This crisp morning dawned without a cloud, mountains covered in snow. The lovely Ursula knocked on the door and asked if I wanted to go bärlauch-ing. She’d ID’d a huge patch next to a barn around the corner, so we walked over and assembled huge bouquets of leaves. I got 300g, and it still didn’t look like we’d ever been there–could have provisioned a village. I combined 100g with some of the chive forest I harvested yesterday and made two logs of herb butter. The rest went into pesto with parmesan, hazelnut oil, and our toasted hazelnuts.
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Oh hell yes, now that I will steal.
Here is a fun thing to do with spuds.
Cut into finger thick slabs, allign on a chopstick and cut at an angle using the chopstick as a guide, then flip and turn 180° and cut at the same angle
Dusted with flour, cornstarch, I used some blue poppy seeds and pepper.
Rub chopped garlick, Oil and Kräuterbutter into the (lets call them) gills and pop in the oven.
I was feeling a little playfull and modified Slammer’s special fish batter with yeast and herbs a bit of kurkuma salt, pepper hot paprika thyme and other bits and bobs snd used it to batter chicken breasts that have been marinating in garum for the afternoon.
Oh boy, now that really needs a repeat.
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Rib Eye (sous-vide) with Kräuterbutter, smashed potatoes and green asparagus tips (both prepped in the oven)
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Why do I now have that Jingle stuck in my head..?
“For mash get smash”
(sorry)
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First BBQ of the season (hey, we’re cold up here!). Chicken with bourbon barbeque sauce, burst-skin veal wurst with Lustenauer senf, asparagus with bärlauch butter, grilled red capsicum, and a “salad/salsa” of ripe mango, cucumber, scallion, tomato, red onion, lime juice, chili pepper confetti. Just as we finished, the clouds moved in and there’s a thunderstorm warning.
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Droool!
It was the smashed potatoes, maybe a bit before your time.
Here, young’un…
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We linked to the same video … 
Anyway, I indeed didn’t grow up with Cadbury’s instant mashed potato but the equivalent in Switzerland: Stocki!
Can’t recall any TV ads (probably because we didn’t have a TV), but distinctly remember Knorrli, their (the brand’s) figurehead.
I remember Knorrli well as my grandma’s letter box key was attached to a Knorrli keychain which was many times in my small fist when I had to go fetch the mail for her.
Knorr is still a brand, now under Unilever.
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I love watching old adverts from the sixties and seventies for a twinge of nostalgia
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British owned - so Aromat is English!
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Blackrock is English?
Blackrock is an asset management company.
Unilever is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever Brothers.
I had checked recently as there has been talk of moving manufacturing of Aromat from Switzerland to Germany with much protest from the Swiss.
Last time I was visiting my mum in the UK, I saw a container of Aromat in her kitchen.
The last time I saw one of those there was in the 1970s when all things fondue and Swiss were all the rage and Habitat did a roaring trade in fondue caquelons.
Knowing my mum, I did check to see whether the Aromat container she had in her current kitchen was the same one from the 70s!
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Oh I remember those ads so well.
I grew up near Huddersfield and we were chuffed to bits when we got a mention in one of those ads.
Oh God, I saw myself cleaning the frying pan with a piece of bread.
I think I’m hungry 
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Bärlauch fever has overtaken us here. I am guilty of revisiting the huge patch to get some fresh supplies…they only last 12 hours before the perfume is gone. Tonight, gnudi made with the blanched, shocked, and squeezed leaves and ricotta. Simmered until they float, then warmed in a pesto Calabrese with some blackened capsicum from the barbie. Meanwhile, butterflied salmon filets rolled around basil-lemon filling and steamed asparagus spears are gently sautéed in a tiny knob of butter. Spring on a plate!
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Last night, hole-in-the-centre fat fresh bigoli pasta never got a chance for a picture before being devoured, topped with rabbit ragú and plenty of parsley. The salad was shaved fennel and cucumber, dressed with a squeeze of fresh lemon, a drizzle of Greek olive oil, and strewn with fennel feathers and chive flowers. They flower for such a short time, and we have so many patches, that I can live with losing a few leaves. The Flower Moon dinner bouquet included lilac, lily-of-the-valley, and alba bleeding hearts.
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