Woolpack, Ipswich
The Woolpack is a pub which is within walking distance of the town centre of Ipswich.
I was having a drink in the pub before the football on Tuesday and the landlady informed me that her husband, the chef, cooked everything from scratch and knew all about gluten-free food.
I think I’ll try the pub next time I’m in the town for a meal.
Sausage and Lentil Hotpot
I wanted something different and stole this one from Waitrose.
My version used the following ingredients.
- 1 leek, sliced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pack of Black Farmer sausages
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 large carrot, cut into cubes
- 1tsp ground cumin
- 2 bay leaves
- 200g lentils
- 200g cavolo nero cabbage, shredded
The method was as follows.
- Heat the oil in a large pan, add the sausages and fry for 5 minutes until browned. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon. Add the onion, garlic, leek and carrot and cook for 5 minutes until softened.
- Add the cumin, bay leaves and lentils with 1.5 litres water. Bring to the boil then simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until thick and soupy and the lentils are almost tender.
- Stir in the cabbage, return the sausages to the pan, cover, and cook for a further 5 minutes until the cabbage is tender.
- Discard the bay leaves and season. Serve in warmed bowls
It was good.
Lowering the Drink Drive Limit
The government has asked a legal expert to examine whether the drink drive limit should be lowered.
I’m not bothered for myself, as I usually only drink a reasonable amount each night in the privacy of my own home. Strangely, over the past few months, when I have gone out for a drink, it’s usually been for a meal as well and the amount I’ve drunk has been usually in the order of a glass of wine. Or I’ve been on a bicycle or driven by one of my children, none of whom drink alcohol.
But I am bothered for the pubs I visit locally. Will they still survive if patrons don’t drink? I suspect that as we never see a policeman in this part of Suffolk, that no-one would get caught unless they crashed.
But the whole episode shows the stupidity of Prudence and his government. He would never get the law on the statute book before the next election, so he would surely lose enough votes in the run-up to make it absolutely sure that Labour was voted out by a landslide.
The other parties must be laughing their heads off.
But anyway it’s all right for our national politicians. They live a lot of the time in London with tubes, buses and taxis. Many of them too have chauffeurs.
If like me you live in deepest Suffolk, we have no buses and tubes, and taxis to get home will often cost more than a meal for one with wine.
Meeting the Black Farmer
I like the sausages produced by the Black Farmer. So I was glad to see that he was at Presents Galore in Newmarket over the weekend. I was also a pleasure to meet him personally at the show and buy some sausages and bacon.
The sausages were pork, onion and chive. I had a pack on Saturday night witha friend. They were delicious.
It’s a pity his products are not too easy to get in Suffolk. Sainsburys used to stock them in Haverhill, but don’t now. I’ve signed his petition.
Do Dogs Work on a 23 Hour Day?
My housekeeper feeds the dogs at about mid-day.
So if I go anywhere near the kitchen from about eleven in the morning at the weekend, they are there staring wistfully at me, as if they haven’t eaten for months.
Chinese Food at the Phoenix, Histon
This is one of my favourite restaurants, so much so that when I took the pictures of the busway, I included a picture.
Phoenix Chinese Restaurant, Histon
I went last night and had an excellent meal.
As a coeliac I sometimes fear restaurants, as I’m not sure about how things are cooked. The waiter explained that most dishes are cooked with potato flour, which surprised me and that soy sauce was a problem.
For a starter, I had crispy lamb wrapped in a lettuce leaf. Note that lettuce leaves are a great alternative to pancakes and totally gluten-free.
I followed it with beef and lemon chicken. That incidentally uses custard powder, which I wasn’t sure about, but I have had no reaction today.
So if you’re travelling down the A14, visit the Phoenix, which is about two kilometres from the road on the B1049 going north.
I Don’t Drink Enough
Sometimes research gives you a lift.
Spanish research has now shown that drinking a bottle of wine a day is good for your heart. It’s published in the magazine, Heart, so it’s probably been peer-reviewed.
I’ll drink to that!
But on the other hand if I drunk that much every day, I’d never get any work done!
Aspall Cyder in Greene King Pubs
My local pubs, which are Greene King, have now started serving Aspall Cyder on draught. I’m not sure whether this is Greene King policy, but I suspect that as Aspall is a Suffolk brand and we tend to be parochial, you can’t sell Strongbow against a proper local cyder. So I suspect that Greene King have had to allow their landlords to stock a rival product, as Aspall is distributed by Adnams.
If you haven’t tried it yet, draught Aspall Cyder has made me forget all about trying to find any decent gluten-free beer.
Clapham Junction
I’ve rarely caught a train from this station, but the Train Timetable site said that by travelling via Tottenham Hale, Vauxhall and Clapham Junction was the quickest way to get through London. I was actually travelling from Stansted Airport to Winchester.
Note the Hot Ribena. I used to like that, but now because it is made from wheat glucose, it gives me the runs.
One of the problems of being a coeliac. But the EU says that wheat glucose is fine for me, so it must be OK!
It bloody well isn’t!
A Pleasant Surprise
I enquired about booking a box at Ipswich Town Football Club and we were discussing food, when I said that I was a coeliac. The lady at the other end said that was not a problem, provided they had a day’s notice. She said that they were increasingly being asked for gluten-free meals in their catering and their chefs were trained accordingly.
What was also good, was that the lady on the phone knew all about it, without referring to a chef or a manager.
Let’s hope this is a sign to come for mass catering.
The Anonymous Widower 