Kippled

After another long interval, here is another random post. It's not really a case of nothing to write about - rather the reverse, but by the time I think of something to say, the moment is past, or my grasshopper (well, Toad) sized brain has skipped onto something else. 

However, yesterday was Father's Day, and although I realise it's a totally manufactured date (originally a bit of positive discrimination for blokes), it does provide an excuse for Cake, and I have to say that Mrs JBJ does make exceedingly good cakes. She's good at lots of things, but put her behind some flour, eggs, butter and sugar, and the result will always be divine.

I should point out that I was never that much taken with a plain Victoria sponge, which I'd always regarded as a bit insubstantial, but layered with half an inch of proper buttercream and strawberry jam, and topped with meringue icing, it is anything but. We also now have our own eggs, thanks to Gertie, Genevieve, Geraldine and Ginger, but that's another blog post, which I will get round to any year now...

"Do you like Kipling?" said the hopeful young suitor.
"I don't know" said his intended, "I've never kippled." 

(Too) much Wenlock

I hadn't meant to be away for quite so long (too much time reading other people's blogs), but it seems appropriate to rejoin the fray now that the new Olympic mascots have been unveiled.

I can do no better than report the finding of a survey of marketers, usually an optimistic bunch, saying that "30% did admit that they preferred the characters to the Olympic logo", which rather implies that 70% of them thought that they were even worse.

Or as a commenter on The Register put it: "the lovechild of the Crazy frog and the Aliens from the Simpsons".

Sounds about right to me.

Olympic logo...

The new logo (sorry, 'brand') for the London Olympics was unveiled today and it's so bloody awful, I feel compelled to write. Happily, there is a petition to change it already, but God knows if that will do any good.

What is it about designers and branding? As with management 'consultants' (most of whom have never even managed a coffee morning) if you ask the question: "Does this need changing?", you will get an affirmative answer, but that doesn't mean you should do it. Businesses like the Post Office and the NHS do not need 'branding' at all (people are going to use them anyway) and big companies like BA change things at their peril - making their appearance different does not generate customers, but it can drive existing ones away - tail fins, anyone?.

WRT the Olympics, we had a logo already, so changing it only serves to confuse. Changing it for a logo that looks like a couple have Clinton-style sex is just barking!

Spam, spam, spam

I'm happy to say that I generally receive a manageable amount of spam, and have an email client (Opera) that is pretty good at identifying it and shoving it straight in the bin.
I'm not saying this to appear smug, as I realise that plenty of people are inundated with the stuff,  and I spend some of my working life trying to rescue them, a job that will only become satisfying when a few of the perpetrators are put up against a wall and shot.
I'm not generally in favour of capital punishment, but for them I would make an exception, as it must be about the most anti-social activity on the planet (I know it's not actual bodily harm, but I wouldn't rule that out if I met one of them).
Of course, the irony is that spam only works because a small percentage of recipients respond. If people would just stop answering ads for sex aids, the problem would go away, but I guess that's not going to happen anytime soon. Maybe the answer is to pay for them (emails, not sex aids), but although I'd be happy enough to pay a few pence a time, I'd probably feel differently if I ran a charity or a mail-order business.
Also, it would have to be administered without too much government nosiness, which seems pretty unfeasible in the present climate...

A starting point, if you are an Outlook Express user, is to switch to another email program that can identify spam, such as Thunderbird, Opera, or David Harris's excellent Pegasus. You have to help it initially by identifying unwanted messages, but thereafter it will do a reasonable job. Any of these programs will also improve your security, as just about all email exploits are written with Microsoft in mind. Just check the spam occasionally for genuine emails from unexpected sources, especially if you have an Aunt Viagra... 
 

Rabbit, rabbit

We've been making and eating Welsh Rabbit, also known as 
Welsh Rarebit*, but either way, it's glorified cheese on toast. 
Still, it is distinctive enough to qualify as a dish in its own right, 
and as it is difficult to make truly inedible, it responds well to 
experimentation.
Anyway, it must have gone down well, as I didn't have time to
take a photograph, so you'll just have to imagine something that
looks like grilled cheese, but with a slightly smoother texture
and beginning to brown.
I don't really have a recipe, but the general idea is to grate some
cheese (any of the British 'county' cheeses, possibly excepting
Lanarkshire) and mix in a little mustard flour/powder and some
beer or white wine.  Stir it all together (with salt, pepper and 
Worcester sauce to taste) and apply a thick layer to some lightly 
toasted bread and butter, then grill until the cheese mixture 
starts to acquire brown patches. Remove and serve.

*The term 'rarebit' seems to have been an attempt to divert
attention from the real origin of the name, dating from a time
when the Welsh were not so highly regarded. This from Wikipedia:
"In a society where most people could snare a rabbit for the
cooking pot, a Welshman was considered by some people so
hopelessly feckless that cheese melted with beer would have to
substitute." Ah well...

PS. Rabbit also means incessant chatter, hence the link at the top (which no longer works - sorry)

Crumbling on...

The surplus of fruit continues, so in an heroic attempt to deal with
the problem, Mrs JBJ assembled one with apples, blackberries,
plums and pears. As you can see, half of it had already gone by the
time I got to the camera (same with the bacon and onion quiche),
and bloody good it was too. I promise to change the subject soon,
but it's not too late to make your own...

Recipe:
The quantities will depend on the size of your dishes, but the one
above had about 2 pounds of fruit and the crumble mixture was
8 oz of plain flour, 4 oz of sugar and 4 oz of butter (don't worry
about units - it's the ratios that matter).
The last three are put in a bowl and 'rubbed' by hand to make a crumbly texture. The fruit is put in the dish, with sugar to taste, 
and then warmed in the oven for 20 minutes. Then spread the crumble mixture evenly over the top and bake for
30-40 mins at 200 degC, or until the top begins to brown.
Serve with lashings of Jersey cream, ice-cream or custard.
If you're worried about saturated fat and sugar, you shouldn't
even be reading this.
 

Mustn't crumble

But I will...  For those who are unfamiliar with the dish,
a crumble is a baked dessert with your choice of fruit inside.
We've had a bumper crop of plums, greengages and apples
in our own garden, as has just about everyone else in the UK
this year. Crumble is deeply delicious, especially if made with
butter and served hot with cream or ice-cream. We don't
do margarine in this house, and I'm pleased to see that
hydrogenated fats are now being held up as more of a health
hazard than the simple saturated variety. It's processing that
spoils food, not the original content, which is one reason the
above (which has a total of 4 ingredients) tastes better than
anything you can buy from a supermarket.
Finish off with your favourite liqueur/single malt and a cigar 
(not you, Monica) for a memorable evening, and leave off
trying to set the world to rights...