two years

'...for me the kumquat taken whole

best fruit, and metaphor, to fit the soul...'

I have just noticed that the anniversary of my blog has passed me by twice now. Kumquat's blog has been entertaining and educating the world at large for over two years and I think a celebration is called for.

Where else to look but to Tony Harrison?

'...a fruit an older poet might substitute

for the grape John Keats thought fit to be Joy's fruit...'

Let me tell you about the men in my life. HBH introduced me to Alexander Pope, JA introduced me to Camus and GD introduced me to Iris Murdoch and Tony Harrison.

'The new day dawns. O days! My spirit greets

the kumquat with the spirit of John Keats.

O kumquat, comfort for not dying young,

both sweet and bitter, bless the poet's tongue!'

Tony for poet laureate!

Here's to another two years. By that time I will have a 16 year old and be more than half way to my three score years and ten.

'Then it's the kumquat fruit expresses best

how days have darkness round them like a rind,

life has a skin of death that keeps its zest.'

Roux's pumpkin

Neither a philosophical tenet such as Pascal's wager nor a scientific brainteaser such as Schrodinger's cat. This is in fact, none other than a rather yumptious soup I made yesterday that I'm enjoying second helpings of this evening. I served it out of the hollowed out pumpkin with the lid back on and a ladel sticking out. Aww, yeah, dead rustic I am. So rustic me camera's batteries ran out so i can't post a picture for you. Bloomin' nice. Shallots and nutmeg and creammmm.

walla-walla:

the unintelligible sound made by many people talking at once.

Please try to use this delightful expression in the next 24 hours and report back here on the response you received.

pam's chicken

a thousand blessings upon the head of a friend and colleague's mother's friend i don't know called pam. and her chicken. don't be put off by the lurid ingredients, it tastes amazing.

* Fry off 4 x chicken breasts and put in an ovenproof dish
* Add a good helping of cooked broccoli
* Mix 1 x tin condensed mushroom soup, 4-5 dollops of mayo, 4 tbsps double cream and enough curry powder to colour and flavour.
* Top the chicken and broc. with the creamy mix
* Blend 2 slices of bread and cover the sauce
* Add some grated parmesan if you have any
* Cook for 40 minutes. (I put it on 6 but you might want to change the times depending on whether you decide to chop the chicken into big chunks, as I did, before putting it in the oven.)


I'm sure this would translate into a great veggie dish because the sauce on the broc. was really tasty.