Small things matter

[Bugtownboy]

Don’t use brown sauce very often, Gus, but, when I do, I like Lidl’s own - tastes what I think a brown sauce should. May not be for the purists, though.

We have a local cheese shop that serves an ‘under counter’ Cheddar. I’ve never asked why it’s under counter, but it’s generally blokes that ask for it Adequately strong, nice texture with enough of that crystalline/crunchy/grittiness.

A mighty fine cheese.

The UK produces some belting cheeses, just that they’re hard to find/get in amongst all of the adulterated carp the supers try to push.

[Mr Gus]

I knew of one cheesemonger, who gave that up in the mid nineties, delis have a few but they are few & far between round our way, cheese counter at waitrose even got naff circa 2017 ..my favourite reason for going in there. ..no more.

What is the lidl remniscent of? is it a batley's product? ..I've not had much joy with them (nor do they have ev charging) & after being treated abysmally by a twat manager have hardly used them in over a year.
(a daft easily resolvable problem with their app that would hold up queues at the till) ..for which I was kicked out of the store ..their loss #LidlHitler

[Joeboy]

Something primitive about getting the fire going from the previous days burn

We never aim to do it, ie, never ‘slumbering’ the stove, but often, particularly if there’s a good bed of ash, there’s enough glowing embers to start again if needed.

You’re certainly maxing the output of the WBS’s, Joe

We’re having a simple pasta bake with some sautéed Turnip tops for lunch - be finished off/gratinated on the WBS.

BTB, day 2 FOOOMF! the whitecube is a firelighter of a type. Small cardboard box packed out with woodshavings. We don't use firelighters (Zip etc) but instead use toiletroll tubes. Can't emphasise enough how effective a single toiletroll tube is as a firestarter (if you can't catch autoignition). One more small removal of a FF product from our life, I like that!

[Bugtownboy]

I understand some of the country folk in the US (where a lot of domestic heating/cooking is via wood) compete to see how many matches they use in a heating season. (OK, so the blokes compete )

The target is obviously one

[Oldgreybeard]

I knew of one cheesemonger, who gave that up in the mid nineties, delis have a few but they are few & far between round our way, cheese counter at waitrose even got naff circa 2017 ..my favourite reason for going in there. ..no more.

What is the lidl remniscent of? is it a batley's product? ..I've not had much joy with them (nor do they have ev charging) & after being treated abysmally by a twat manager have hardly used them in over a year.
(a daft easily resolvable problem with their app that would hold up queues at the till) ..for which I was kicked out of the store ..their loss #LidlHitler

We get some cracking cheese from our local farm shop. Some is locally made, some from a short distance away. I think the furthest any of it travels is from Somerset, most, including buffalo feta, blue vinney, various goat's milk cheeses, a very tasty Dorset brie and an excellent very hard parmesan-like cheese are made very locally. We're fortunate in that several of the smaller local farms have branched out into enterprises like making wine, cheese, and smoked products, we even have a buffalo farm not far away (had roast buffalo for Christmas dinner last year).

The problem is that none of these small enterprises want to deal with the supermarkets, mostly because they've all suffered at the hands of supermarket buyers in the past. This means they only sell locally, although one local fish farm (mostly trout, fresh and smoked) and the fantastic butcher in Shaftesbury, do have a delivery service once a week.

[Bugtownboy]

If you come across a Goat Cheddar, OGB, (think that’s how our cheese shop describes it ?) , try it. It’s a hard(ish) goats cheese, not too ‘goaty’ and, to my palate, very nice.

We’re just back from Lanzarote - if you look, there’s lots of local cheeses (all goat) and all very good. Some very aged and, I would imagine, challenging to some

Having access to local shops (Baker, Dairy, Butcher) makes you realise how much you miss if your only food supply is the supers.

[Joeboy]

.

[Joeboy]

I understand some of the country folk in the US (where a lot of domestic heating/cooking is via wood) compete to see how many matches they use in a heating season. (OK, so the blokes compete )

The target is obviously one

Hot damn Bubba, challenge!

[Oldgreybeard]

If you come across a Goat Cheddar, OGB, (think that’s how our cheese shop describes it ?) , try it. It’s a hard(ish) goats cheese, not too ‘goaty’ and, to my palate, very nice.

We’re just back from Lanzarote - if you look, there’s lots of local cheeses (all goat) and all very good. Some very aged and, I would imagine, challenging to some

Having access to local shops (Baker, Dairy, Butcher) makes you realise how much you miss if your only food supply is the supers.

I'll keep an eye out for it next time we've over there. I think the only cheddar they normally stock is from Somerset, very tasty, but slightly too strong for my taste. My wife's into goat's milk, cheese and yoghurt, though, so I'll ask her if she's seen anything cheddar-like in that section.

Your point about having access to local shops is extremely true here. We only buy basics from the supermarket, everything else comes from the farm shop (which has its own bakery) or the local butcher's delivery service. There is no comparison when it comes to quality, the local foods knock even the best from Waitrose into a cocked hat, and are no more expensive (often they are cheaper). Probably one of the main benefits of living in a rural area, a dozen miles away from a supermarket, is that it's quicker and easier to phone an order to the farm shop and then nip up the road to collect it.

[Oldgreybeard]

Out of interest, does anyone else have milk and fresh vegetable vending machines in their area?

They are stringing up around here now, run and maintained by the local farm shops. I happened to be parked by one a couple of weeks ago when the farm van arrived to top it up. Not used one yet, but they dispense unwrapped fresh veg like any other vending machine and dispense fresh milk into bring-your-own bottles. Seems like a brilliant idea, just bring your own bottle, swipe your card or wave your phone at the thing and the machine duly dispenses the amount of milk you need. Very little waste and means bottles can be re-used many, many times, plus the milk is always close to being farm fresh.