While I contemplate picking up Elden Ring again after being killed by lickers in Resident Evil 9 following a successful trip to Manchester, let’s get into the kitchen.

Cooking

Cornbread. Let’s face it, it’s cake. That’s pretty much my pitch for this wonderful food. It’s a piece of cake you can eat with your main meal. Why’s it cake and not bread? There is an inordinate amount of butter, sugar, and honey contained within. I have used this recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction a few times now with great results. I had some jalapeno hot honey to be used so I subbed that in for the honey, and I added some sweetcorn kernels for a bit of extra texture. I know not every recipe gives for sweetcorn, but I think it balances out the richness slightly.

The cornbread paired perfectly with some leftover chilli from the freezer. That is, chilli from the freezer, made from leftovers in the freezer. This batch used roast beef and brown turkey meat. The turkey I could take or leave, but the roast beef worked surprisingly well.

Gardening

Each year I experiment with the easiest way to plant out the raised beds. Given the amount of other stuff I’m into, there isn’t a lot of time for the garden at the moment. I opted for a low/no dig approach this time round, topping the soil with compost instead of turning it over mercilessly. I have planted the usual carrots, parsnips, beetroot, spring onions, and peas. And other things that are too numerous to list.

One of my backburner projects has been sorting out the seed collection which, like all the best collections, was a loose pile of seed packets in a box. I bought a case with glass vials which worked well for most of the small to medium seeds, but not so much for the peas and beans. I managed to find a box to fit the loose beans and another tube for the peas. It’s not the neatest solution, but at least I have a better handle over which ones are running low. And why I have a pathological addiction to buying beetroot seeds. We don’t even eat that much beetroot…

Back to Cocktails

We continue to be terrifed by Resident Evil 9, which segues nicely onto the next cocktail.

The Corpse Reviver No. 2 has its origins in the mid-19th century realm of “pick-me-up” cocktails. The aim was to improve the spirits (pun intended) of individuals following a rough night. The No. 2 can be traced back to the immortal Harry Craddock and his The Savoy Cocktail Book of 1930. He listed two recipes: a Corpse Reviver No. 1 (to be taken before 11am) and a No. 2 (“Four of these taken in swift succession will unrevive the corpse again“). Good to know.

The recipe is straightforward. Equal parts gin (I used Plymouth for obvious reasons), Lillet blanc, triple sec (I used Cointreau), and lemon juice. A couple of dashes of absinthe are added, then the mixture is shaken with ice and double strained. If you aren’t familiar with the lingo, double-straining is using the standard cocktail strainer (bunny ears) and a little sieve, removing the bits from the freshly squeezed lemon and any big bits of ice.

Serve in a chilled glass with a lemon twist. I used the Plymouth gin Nick and Nora glass as it holds a decent volume and is quite elegant. The No. 2 is a really refreshing drink and perfect for relaxing on a warm evening. Next on the agenda, a Corpse Reviver No. 1…