Alsace.

I've enjoyed the whole series, this episode focuses on Alsace wine & food and is well worth watching.

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Yep, Im still here.

I'm enjoying it too. Needed to fast-forward through some of the things deemed to be edible though, especially in the Lyon episode...Gross or wott ??

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Four wheels move the body - 2 wheels move the soul.

Excellent series, nice to see wine get some air play !!

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He who knows all the answers has not been asked all the questions.

Loved the Alsace episode. Was muchly impressed by 3 things.

The battle axe being used to chop chops in Colmar market.
The size of the 'chop' that he cooked (wondered if there would be room on the plate for the chips).
The price a la carte of that 'banquet' per head.

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Four wheels move the body - 2 wheels move the soul.

Just finished watching the Transatlantic Sessions on BBC4 whilst finishing a bottle of M&S Gascogne white, mucho happy.

Alison Krauss has got an amazing voice.

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Yep, Im still here.

We have all the wonderful Raymond Blanc series on the Humax hard drive.

For us, they have probably been the best, the most engaging, the most emotional, and the most authentic "in creation", of the food with wine programmes that we have ever viewed.

I love Raymond's enthusiasm. He is a cullinary artist extraordinaire. We are treated to all his trials, he is so totally tongue tied and falling over his words, crying with laughter, and the love for the dishes that he has prepared for his guests. Like all great artists, he spends so much much time selecting his materials, and enjoying the company of his suppliers as well.

We totally respect the teaching and the accolades that he gives to the two sous chefs. I am glad that the editor was discrete with the recordings. We see and feel everything in the kitchen. Raymond is our age

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Duncan

He certainly had his beady eye on that 1960's Gew...

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Four wheels move the body - 2 wheels move the soul.

He also has his own range of glasses by 'Spiegelau'.
About 6 different ones, come in pairs at around £35 a crack.

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Four wheels move the body - 2 wheels move the soul.

Bandol rouge d'exceptional

1990 Chateau du Pibarnon


Beaune 1er Teuron's 2004 v.pale - is lovely with not too salty smoked Salmon on toasted brown bread squares - I need a bigger income

But Raymond goes for a mature 21 year old robust wine. Time to try a similarly powerful expression of a Provence red (somewhat more affordable) I suspect.

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Duncan

My wife made this chicken & leek pie yesterday for sunday lunch, based on a RB recipe, with lightly broken new potatoes tossed in butter and tarragon and baby spring cabbage* from the plot. We shared a bottle of M&S Macon Villages '10 which lapped up the creamy chicken sauce beautifully.





*The milder winter has helped my spring cabbages put on weight.

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Yep, Im still here.

Sounds absolutely delicious with that Macon blanc.

Can't grow a decent Spring cabbage here. One needs a wider plot with a 300 degree open aspect. GK, you must have firm ground to get a firmish heart on those brassica. My land is too soft, it won't hold a hard stemmed brassica or a beetroot, not enough lime and not enough firm clay marl. Therefore better for fruits and salad veg - southern softy, babyish growing .

We are limited, and miss the strong land that we had when we lived at the edge of the wolds in Lincs

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Duncan

Dunc, I cover my cabbages with enviromesh over winter, as well as keeping the woody's off it helps lift the soil temp a degree or two, coupled with the mild winter my spring cabbages have done well.

I've also grown a batch of pak-choi which are almost ready for lifting, plus my kale has done well. Its decent soil, nice and crumbly and well fed, drains well- we are elevated, and gets the sun from around 9am onwards- after it has cleared the oak trees in the neighbouring field.

I am steaming ahead, my garlic are through, my onion sets went in last week, together with my broad beans and peas (feltham first), and I put my carrot seeds in on Saturday- the carrots will spend the entire season under environmesh as there is a big threat from root fly on our plot, as I found out when I lost my entire crop once. Also in- spring onions and raddish, early pots.

Busy busy

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Yep, Im still here.

Not kidding - you are well ahead of the game. I use Ag fleece but it's getting expensive and the high winds are playing havoc.

Your work rate is amazing, given that the snow was thick on your ground less than 4 weeks ago ? 8 to 12th February, in your neck of the woods

Serious work starts here at the week-end. I have nearly 2 cubic meters of fruit cake compost to trench-in, but I recon I need at least 4 x 100weight of crushed limestone to rake in the top surface. The ground may be becoming sour, since I've noticed that moss will grow on the surface in very shaded areas !

Moss is severe here, and a damn nuisance on stone & slate roofs.

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Duncan

The stuff I have put in recently is fairly hardy and suited to early season sowing, my garlic was planted last October and now stands around five inches- there's some time to go before the clove splits and the bulbs develop.

I would not have put the carrots in yet if it were not for the mesh, this offers a very sturdy barrier to sharp frosts and warms up nicely when the sun comes out, like today, it’s glorious up here now. My spuds were buried nice and deep with a good handful of homemade compost, it will be some time before they reach the surface.

I start my chilli plants off in a warm room at the end of Jan, they went into the cold frame on Saturday where they'll stay for the season- when its gets warm enough I'll whip the glass top off.

I moved my vine last week as the builders are starting shortly, will see if it survives.

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Yep, Im still here.

GK, I'm very impressed.

As for the vine, they are quite difficult to kill ! If you know how and where to plant the thing. The top should be pruned to no more than 30% of the bottom. Bottom = the root sys - you know all this stuff, others reading this may not. New shoots will come where you've pruned hard to reduce its top structure, and it will then run-away like mad, once all those roots get a new hold.

Good timing

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Duncan