, which is in many senses my homeland.

Trips down to Devon in the autumn are about windswept walks with the dog along the beach, driving over fog-topped moorland, the smell of woodfire smoke pumping out the chimneys of thatched cottages and, of course, food.

Here are a few snaps of the kind of food I love to treat myself with down in Devon. It’s hearty, homely and guilt-free if you consider all the walking that gets done in the wild outdoors of the Westcountry. Why hold back?

What's a trip to Devon without a cream tea?

Or a tankard of cider, for that matter?

Fish mezze by the river - whitebait, battered squid and juicy prawns

A Halloween hog roast on the moors

Sea bream's a must when it appears on the specials board

Colourful vegetarian food at a cosy hippie cafe

Sunday roast: Pork with carefully positioned crackling

Sunday roast: Lamb with red wine jus

I know it doesn't look it but this treacle sponge was so light as to be almost dainty

Don't underestimate the humble trifle: Boozy sponge, tangy raspberries and that combo of custard and cream - I'd have died happy

(You might notice that I haven’t told you where I was eating. As mean spirited as this may sound, I’ve done this on purpose. It’s great to share, but some things have to be off limits, kept for myself. Plus, I don’t have to feel too bad about it — it’s not hard to eat well in South Devon.)

The Sunday Roast takes a bit of a turn for the next couple of weeks, with the series Blackadder Goes Forth, which is set on the Western Front in the trenches of World War I.  Due to a lack of prior planning on your host’s part (ok, that’s me), the series will be seen every other day between today and Veteran’s Day/Remembrance Day, when the very moving finale will play.

Another “big push” is planned, and Captain Blackadder’s one goal is to avoid being killed. The series thus follows his attempts to escape the trenches through various schemes, most of which fail due to bad fortune, misunderstandings and the general incompetence of his comrades.

And now, the show…the subtitles are a bonus!!!

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Part 1 of 3 without subtitles

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Our next episode will be on Tuesday, November 3.  Watch for it!

Alright, people.  I get it.  No more drama.  Well, the best I can do is try.  And make sure to always post the good stuff, so when I do end up ranting about the bad (and yes, banks here are definitely BAD) you’ll at least have other posts to look at.  With pretty pictures.

That’s right!  It’s another post in pictures!  Aren’t you thrilled?  Well, if you’re not (jeez, you guys are tough) then just hold your breath a little longer.  My dear friend Emily has erred in judgment and nominated me for a ‘Blogger Award,’ which is a sort of gold star chain letter thing that goes from blogger to blogger.  Nothing official but it does mean I need to write a bunch of stuff about myself for the next post.  So for now I’ll spare you the blabbing and make with the snappity snaps!

On Sunday we (well, Guy) made our first roast in the new flat!

And ate it at our lovely dining table, with the wine we ordered online (MEH).

The man's job is carving. And cooking... (And cleaning if I have my way!)

The finished product. We forgot our Yorkshire pudding, but added a salad to compensate.

And then there were chocolate chunk cookies!

And, today, a walk up through Camden...

To visit my old friend (and therapist)...

Regents Park!

Doesn't he look lovely in his Fall colors?

And then we went shopping in Marylebone and bought a grater (very exciting) and pumpkins to carve (more exciting).

In other news, I’m still sick as a dog, and Guy is now getting sick too (again), so the Parsons-Putnam household is a bit of a mess.  But we’re doing our best to muddle through and be festive anyway.  This is the first year ever in my life that I haven’t even thought about a Halloween costume, much less plans to go out, and it’s made me feel old and sad, but then today we bought pumpkins and a carving kit and ‘mulled apple juice’ (which, microwaved, makes a worthy effort to stand in for hot apple cider) so I’m feeling a bit better about that.  And we’re having some friends over for dinner (well, my one friend and a few of Guy’s) on Sunday, which should be stressful before but fun during and satisfying after.  And our sofa is due tomorrow morning (YAY)!

So things aren’t all peaches and cream in my London life, but they’re not all horse manure either.  I thought you’d like to know that.

This is our open thread. Please feel free to offer your own comments on any subject.

This week, Giles and Sue go back to Britain’s Victorian era.  The time of the British Raj in India, boiled animals heads for dinner (brains, yum), Charles Darwin’s Glutton Club, super-tight corsets, curry, tinned meats (hello, Spam!), candied maggots, colorful jellies, and the newest celebration — Christmas.

Part 1 of 6 (each about 10 minutes long)

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Part 6

Next week:  Who knows!?  Sadly, the Supersizers episodes have run out.

Today is Sunday and the best thing about this day is Sunday dinner, yummy slow cooked beef joints, sage stuffing, assorted roasted vegetables, thick gravy, plump suet dumplings and my all time favourite Yorkshire Puddings.

Today I want to share with you my recipe to making, what I think, the perfect Sunday treat. I remember my great grandma making these for us and how she liberally seasoned with black pepper.

For this recipe I don’t work in measurements just by eye but I will give you some idea of the weights as I go. Ok firstly take 3 eggs and crack into a mixing bowl, whisking the eggs lightly together to form an orange mixture, (I found in many recipes they recommend using 2 eggs, however I find if you want a dramatic, crispy risen pud use 3).

Now with the egg mixture add a drop of milk (50ml), a pinch of salt and a liberal grind of black pepper. Then sieve in around 100g of Plain Flour and whisk quickly, trapping air and forming a light froth on the top. Now keep adding flour and water in parts and whisking until you get a nice slightly thick and heavy batter mixture. You want it the same consistency of a Shrove Tuesday Pancake, or slightly thicker.

Now set the mixture aside in room temperature for around 2 hours. I find this helps the rising process and the secret to a good Yorkshire is how big they rise.

When ready to bake, preheat the over to the highest temperature (around 300C) and in a Yorkshire Tin (If you don’t have one don’t worry use a cake sandwich tin instead) add enough oil to fill the bottom, around 0.5cm and heat until the oil is very hot and smoking (2-5mins) take out and spoon the Yorkshire batter in evenly and return to the oven for the next 10-15mins, or until nice and high, golden brown and crispy.

There you have it the perfect Yorkshire Pudding, and if you have any left over eat for dessert cold with a spoon of jam in the centre.

This week, Giles and Sue take a stroll down memory lane to the 1980s.  More processed foods than ever, nouvelle cuisine, the Power Lunch, big hair, glamorous disco fashions, sky-rocketing wealth AND joblessness, Yuppies, and the increasing trend toward dual income households.  Oddly, Sue looks like a drag queen in her 80s work fashions.

Enjoy!

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Next week:  The Victorian Era!

I have to admit that I’ve been trying to stall my fellow grazer from making us go here. But after a pretty horrible time at work, I thought he deserved a treat. So off to St John’s we went for Sunday lunch.

It’s a pretty cool place, I mean, just look at the pig logo.

The interior is simple and understated, but very very cool with it, it really is all about the food.

St John’s is situated right near the famous Smithfield meat market in Farringdon and is famous for it’s offal menu. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not adverse to a steak and kidney pie, or liver and bacon, but some offal is just too far for me.

Here’s the menu (which changes daily)so you can make up your own minds.

Now if you’re wondering what chitterlings are, as I did, they are apparently large intestine platted and grilled…

So we didn’t order them, we both opted for the venison saddle, green beans and pickled walnuts followed by the Roast chicken, sweetcorn and aioli. Very good, very rich, very very very garlicky. Good job we both had it really.

I think next time my partner in dining goes there he is keen to try the roast bone marrow and parsley salad. I think I’ll give that a miss.

The following article covers a topic that has recently moved to center stage–at least it seems that way. If you’ve been thinking you need to know more about it, here’s your opportunity. It’s really a good idea to probe a little deeper into the subject of China storage. What you learn may give you the confidence you need to venture into new areas.

My daughter is in the process of planning her wedding. We are very close and so she is involving me in a enthusiastic deal of the planning. Her fiancé works for a company that involves a enthusiastic deal of international travel for him correct now. Due to this he has not been able to help with many of the details of the wedding. They have picked out their china, flatware and crystal patterns. They also filled out their bridal registry together. I suggested that we involve my daughter’s future mother-in-law with some of the planning. Our son had gotten married last year and I appreciated being involved in the planning. We made arrangements to meet for lunch.

Sometimes it’s tough to sort out all the details related to this subject, but I’m positive you’ll have no trouble making sense of the information presented below.

The three of us had a nice lunch together. During lunch my daughter was describing her china pattern to us. The store where they had chosen their china from was close to where we had lunch so we decided to go and look at their selection. During lunch the mother of the groom was telling my daughter that she needed to get some good china storage containers. My daughter explained that they have a built in china cabinet in the town home that they have purchased. She also said that she was going to use her china often so she did not want a china storage system that would be time consuming to access. The groom’s mother laughed and said that no one used their china more than once or twice a year. She said that her dishes have been in china storage for several years without use.

My daughter was surprised to hear this because she was used to how often I use my china. She mentioned this to the groom’s mom. I use my china very often. I store the china in the china hutch, but I do not pack it in the zipped china storage containers that many people use. My daughter has always enjoyed helping set the table with china and crystal. I feel that it is important to use our formal dinnerware often. I started doing this right after our wedding and continued the tradition as we raised our children. At least twice a month we required that the children plan to be home for a formal Sunday dinner. They were allowed to have friends join the family for these dinners so they could practice their table manners. Several of the neighbor kids have shared with me that they learned all their table manners at our house. I am glad that I put such an emphasis on the formal meals because my children know how to carry on a dinner conversation and they also know how to set a table. I cannot believe the number of people that go through the time and expense to pick out fine tableware and then put the flatware in a box and the china storage cases in a cabinet. I feel that if you have the articles you should use them.

Read more

This week, Giles and Sue go back to the 1780s, a time of great historical upheaval and discovery.  Hot air balloons, electricity, velvet patches, and a huge divide between the rich and poor.  A the nobility feasted on luxurious dinners, the starving poor rioted in the streets.   Something had to give, and it turned out that it was the rich…

Part 1 of 6 (each about 10 minutes long)

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Part 3

Part 4

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Part 6

Next week:  The 80s!

The work of unsigned 26 year old, Reading based producer Matthew John Horne, this UK Funky track caught my attention earlier in the week. I love the raw old school sound, and the vocal just sits on it perfectly, whilst the dreamy synths and percussion give it just the right amount of wonk.

Citing his influences as “the old school house and garage scene and producers like Booker T and Jeremy Sylvester”, Sunday Roast has another seven releases on their way over the next few months, and his track “After All This Time” is currently #1 over at UKFunky.com

Check out the full track, and his other work, or purchase the MP3 here

Or catch Sunday Roast DJ-ing at La Dolce Vita @ The Garden Club, High Wycombe on Saturday 3rd October

Bookings: SundayRoast@hotmail.com

I often abandon traditional roast dinners in the hot weather, but this zesty lemon flavoured dish has a ’summery’ feel and would be good served with salad, although it could equally as well be eaten with potatoes and vegetables.  The original recipe was called Chicken with Spicy Potatoes, which was how I first served it, except I successfully used chicken thighs in place of the chicken legs.  The original recipe suggested that the chicken was served with a simple side dish of green peas as well as the potatoes in a spicy sauce, instructions for which were included.  I decided the chicken part of the dish was more successful on its own and I had better spicy potato recipes in other places. 

The recipe was found in the July 2009 issue of the ASDA free instore magazine.

Roasted Lemon Chicken
(Serves 4)

4 Chicken leg or breast quarters
or
1 or 2 chicken thighs per person, depending on size
1 large onion, cut into eight pieces
2 garlic cloves, halved
2 lemons, washed

1.  Preheat oven to 190^oC/Fan 170^oC/Gas 5.

2.  Put the chicken pieces, removing the skins if you wish, into a greased roasting dish along with the garlic and onion pieces.  Halve the lemons, squeeze the juice over the meat and place the shells in the dish.

3.  Cover and bake for 45 minutes. If you wish to crisp the chicken skin then uncover the dish for the last 5-10minutes, but add a little water if necessary to stop the pan drying out and burning.

4.  For a citrus gravy, thicken any meat juices with cornflour, first straining out any bits and removing excess fat.

5.  Serve with roasted or spiced potatoes and peas or salad.

This week, Giles and Sue eat and dance their way through the Roaring Twenties.  A time of fast living, large alcohol intake, curve-less women, psychoanalysis, and Camembert in aspic.

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Part 6

Next week, the French Revolution!

In her novel Chocolat, Joanne Harris writes a little about the Mexican background of the history of chocolate and the novel’s heroine, Vianne, serves her customers hot drinking chocolate flavoured with chilli. It may seem unusual, but cocoa has also long been used to complement the flavour of meat and is a key ingredient in the Mexican dish ‘Mole Poblano’. Chocolate and chilli are surprisingly good together, the heat of the peppers blending beautifully with the rich dark flavour of cocoa.  The Basque country of South West France, the city of Bayonne in particular, is well known for its fine chocolate and on holiday last year we enjoyed sampling a chilli flavoured variety. The chilli was surprisingly subtle but with a definite hot spicy ‘kick’.

I was delighted to discover this recipe for a spicy marinade for roast lamb which contained chocolate – and it was every bit as delicious as I hoped it would be. I made a few adaptations, using fresh orange in place of orange juice and squeezing some of this juice over the rice to give it a citrus flavour. The recipe would work equally well with some good thick lamb steaks or slow cooked lamb fillet.  The original recipe for Leg of Lamb with Chilli Sauce comes from Hot & Spicy Cooking: Exciting Ideas for Delicious Meals with recipes by Judith Ferguson, Lalita Ahmed and Carolyn Garner.

Roast Lamb with Chilli Sauce
(Serves 4)

1kg/2¼lb leg of lamb (or replace with lamb steaks or fillet)
5ml/1tsp cocoa powder
125ml/½tsp Cayenne pepper
125ml/½tsp Ground Cumin
125ml/½tsp Paprika
125ml/½tsp Ground Oregano
140ml/¼pt water
140ml/¼pt orange juice (2/3 oranges depending on size – includes garnish)
140ml/¼pt red wine
1 clove of garlic, crushed
30g/2tbsp brown sugar
15ml/1tbsp cornflour
Pinch of salt
Orange slices and fresh coriander to garnish

1. Trim the paper thin skin and any large pieces of surface fat from the lamb with a sharp knife. Place lamb in a shallow dish.

2. Cut one orange in half and remove a slice or two. Place in a covered container to reserve as a garnish. Squeeze the juice from the remaining pieces of orange and take enough from other oranges to make up to a generous ¼pint.

3. Leaving aside the cornflour, mix at least half of this orange juice with the remaining marinade ingredients. Pour this over the lamb, turning well so it is completely coated. Cover and refrigerate for 12-24 hours, turning occasionally.

4. Drain the lamb and place in a roasting pan. Reserve the marinade. Cook in a pre-heated 190^oC/370^oF/Gas 5 oven for about 2 hours or until meat is cooked according to taste basting occasionally with the marinade juices.  (If you usually leave the joint to roast while you are out then put most of the juices in the roasting dish and cook on a lower setting, turning the temperature up and basting the joint for a final 10 or 15 minutes before resting and serving the meat.)

5.  Remove lamb to a serving dish to rest and keep warm.  Add any remaining juices or a little water to the pan, stir to loosen the sediment, strain and put aside for a short while.  Skim off any fat that rises to the surface.  

6.  Mix the cornflour with a small amount of water in a sauce pan and then stir in the skimmed, strained marinade juices.   Heat gently, stirring all the time, until thickened. (This can also be done in a jug in the microwave by alternately giving short bursts of heat and stirring until thickened.)  More orange juice, wine or water can be added if necessary. Keep a little orange juice back to stir through the rice, if you would like.

7.  Garnish with the reserved orange slices and sprigs of coriander.  Serve with white boiled rice, stirring through just a little reserved orange juice to give a zesty flavour, the sauce and mildly spiced vegetables curry (so it does not overpower the lamb dish, but including more coriander which complements the citrus flavours).  The original recipe suggests you could also serve this with boiled potato and conventionally cooked vegetables.

This week Giles is a Regency dandy, and Sue is his husband-hunting sister.  The Regency period (1789-1821) is a time of war between England and France, Jane Austen, the idle rich, and maggots and cheese.

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Part 6

Next week:  The Supersizers Eat the 20s

This week Giles and Sue eat the foods of the 70s in Britain.  Sad fashions, supermarkets, and amazing music.  Can you say processed?

Enjoy!

Part 1 of 6 (each about 10 minutes long)

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Part 6

Next week:  The Supersizers Go Regency.