At last we were back in the garden, after a nine month break over
winter for the meadow to grow. Images follow:
cc-by-sa on
everything. (For North Americans: this is outdoor cooking on a grill,
not smoking/curing.)
As usual, I set up the tent next to the gazebo. In theory, being
nylon, it's not allowed anywhere near naked flame, so having it right
next to the barbecue while I'm cooking is probably an Error. If it
does ever go up, though, all it'll burn is the thatch on the gazebo.
And if it hasn't gone up with the fairly hot and thorough fires I've
put near it before, it's probably not as bad as the labels imply.
The barbecue and initial supply of food, including the Famous
Goatburgers. Most of this had actually been in the freezer since the
previous event, which was why I asked people not to bring stuff this
time.
Initial supply of beer. The portable fridge did a moderate job; I'm
really not convinced that the tub of water (plus occasional ice) I've
generally been using is any better, or any worse. But neither option
is great.
Food once we'd got started. The white drawer is serving as a
sun-shade. Halloumi (in the metal bowl) worked quite well this time; I
think the trick must be to keep an eye on it, because previously it's
done its best to run away or char solid.
The cheese of doom. It came spherical in a black wax wrapping, which
we melted off on general principles (and hey, we had a fire). It
turned out to be a fairly mild cheddary sort of thing. Not bad, but
didn't live up to the packing, which really wanted only a white string
fuse to be the classic anarchist's bomb.
Some Goosinator
from Left Hand Brewing. Probably a bit past its best, bearing in mind
the amount of yeast mass, but still worth drinking. I tried to bring
out some beers that had been sitting behind my bar for a while, like
the old Meantime-brewed Franconian Dark Lager that Sainsbury's used to
stock.
Why do pre-made kebabs have wooden skewers? They tend to catch fire
and burn away, without transmitting useful amounts of heat to the
inside. Perhaps I should re-skewer them with metal.
I wasn't making notes of the clever things people said this time.; I
was too busy cooking, drinking, and printing labels for glasses. (A
decent bitmap-capable label printer offers much more interesting
possibilities than one that can only manage text.) About thirteen
people turned up, more than thirteen bottles of beer were drunk, and
the guests went away happy.
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