Cider

After a very pleasant couple of days off, we had a more 'productive' day, tidying the study. Which I shall elaborate upon no further, as it wasn't that enthralling.

Instead: an excellent Christmas day, with very successful cooking. Amusingly, the day started with Liz asking what would happen if the gas ran out while cooking (propane cylinders outside feed the cooker, as we're not on the national gas network). Low-and-behold, the gas ran out while cooking lunch. A quick trip to fetch a spare, and hook it up solved the problem. The one that ran out was hooked up on 22nd December 2009, so the cylinder has lasted a tiny bit over a year. I reckon this one won't make it quite as far—we had a two-week cooking hiatus while the kitchen was being 'done', and with a stove-top kettle now in use, we'll burn it faster. Still, that should mean no repeat of this morning's hilarity. I shall now promptly order a replacement, so we maintain a back-up.

In addition to some cat-featuring coasters and table mats (Cats In Waiting from Ulster Weavers, and 'Ottoline' mats from the British Museum), a Paper Potter that I've had my eye on for a while, we received the excellent River Cottage Every Day. We've been watching the series, and the book seems to have all of the recipes, which until now I've had to write out as we went, which is never satisfactory.

Before tackling the study, we also started a cider kit I bought some time ago, but not got round to. It's a simple one: you mix the contents with sugar and water, and leave it to stand until primary fermentation's complete. You then put it into a pressure barrel with some extra sugar (secondary fermentation on this makes it fizz!), and decant as desired.