Exotic

Walked into Holmfirth this afternoon for more blood to be taken. Apparently the lab wouldn't do one of the tests last time as one of the phials wasn't absolutely full. Luckily it was the same phlebotomist as before, very friendly and very good at taking blood with absolutely no bruising afterwards. Bravo!

Toad in the hole for our evening meal. I can never remember the proportion of ingredients for the batter so, as usual, I checked with the recipe in my ancient copy of 'The Art of Home Cooking', printed over 70 years ago. It's the only time I consult either of these recipe books, which used to belong to my grandmother. Nestlé's In the Kitchen is, unsurprisingly, full of recipes containing tinned milk, cream, and sweetened condensed milk, all very useful for a time when most people didn't own a fridge. My grandmother wouldn't have entertained making any of the more exotic desserts shown in the illustration, nor any of the (very anglicised versions of) "Continental Dishes" - she really didn't hold with 'foreign muck' or 'fancy stuff'...