Ribs

Woo Hoo we have sunshine back at long last.  It gave me the chance to do a good look around the garden to see if there has been any damage that had gone unnoticed.  The mirror outside the back was no longer attached to the wall.  It hadn't broken fortunately but the back of the mirror had swollen in the rain and was disintegrating.  

John was going on a bike ride with Richard and Pete this morning but Richard bailed out having been working like a Trojan this week and Pete had a load of stuff to do with his builders having lost quite a lot of time due to the weather.  John went out for a run on his own.  

Mum is here tomorrow and we decided that we would cook up the beef shortribs which I got from Shuks.  There were about half a dozen of them for around 6 euros and they looked to have plenty of meat on them.  I found a recipe to do them in the slow cooker on low for about 8 hours - apparently in the UK this would cost me about 36p!  They were to be served with hasselback jacket potatoes and leeks, carrots and garden peas, oh and a little Yorkshire pudding to keep John happy.  I reckon the total cost of this meal was around €10 not that I am particularly counting but it is interesting to see what a nice tasty filling meal can cost.  I am glad as a school girl I learned to cook - I think all school kids should learn to cook.

The plan had been that after the CODS (Cyclists of Droushia) had been out they would shower and change and then Gail and I would join them and we would go out for a spot of lunch at Steni so that Pete could try out their BBQ Ribs and compare them with those he has had and loves at the Stone Lion.  We explained that Dory who used to be at the Stone Lion had previously been at Steni so had possibly taken the ribs recipe with him.  Neither Pete and Gail nor Richard had been here previously and it is a nice place and a nice little run out.  I had initially booked a table indoors in case the weather was poor but as it happens it was lovely and we were able to sit outside under the big shade tree that covers the terrace.

The food was a resounding success - in fact John and I said it is back to its best after a period of time when it was a little indifferent.  Gail and Richard had a mini platter each and when they arrived they looked at one another and then at me as if to say I could have warned them - I did try to tell them that they were on the large side!  Pete, John and I had ribs - I only had a half portion and that was massive.  The ones which Pete and John got were absolutely enormous and we were pleased that Pete really rated them because it is awful when you recommend somewhere and then it doesn't live up to expectations.

Rich asked if he could come around and play when we got back.  He had a couple of bottles of red wine he wanted to show to John and to try - Rich normally only drinks carton wine but is learning!  We were more than happy for him to join us - we had nothing planned save that John would put the Mighty Blades on in the background - he was fearing a bit of a cuffing from Norwich.  We decided to sit in the conservatory because it was lovely and warm inside and John plugged the knackered TV in and bugger me if the damn thing didn't spring to life.  It did say on tintyweb that if your TV fails to switch on after being unplugged in a storm it is good to completely unplug it and leave for several days for all the electrical charge to dissipate and they were right!!!!  John might have preferred that the TV had still refused to switch on as his team went 2-0 down in a few minutes.  They did manage a draw though by the end of the match.