Snippets

[kaberett]

Culinary adventure of the day: I had a kilo of Seville oranges in the fridge needing Something To Be Done With Them, and then today while taking a lot of painkillers in Waitrose there appeared before me, as of a vision, reduced bergamot. I didn't know that Waitrose even sold bergamot; I can but assume that they're stored above my eyeline.

I now have the first stage of bergamot marmalade simmering away.

(Painkillers: I managed to ??sublux?? ??wrench?? my good shoulder while putting on some jewelry this morning, and ended up at the point where I was going to be clearer and more decisive having taken codeine and a muscle relaxant than not. Bodies: WHO KNOWS.)

What other news is there? Let's see. On Saturday last I went around the Science Museum (well, a bit of it) with Simon; we said hello to the new (tiny) Skylark exhibition, celebrating British space science; the maths gallery, which included among other items an Important Architectural Dragon; a brief hello to the clocks gallery, where I (re)discovered watch guards; and a look around the Information Age gallery, which had broken lifts and a stunning absence of the printing press. Also token BSL translations of everything... because, as far as we could tell, Alexander Graham Bell.

And I'm sure there was something else I was going to tell you but it escapes me, so instead have a short story about a ghost temple cat and a space station by yhlee.

Comments

[kaberett]

(Culinary adventure of last week: not-hideously-sweet apricot-white chocolate ganache, for optimum food dye uptake and because sebastienne asked, sort of.

Approximately equal quantities apricot jam (or puree if you can be bothered to stew up fresh or dried ones), cocoa butter, milk- or coconut-milk powder (the principle being cocoa butter needs solids in order to coalesce). Add more solids as required to get desired consistency. Possibly add a splash of apricot brandy to make it even more obviously in-yer-face apricot.)

[mathemagicalschema]

"bergamot marmalade"

*ahem* excuse me yes I would like to subscribe to your newsletter

[kaberett]

I asked the internet briefly and the hipsters seemed to be willing to sell it for a ludicrous amount of money so I was pretty on board with making it at home for nothingcheap

I am currently debating the merits of dumping some garden mint in, but I suspect future Alex doesn't actually want more than a single standard jar of mint-flavoured marmalade

[davidgillon]

A friend always flavours of her marmalade crop up with her husband's whiskey. I think he has mixed feelings on this.

I did once have Bergamot flavoured beer, one of those Belgian monkish brews. Definitely an intriguing taste.

[lunabee34]

That marmalade sounds delightful.

[ewt]

I had no idea they sold bergamot either. It might be a very seasonal thing, though.

[kaberett]

Oh, probably! But I'm still astonished they exist at all.

[sebastienne]

*googles bergamot*

*is shocked and appalled* I always thought it was a plant...

[sebastienne]

like the scent absolutely hits my "you shouldn't eat that it's a flower" buttons

but it's not a flower

my concept of myself is in tatters

[kaberett]

hey hey psst

would u like to try some marmalade

[kaberett]

it is a plant! it's a perfectly cromulent citrus plant!

[me_and]

I, too, had been convinced it was a plant. It lies.

[kaberett]

IT IS A PLANT

[fyreharper]

Plaaaaant :)

[fyreharper]

Wellllll technically there is also a herbaceous (and edible or at least tea-able) plant called bergamot: http://www.prairienursery.com/store/native-plants/bergamot-monarda-fistulosa

But that is probably not the bergamot flavor you are looking for! (I have not investigated how close in flavor it comes to the citrus... but descriptions of 'minty' suggest perhaps-not-very.)

[sylvaine]

Ooooh, that sounds delish! Sorry about your body doing the thing. *hugs*

Science Museum sounds fun :D

[vass]

Oho, zesty, zesty! This one will do very well shared.

(That's the Alarming Scholar's response to being offered bergamot marmalade an Intriguing Snippet. The Alarming Scholar's one of several non-binary characters in Sunless Sea. I am having something of a Sunless Sea situation at the moment.)

[kaberett]

I have thus far resisted falling into the particular abyss of Sunless Sea but A is occasionally Encouraging. So. :D

[vass]

:D It's awesome, but the abyss is very large, so unless your spare time is actually copious, resisting is probably for the best.

[divulge]

I, too, didn't know that bergamots were oranges!

Hurray Science Museum!

i need to come up with money to throw at DW for my icons back, ugh

[sporky_rat]

Are we talking the Seville orange bergamot or the bee balm bergamot?

Re: i need to come up with money to throw at DW for my icons back, ugh

[kaberett]

... the Earl Grey tea kind of bergamot?