OH NO !  A proper pork pie can be a thing of joy and beauty. The person who perpetrated that outrage upon them should have been put in the stocks (or do I mean stock? ) and pelted with tins of Spam. Or worse, she said darkly ...

It was Matron, Mort, and what she said, went.

When she applied for the job, she was shown the new kitchens, which had a very fine cedar tree outside, making them rather dark. "If I take the job," she said "that tree will have to go." The school governors were apparently much dismayed, because they thought her much the finest candidate, but quite apart from the fact that most of them liked the tree, it had a preservation order on it.

That night there was a huge storm, and the tree was destroyed by lightning.

Not only did she get the job, but retained a strange power over the governors ever after.

Ron, did she have dyspepsia? Because if she didn't then she jolly well should have!

I've always rather fancied the idea of making a pork pie, or even a Game Pie, but I'm not convinced that I have the right hand for pastry   I'd hate not to do justice to the beast(s) that contributed to the pie just because I'm a klutz at pastry

Aaaaaah.  Mung beans.  Their alcaloid-ish (I think that's the term) aftertaste really gets to me.  Letting them simmer away in a spicy broth for the time being, with lots of vegetables.  Here's hoping it'll be a bit more manageable.

Two things worry me about the new Delia book.  Firstly, she is very adamant about which convenience brands are used.  The Times published an article in which they tried the Shepherds Pie.  It involved trips to M&S, Sainsbury, Iceland and Tesco.  Fine if you have those stores within easy distance (the only one I have is M&S - the others involve a round trip of 40 miles in different directions - hardly helping the carbon footprint).  The Times costed the pie at just under £7 and pointed out you could buy a Tesco Finest 800g one for £3.79.  If you don't have these supermarkets near you, or more particularly if you are on a budget, you are likely to buy a can of Somerfield mince for 75p or one maybe from Lidl for 45p.  I suspect they possibly may have more salt and sugar in them than the M&S.  So nutrition flies out of the window as people consume more salt, sugar and fat.

The second thing is uniformity of taste.  Her recipe for chillie involves (can't remember the brand) a jar of Italian tomato and chillie sauce and on the side some McCains frozen Nacho Wedges.  Not a fresh chillie in sight. To me that reproduces exactly the sort of chillie you get in Weatherspoons - the sort of flavours people are used to - and again an increase of sugar, salt and fat.  I know we have all reached for a packet of Smash or had a Lloyd Grossman but an entire book based on very specific convenience brands?  And, her specified spice brand has increased production 500-fold it seems in anticipation <quote> of making their fortune.

I know the pre-orders for the book were higher than Harry Potter and therefore it is a best seller but I don't think she is taking the cause of good food further.  It also strikes me as significant that after all the hype it is being sold at half price and the majority of reviews on Amazon express deep disappointment.

Nothing fresh, nothing seasonal, why not just stick to chilled/frozen ready meals at half the price?

Edit:  Sorry if that was a bit of a rant.  I shall retire later with my new Nigel Slater book which is about real food 

Okey doke, incs. Bon appetite!

I like the sound of that risotto Ruth - might give that a whirl tomorrow.

Did you ever manage to get that special rice you were after?

I haven't seen Vialone Nano anywhere.  Do you think some goat's cheese stirred through it would work?