Around the Table - Diana Henry

I've been knitting a lot and not reading as much as I should; some of my reading has been re-reading at that (Gaudy Night again), but I have finished Diana Henry's Around The Table after having it on the go for a while. 

Around the Table is a collection of 52 essays on Food and Life and not really designed for reading cover to cover in one go - much better to dip in and out of I think, and really savour in the process. It is not a cookbook although there are plenty of tips and suggestions in here for the cook to consider.

I have a long-standing love for Diana's books, which I have successfully managed to share with my husband who is now also happily cooking his way through A Bird In The Hand and from Oven To Table. These are practical books full of the kind of food that we both like and recipes that have proven to be reliable time after time. For husband, who could and did cook for himself, and us, for years, but with a limited repertoire both titles have been significant confidence boosters. He likes that things turn out very much like the pictures. 

I would be well served if he would read Around The Table too, for the extra hints and food philosophy. For anyone familier with Diana's articles and cookbooks there will be familiar territory here - her thoughts on the quality of pork and the virtues of a good butcher bear repeating - it really does make a difference. If we ever manage to leave Leicester, the butchers on the local market will be one of my biggest misses. 

In Cold Kitchen Caroline Eden talks about books to have to hand, the sort perfect to browse or read through whilst waiting for something to cook. Around The Table is exactly that sort of book. The essays are short enough to fit well with the need to give something an occasional stir, or until the next thing needs to be added. As it's also a book that might inspire your next meal or project - citrus season is at it's height right now, do I just enjoy the blood oranges whilst they're here and as they are, or do I go and buy seville's and make some marmalade? Or help you make a better salad dressing, its physical as well as spiritual home is very much near the kitchen table too. 

In short a deeply enjoyable book that feels like the best sort of conversation between reader and author. It builds on previous books, feels chatty and warm without being overly intimate (sometimes biographies can be too revealing; this isn't that, or a biography). I love the essay format and generally could stand to see a lot more books of this calibre around. 

New year, New Jumper, New Project

Work took up a lot of energy last year, and amongst other things, knitting fell a bit by the wayside. On New Year's day I finally finished a jumper I started over a year ago and had meant to finish variously by the start of December, my birthday, Christmas, and then finally New Year - which was just in time for the cold snap so I suppose it was done at just the right time in the end.

There was no particular pattern for this one, just bits and pieces from other jumpers that I liked. I had an idea of what I wanted which hadn't quite worked out for an earlier version (I made it both too short and a little bit smaller than I really wanted). the yarn is Jamieson and Smth 5 ply which is lovely to knit with and gives quite a heavy, drappy, fabric. I wanted quite a slouchy jumper with space for layers underneath and not too dense a fabric. I got all of that and also something which wasn't quite as see through as my first attempt - colour choice helped a lot with that.

The sleeves have ended up quite close-fitting which I like, but I wouldn't do as close again - they're exactly the right length, but don't really push up, which is fine in winter, but maybe less so in warmer weather. Equally, I wouldn't get a long-sleeved tee to fit comfortably underneath them, which, alas, not great for winter. 

Otherwise, it's a nice looking jumper - this is it before it went on the board - that is remarkably warm and that I've already worn a lot.

The new project is a proper Fair Isle slipover - a Mati Ventrilon slipover pattern from the 2025 wool week annual. It's got elements I would normally avoid, the first being quite a deep rib knitted on 2mm needles. Ribbing like this bores me - 20 rows at 336 stitches a row felt like a marathon effort. The sleeve holes will be steeked. I've used steeks before, but again - it wasn't a process I loved, especially at the finishing stage. This will also be the garment where I make myself learn how to graft my knitting together rather than relying on a 3 needle bind off. Plenty of challenges then.

Of course, the first challenge was what colours to use. I have a lot of yarn in my stash, and I need to use some of it, buying specifically for this project was not an option. Unfortunatley it turns out that what I've got a lot of is small amounts which are perfect for hats or gloves, but fall short of enough for this particular slipover. I do also have a few cones and colours in sufficient quantities, but not ao many that would work well together or the intended wearer would like (husband). Eventually, I hit on a combination that I thought would work, but it's knitting up a little more subtly than I had hoped. 

Husband likes the effect, so that's fine, and I love the main colour, but it is a bit of an issue when you do most of your yarn shopping on holiday, and it's a lot more expensive to order online from a distance. It's not really feasible to buy big project quantities without a specific big project in mind, but is it sensible to have huge quantities of shades but only in 2 or 3 balls at a time. Also, probably no.

One answer will be to have a big sort out, find all the yarn that's hidden around the flat and arrange it sensibly. Not a job I'm feeling very enthusiastic about given how much of it there is. Wish me luck. 

Vin Chaud, Good Drinks, and not doing Dry January

It's been a long time since December was a boozy month for me. I don't find the pressure of the busiest time of year mixes well with alcohol, so when things slow down a bit in January, I'm ready to responsibly enjoy a small amount of alcohol - anything more than that plays hell with my peri menopausal system. Given there's a long haul of winter still ahead it also seems counterintuitive to get all austere now. I have tins and tins of unfinished Christmas biscuits, most of a cake, and we were given some very nice bottles this year; I'm not turning my back or otherwise wasting any of it.

The responsible and small amounts part of alcohol consumption is covered by instigating a cocktail habit - a single drink to hit the moment between dinner going in the oven and it being ready to eat. Partly inspired by Virginia Miller's Uneasy Elixirs - a really very good cocktail book that had a lot of things we wanted to try in it that got us started, and then dusting down books I haven't used much since leaving the wine trade it's making Winter feel much more lightsome.

I have written about, tested, and quoted from Ambrose Heath's Good Drinks many times over the years, it's one of the few books I have that really covers hot alcoholic drinks, and once again I'm sitting here with the outside temperature hovering around freezing day and night wondering why we don't do more hot punch type drinks, and why we leave mulled wine behind in December. 

Anyone who's known me for a while, or used to read this blog a few years ago will probably know that  have strong feelings about mulled wine, although nowhere sells out of the pre-bottled stuff like they used to. I think this might just be because it's less popular than it was, but there's nothing better for a lazy, freezing, weekend day off. 

The easiest version of a mulled wine I've found is Ambrose Heath's Vin Chaud - Good Drinks was published in 1939, and this version is by far the simplest I can find - which is a big part of its appeal, current recipes feel over-complicated and don't have the differentiation from other versions of mulled wine to make it stand out.

Ambrose Heath only asks that you sweeten a bottle of claret of burgandy (any cheap but not awful red wine will work) to your taste and heat it in a pan with a stick of cinnamon. As soon as it approches boiling remove from the heat, extract the cinnamon, and serve in mugs or glasses "in the bottom of which there is already a slice of lemon." Simple, quick, not too strong. Perfect.

New Year, New Ways to Procrastinate

After a very busy peak period at work I managed to get the first week of January off (worked on the 2nd, but missed the last weekend of the school holidays). Somewhere at the back of my head was a plan to really start writing here - but instead I started a jigsaw puzzle so fiendish that I gave up on it after 3 days and took it to a charity shop. And then, having learnt nothing, started another, more enjoyable one. It still isn't finished either.

I did at least finish the jumper I started in autumn 2024 on New Year's day, in time for the very cold snap, but otherwise it's been some light reading, lighter film watching, cooking, and generally not going out very much. We had thought about going away, but the weather being what it has I'm glad we didn't. The chance for a few really lazy, unproductive days has been delightful, especially as my job role changes the day I go back which is exciting - but lots of new challanges too. 

Meanwhile I've been working through Diana Henry's Around The Table - predictably excellent. 52 essays about her life and food. There are no recipes as such, but a lot of tips and pointers that are promising. Husband has fallen somewhat in love with Diana Henry's cookbooks, particularly Oven to Table and Bird in the Hand. He's more or less taken over daily cooking and appreciates these ones because it's food we both like and more importantly the recipes turn out as promised, his efforts look like the pictures, and it's given him a real boost in confidence when it comes to trying new things.

The only new recipe (and it's barely a recipe) that I've tried is from Skye McAlpine's wonderful Christmas Companion - this is currently half price in various places (Waterstones and Amazon for sure). I bought it for vibes and have no regrets. It's a gorgeous book that mixes completely over the top with really practical. Under the really practical heading is Panettone pudding as a twist on bread and butter pudding. 

We ended up with a serious excess of Panettone this year after I bought one early and forgot about it, bought another, and then yet another (the M&S chocolate and Cherry version being impossible to resist). Chopping up half of one of them and covering it with custard is about as simple as it gets, though I see no reason not to use pre-made custard if it's there, so it could be even simpler. This is absolutely worth buying an extra (or indeed a sale) Panettone for. It was incredibly comforting to eat on a night when the temperature outside hit -5 and we were struggling to keep warm.