test please delete

[DoctorStrangelove]

The increasing proof of the decay of the Strangelove memory was confirmed by the repeated purchase of "Knight & Day", Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, which I realised I'd seen before about 3 minutes in when she's pullig a set of carbs & an inlet manifold off a GTO V8 in a scrapyard.

Ho hum.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1013743/

Ho very hum.

Despite this I rather enjoyed it up until the 3rd act, by which time I was falling asleep, which didn't help much.

[WTFH]

Morning all clear blue skies and sunshine mean that once I’ve done my main task for the weekend (trying on suits for a wedding) then I’ll be in the garden all day.

[NickFitz]

Afternoon denizens

Sunny again

[NickFitz]

The slow cooker has been pressed into service in the name of chicken and barley soup

Once I've recovered from sorting that out, which even involved going over to Sainsbury's Local for carrots as the ones I had were manky, I'll start thinking about lunch.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Surely sir could merely cut the black & rotten bits off said carrots?

I mature the parsnips for the lentil soup for several weeks until they're giving off the smell of fermentation.

Makes the soup taste really nice.

Apart from the black bits of course.

Dunno wtf I fished out of the freezer yesterday but it most definitely wasn't lamb.

I do so hope it wasn't intended for the late lamented cat.

Labelling stuff never was Strangelove Mater's strong point.

Which might explain why I've had stewed rasberries (2012ish) again, rather than the gooseberries I was expecting.

I've decided that the current cat is to be blessed with the remains of whatever the feck that was, and I'll have fish tomorrow.

I think that must have been the most disappointing Sunday lunch in years if not decades.

The raspberries & custard were nice though.

In other other news, the fairly useless Miele fixit man is attending yet again tomorrow afternoon.

I should be charging these twats for lost time.

[NickFitz]

Surely sir could merely cut the black & rotten bits off said carrots?

There were a few blackish bits, but more than that they were sort of shrivelled and dried up; mummified, if you will. I suspect I bought them a couple of months ago.

Anyway, I was able to use the excursion to buy carrots to also buy crisps and beer, so it wasn't too arduous

[cojak]

The slow cooker has been pressed into service in the name of chicken and barley soup

Once I've recovered from sorting that out, which even involved going over to Sainsbury's Local for carrots as the ones I had were manky, I'll start thinking about lunch.

Recipe please? (Quantities as much as anything - I’m terrified of the barley pushing the lid off the slow cooker if I get it wrong).

Lovely day here too btw.

Did a little walk around town, not much though.

[NickFitz]

Recipe please? (Quantities as much as anything - I’m terrified of the barley pushing the lid off the slow cooker if I get it wrong).

Lovely day here too btw.

Did a little walk around town, not much though.

Last time I apparently used about 150g dried pearl barley to around 2 litres of soup - as I recall, it was a bit over half full in my 3.5 litre slow cooker. I actually found that a little much for my taste, so I'm going to try a bit less this time.

On the other hand, I'm relying on figures I entered into MyFitnessPal for the recipe, and it's always possible I copied them from somewhere and really used more (or even less) than that last time. I'll post an update after this lot is made and sampled, probably tomorrow as it won't even be ready until quite late tonight

[NickFitz]

Last time I apparently used about 150g dried pearl barley to around 2 litres of soup - as I recall, it was a bit over half full in my 3.5 litre slow cooker. I actually found that a little much for my taste, so I'm going to try a bit less this time.

On the other hand, I'm relying on figures I entered into MyFitnessPal for the recipe, and it's always possible I copied them from somewhere and really used more (or even less) than that last time. I'll post an update after this lot is made and sampled, probably tomorrow as it won't even be ready until quite late tonight

Just checked, and the 500g packet of pearl barley now weighs around 350g, so 150g if you like lots of barley in there seems about right.

As there was plenty of space above the soup, as recommended by the manufacturer, overflowing wasn't an issue. Anyway, it swells because it's absorbing liquid that's already in there, so in theory the overall volume doesn't really change much.

[NickFitz]

Recipe please? (Quantities as much as anything - I’m terrified of the barley pushing the lid off the slow cooker if I get it wrong).

Lovely day here too btw.

Did a little walk around town, not much though.

Just realised I didn't include the rest of the recipe

This is for my 3.5 litre slow cooker.

1 chicken carcase including about a breast's worth of meat. Pull the remaining meat off and put it back in the fridge. I usually stick a good bunch of fresh thyme in the inside of the carcase along with a few peppercorns. Wrap the carcase in butter muslin, tied up, as that keeps all those little bones from the spine from ending up in the soup and breaking your teeth or getting stuck in your throat later.

3 or so medium carrots, 2 or 3 sticks of celery, 1 or 2 largish onions. Chop each of these in half lengthways, and chuck them in the pot with the swaddled carcase. Add salt and pepper as desired, though you can always adjust the seasoning later.

Pour in about 2 litres of water, which will come near the top of the pot with everything else already in there, and put it on low (assuming you have plenty of time). Let it cook for about five hours.

Lift out the swaddled carcase; I usually put it in a large sieve or colander over a Pyrex bowl to drain. Scoop out the vegetables with a slotted spoon, add either some of the soup from the pot or more fresh water, and blitz in the liquidiser. Pour back into the slow cooker, along with the liquid that drained off the carcase. Chop the meat you held back at the start into little bits and chuck it in.

Adjust seasoning if necessary. Chuck in the dried pearl barley, say about 120g of it. Give it all a good stir and close the lid.

Cook for another two to three hours; the barley will probably be done after two, but it won't fall apart if it gets a bit longer.

Job's a good 'un