L'enquête porcine

Sunday a week ago was once again a pork day, seemingly the first since late August, noticed at reference 1. A bit surprised that it was so long but a quick check did not turn up one since. Perhaps a long check later today.

This one was a good looking piece of rolled shoulder which weighed in at 4lbs 6oz, a little more than the last one, so we gave it a little more time. Salted and into the oven at 160°C at 1030. I might say that being tied by the butcher in white string looked a lot more appetising than being wrapped in blue elasticated netting by Mr. Sainsbury.

Pork in oven, off round Jubilee Way. Overcast when I left, thought about sunglasses and didn't bother, didn't even put them in a saddle bag, which was a mistake, as the sun came out shortly after I set off, to be a nuisance on the way in, from Hook on, especially down our bit of Hook Road.

Bridge under the railway at the bottom of West Hill flooded again, so I had to dismount and go through the pedestrian tunnel. Where a talkative lady latched onto me with talk about how slack it was that the council didn't do anything about it. Talk without regard to social distancing. I decided against pointing out that if she paid a bit more tax, the council might have a bit more money - and might then get around to things like mending the soakaway. On which see reference 2. While coming the other way, we had a gentleman cyclist of middle years who did not look set to dismount, as instructed. I decided against pulling him up.

Epsom foodie market quiet. Roads in general quiet. Whiffs of wet leaves in places where there were trees. Very path through the woods. While the tree in Jubilee Way which was the subject of reference 3 was more or less bare.

Home to take the pork out of the oven at 1315 to test it. All was well, so returned to the oven, now switched off, to rest before the off.

Served with brown rice, crinkly cabbage, dab of spinach, parsnips, carrots. Apple sauce and gravy for BH. And I might say that the butcher in Manor Green Road had done us very well, with the pork being spot on.

And, as it happens, wine from the same stable as last time, but this time 'Mademoiselle' rather than the 'Pierre Précieuse' of last time. It did very well too.

Rhubarb crumble for dessert. I forgot to find out where the rhubarb came from at this odd time of year. The asparagus BH has been getting comes from Peru, so who knows. Noting in passing that Peru might be pleased to sell us vegetables, but all that air freight is not very planet friendly. And not good enough to say that it is only travelling in the holds of planes which would by flying anyway. Should I be speaking to the customer services people at Sainsbury's, given the parade they make of being good for the planet in other ways? See reference 5.

Snapped above near the end of the first shift. After which the crows did a good quick job on the scraps of fat. Don't mind feeding them, but I do mind feeding the foxes.

Day only marred by my going on to lose at Scrabble for the second day running. Things got worse during the week following, as noticed at reference 4.

Two more days out of the cold pork, when it did well with hot vegetables.

PS: odd that I no longer bother with gravy. Twenty years ago used to make quite a palaver about making gravy (except in the case of roast lamb which did not seem to work very well), with dipping hunks of white bread into the gravy while still on the stove being a major part of Sunday lunch.

Reference 1: psmv4: Series 3, Episode VI.

Reference 2: psmv4: Drainage.

Reference 3: psmv4: Checking up.

Reference 4: psmv4: A real disaster.

Reference 5: psmv2: Digester. Not sure that this post gets things quite right. My current belief is that the tank and its hole are something to do with linking the refrigeration and heating systems in the shop. And with storing heat down holes. Perhaps there is a subsequent post.