"I have been but little in," said Ninian hastily...

Those readers well familiar with this author know that he spent several summers working at Colonial Willamsburg in the Historic Foodways Program as a baker. One of the things he learned to make while he was there was the classic taste sensation from the southwest tip of Great Britain, the Cornish pasty. Although he does not make a habit of preparing these delicious little meat pies on a regular basis, he has had the pleasure of serving them on several occasions, including at a gala high tea in Montreal.

Nothing he's ever made, however, comes close to the awesome scrumptiousness delivered by the Pure Pasty Company of Vienna, Virginia. A friend clued me into these guys a while back, but I've not taken the time to stop by and sample their wares before this week. I was in Vienna on separate business on Friday and decided to visit their baking emporium, and my goodness am I glad I did.

I got a selection of their current pasties: a Chicken Provencal, a Moroccan Lamb, and a Traditional; I also purchased a sausage roll (for the ride home :-) and a pork pie. I ended up eating the Traditional for dinner that evening, the Lamb for lunch yesterday, and the pork pie for dinner last night. And good lord are they delicious!

Pure Pasty Company also has a selection of other UK goods (tea, jam, chocolate, tinned, bottled, and packet goods--I picked up a jar of Branston pickle). So if you'd like a Bounty bar to go with your pasty, they can help out. They have a counter for eating on the premises as well as carrying your tasty booty away. I would highly recommend a visit for anyone nearby with a craving for good, baked-meat goodness.

I had a "business meeting" with some of the lads from the office Saturday morning. A sort of off-site at a small DC convention site.

Then, after a recuperative rest, I took off for the country. The FAR country. I went on a jaunt to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, which is, according to the calculations I made with my astrolabe, behind the Sun and beyond the moon. I arrived at my B&B just as a wonderful storm was breaking, made plans with the friend I was meeting to have dinner, and watched while the wind and rain blew away all the heat and humidity we've been feeling. My friend, The Oracle, and I walked down the road to a riverside bistro, where we feasted on crab and good beer, then stepped next door for some of the best ice cream I have ever tasted

The next day I got up and wandered down to the beach and read my book and watched the morning develop. It was a truly lovely day, cool and pleasant. I had a delicious brunch at an inn just down the road from my B&B and met up with the Oracle, who whisked me off into the depths of this strange land to a huge marsh, which is a national wildlife refuge. This was absolutely stunning; even the large number of mosquitos and horse flies could not detract from a goregous blue sky filled with massive, white, puffy clouds, brilliantly shining water, and gobs and gobs of beautiful nature. We wandered about, seeing all sorts of wonderful birds, as well as several turtles and scads of minnows.

Then we got back into her venerable phaeton and sped off to an excellent gastropub nearby for a topping lunch/tea. After our meal, I reluctantly bid the Oracle farewell and headed back to DC. Despite my expectations, the immense and very alarming bridge did not suddenly twist and toss me headlong into the Chesapeake Bay (in fact, coming back it seemed not quite so huge and not nearly as scary). I arrived home, fed some very vociferous cats, and had a snack myself, downloaded my pictures from the weekend and relaxed with a little Brit TV. I had a great time, and I expect that, having found the distance not too great, the dangers not so fearsome, and the natives friendly, I may be going back again soon.

OMG, I just made the most awesome pie. I bought some ground lamb on a whim the other day, and then it occurred to me to make mince with it. I had a pie shell in the freezer, so I got a top crust. I adapted a mince pie recipe I got off the Web: I browned the lamb and then added chopped onion and carrots to it, along with some vegetable bouillon concentrate and a little flour to thicken it all up. Pop in the pie shell, cover with a top crust, bake at 375* for half an hour.

It's been cooling and I just had a tiny slice (~1") before putting it away in the fridge. Totally incredible! With a side salad or some spinach, it will be dinner for the next several nights.

Simple things are sometimes very good.

I am not a big one for the online coupon thing, but some friends got me hooked on Living Social, which often has things that I would really enjoy. The latest is a discounted price for a meal at Kushi, a DC sushi bar with a pretty good reputation (four stars on Yelp).

Of course, in an evil ploy to get one to help advertise their services, they offer to take you up on the check if you get others to buy in. I don't think that my gourmand friends are big sushi fans, but in case they (or any of you :-) are, here's the deal: you can pay a check of up to $60 for $30 with this coupon, if you buy it soon.

Chore update: All four loads of laundry washed and dried. Casualty: one coffee shop card, fully punched, good for one drink, that must have been left in a shirt pocket (I was careful to check all the trousers...)

Dinner an odd but not unpleasant meal of broccoli "slaw" sauteed with onions and mixed with browned ground turkey and soy sauce.

Watching To the Ends of the Earth, which I have the distinct but vague feeling I've seen before.

I went to sleep around one and got up around seven to write an email. I really was goign to go back to sleep, but seem never to have managed it. I think I will be doing so soon...

I'm nearing the midpoint of my little minibreak. I was very pleased with getting a few more mundane tasks accomplished yesterday (a haircut, a couple of loads of laundry, and groceries for a week or two) when I stopped to tot up all the tasks I'd set myself for this week: 37 of them in 12 categories, 7 of them breaking down into 18 subtasks. And I've gotten precisely 5 of those 37 accomplished. I need to get going. And I need to prioritise: stop doing things I can do any time I'm home, and do things that I need to do during the day when I would otherwise be at work.

As an aside, I tried some kefir last night, and I found it quite delightful. This was pomegranate-flavored kefir with a fair bit of sugar in it, to judge by the label and therefore not something I'll be drinking gallons of; but I was struck by the fact that it has less fat and less cholesterol and more fiber and more protein than a corresponding amount of 1% low-fat milk. And it's tasty (OK, that's probably the sugar...) I also got some lassi, but I haven't tried that yet.

Last night it was Devilled Chicken and Rumbledythumps. These too went down a bomb with astrongteacher. :-D I felt they came out quite well, especially the devilled chicken, which I had not made before.



SFN will be suspended for a few days and will resuem with stoved chicken, or chicken in the heather and clapshot. Though the suggestion of beef stew with Ayrshire bacon dumplings is appealing...The Tweed Kettle sounds good, as do the Sctoch Collops, and one of these nights I need to do proper mince and tatties. And, perhaps ion a weekend, some of the fancier desserts. I know one firend who would show up for dinner without being told if there were sticky toffee pudding to be had. :-)

81*F in the apartment, and that's balmy compared with the 100+F+ that it is outside this evening. BLECH!

Took effing forever getting home (over an hour and a half).

However, just now, some time to relax. gr_c17 coming over later. astrongteacher and I preparing for a long weekend getaway. Cold beer, and time to make dinner. MUCH better.

There is a rather cliché expression common in sports commentary (especially British, I find), "Cometh the hour, cometh the man." It seems to get dragged out for every crescendo.

I tend to fancy, however, that my cats have a different version of it: "Cometh the man, cometh the can!"

The later in the evening I get home, the more popular I am on my arrival. :-)

Brunch at Eastern Market yesterday with a friend.

More reorganizing and taking stock. Some sedate jogging. Vacuumed a few rooms. Exchanged some emails.

Dinner: fresh scallops sauteed in butter and then sprinkled with remoulade. Spinach wilted with a little olive oil. A glass of wine.

A little later, tea and apricots for afters.

Not bad for a humble bachelor life. Next weekend I might stretch the culture envelope a little further.