@Shelovescake

A slimmer’s portion of a week with just two days in school and the rest of the week half term fun in the (very hot) sun with the kids. The heat provided the perfect conditions for making a speedy focaccia. Rather than the usual two day process, I had delicious bubbly focaccia in just 12 hours.

Thursday started fishy, or more specifically crustaceans and molluscs, with lobster and scallop prep and cook dem. A very efficient demonstration of a lobster execution: straight through the head with a sharp knife. The nervous system remains active so there continued to be some unnerving movement of the poor creature for several minutes post death. once cooked and shelled, we were provided with a showcase of different ways to plate a lobster salad which included a proscuitto and brioche crumb, a tarragon creme fraiche, pickled fennel and an avocado puree. The plating was briefly admired before the contents was attacked with gusto!

Killing a scallop is considerably less aggressive: a palette knife scraped against the top of the shell before gradually and carefully releasing the meat and the roe. After a quick pan fry, the juicy, fat, scallops were served with a light curry mayo, parsnips two ways and brunoise pink lady apple. In the afternoon, we tried out some vegan cooking in the kitchen. A spicy tempeh served in gem lettuce cups with with a citrus-spiked edamame salsa. A tasty, if somewhat, dense mouthful.

Friday marked my last working day on Bank of England books, having taken voluntary redundancy with a view to pursuing a new career in food. I marked the occasion by returning to the office one last time to hand-in my laptop and phone and send a farewell email to colleagues and friends made over the past 21 years. A selfie in front of the Old Lady, a quick swallow back of some nostalgic emotion, and then back across town for an afternoon with scallops. Super to get to grips with preparing from scratch, but there was one dead one in the mix which was so foul-smelling it was difficult to concentrate even after it had been binned. The combination of the plump scallop, basted in butter and lemon, with the warmth from the curry mayo, the acidity of the pickled parsnip and apple and the crunch from the parsnip crisp was a scrupmtious end to another delightful week.