In the intervening period, Henry supplied me with a salami recipe to test out and I got to ordering a mincer and some ox runners (the natural casings used to make salamis).

Next, I had to source some relevant pork bits including shoulder and back fat. After a search of Borough Market I found that Sillfield Farm didn’t offer any back fat, Ginger Pig only have it on Tuesdays (when they do their pork butchering), but luckily Northfield Farm had plenty and offered it up for free.

With all of the ingredients to hand, the rest was salami history. Now I just have to wait 4+ weeks for them to mature and hope the maggots don’t get to them (and also that I got my salt levels right). See how the salamis shaped up (literally):

1: Soaking the ox runners
The ox runners come salted and you need to rinse and then soak the runners in water before you can use them. If it isn't obvious, these will be our salami skins. I got mine from Weschenfelder.

2: Pork shoulder before mincing
Got my pork shoulder and back fat (not shown here) from Northfield Farm, Borough Market..

3: Mincing the pork
My first attempt at using a hand mincer, slightly confusing at first but it ended up being really quite satisfying.

4: Adding peppercorns and fennel
Next step is to add some toasted fennel seeds and whole black peppercorns along with the 2% salt required to preserve the meat.

5: Next - adding the back fat
Pork back fat gets added to the mix, in this case in 1/3 proportion to meat. (500g to 1.5kg meat)

6: Big wet mess after adding red wine
After adding half a bottle of Sicilian shiraz the mixture became a big wet mess, but all the better for filling the skins!

7: Threading the runners
You have to thread all of the runners on the meat filler (aka the mincer with a different attachment). The fun begins!

8: A salami!
And there we have it, a filled salami ready to be hung. It actually helps to have two people at this stage, one to turn the handle and one to supervise the salami filling.

9: Friendly salamis waiting to be taken to the shed
As the salamis were finished they just needed hanging somewhere temporary and the pan rack seemed the best place.

10: Salamis hanging in the shed
And here the salamis will hang for 4-12 weeks until they have dried out and hardened sufficiently. They've been wiped in vinegar and I rubbed an old salami on them to encourage the growth of mould on the exterior.

The Hero is slick. And here I am trying out the new WordPress app. You never know, it might encourage me to blog more instead of just tweeting.

Killer pizza from da Michele – the original Neopolitan pizza (now we know where Franco Manca got their formula..). We had to queue, but it was worth the wait:

We visited Pompeii which was great. I’ve never seen anything so old. Sunset views were stunning:

It rained a lot during out Pompeii / Vesuvius visit. I liked this umbrella though, which we saw as we came out of the Forum in Pompeii.

A sample:

I understood that we operate a national rail network and I expect the signalling and train running information to be standard across the network. Apparently not so, according to FCC who tell me that data would need to be provided to them manually by Southeastern if it is to be included on their displays. I was particularly consoled by the closing line of FCC’s reply:

Unfortunately information systems are very complicated, we will continue to look at ways to improve our services but we have to be realistic about these goals.

I’m a big fan of Dan’s, especially since he complemented the (South) Chelsea buns that I made for last years Brockwell Bake. Inspired by reading his book, I decided to cultivate my own sour dough starter (or leaven) over the Christmas break. Approximately a week of dedication required to get the process kick-started, with daily feeding and monitoring my leaven.

I was incredibly surprised to find that actually it wasn’t that painful. At times I felt it wasn’t working (especially when my loaf on day 5 appeared to fail), but the result on day 6 was just amazing. I’ve certainly never made a loaf with such a remarkable crust (so crispy) and crumb (so chewy).

I now just have to work out how best to keep my leaven alive going forwards. See the pictures below to see how the drama unfolded.

I was quite surprised, however, to find it sitting on the door mat of my communal stair. As I live in a flat, I share a post box with the other flats. I was led to believe that the return of my documents would be secure, but apparently not. They didn’t even want a signature.

Montreal’s biosphere:

A sunset over the Hudson river, viewed from the Adirondack train between Montreal and New York (for reference, possibly the most picturesque train journey ever at this time of year):

A vote Obama mural in New York:

See the full lot here.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich – it’s wrong
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras (this was not my fault – it appeared as a secret ingredient to one course in what was meant to be a vegetarian tasting menu (!) at a Michelin starred restaurant..)
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters – I don’t think so anyway, they are wrong
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects – I’ve swallowed flies while cycling.. does that count?
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine – NOT YET, but I intend to in Montreal!
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Highlights included:

Bangor pier:

Camping on Shell Island (with views over Snowdonia):

The Talyllyn narrow gauge railway in Tywyn:

More here..