Edinburgh, burgers, Edinburgh

OMGYOUGUYS. We're in Edinburgh and it's too beautiful for words (as always) and we spent the afternoon catching friends and family, and the evening in our hotel spa floating and steaming and aromatherapying and now I smell so nice and feel so relaxed and content.

Cute, I guess. 

The view of Edinburgh Castle from our room

And now for the last of our Christmas burgers. I've lost track of how many we've had now, but it's got to be in the millions, right?

1. Blacklock: grilled Norfolk turkey, sausage and onion patty, smoked bacon, greens and cranberry ketchup. We actually thought this was our favourite Christmas burger of the bunch, until we got to Number Four.

2. Byron: The Fromagemas - Barber's cheddar and red Leicester, Byron cheese, grana padano crips, red onion, shredded iceberg, smoked tomato ketchup, grana padano aioli with a jug of Byron cheese sauce. Our thoughts were the same as last year's: sure, alright, that's good enough to put in my mouth, but how is this Christmassy? 

3. Almost Famous, Leeds: Son of a Nutracker - "juicy famous cheeseburger, BBQ spiced sausage stuffing patty, buttermilk fried turkey, festive creamy slaw" - you can't just add 'festive' to make creamy slaw seasonal, guys - "bacon and cranberry jam, JD Cola BBQ sauce, brandy buttered peppercorn mayo, topped with ultimate sausage roll and pig in a blanket, with pot of AFC gravy." This was by far the most absurd of all the burgers I tried and I think it actually could've worked except THAT BBQ SAUCE. No, guys. No BBQ sauce at Christmas. Also, just not this BBQ sauce full-stop. Why would you ruin a perfectly decent insanity burger by dousing it in the stuff?? Also the pig in a blanket weirded me out - it was squidgy? - though the sausage roll was an unexpectedly spicy delight. 

And now we get to the last one - a total fluke - that may've shockingly slid to the top three (don't ask me what the other two are, it changes daily) of our burger list: 

4. Meat:Stack at Salt Horse, Edinburgh: 'Come Giive Me a Hygge Cheeseburger' - Two grill smashed patties, cheese, lingonberry jam, vanilla black pudding, dill pickle fritters, streaky bacon & fixings. THAT BLACK PUDDING. THOSE PICKLE FRITTERS. Not Christmas as I know it, but Christmas as I WANT to know it. It was gorgeous. 

You can see why we needed to lie in a sauna sweating for half an hour tonight, in an attempt to regain some purity.

Going to jump into this giant white bed now and fall asleep watching the Castle glow Christmas colours in the darkness. Lots of love to you all, and I hope you've had a delightful Christmas Eve.

Big seasonal hugs,

Essss

Mostly Monday because today was just work and who wants to hear about that

YOUGUYS. It has been the longest day and I worked an easy 12 hours and still didn't even finish the manuscript I thought was going to be bagged yesterday. The home stretch of any edit always takes so much more time than I think it does. But tomorrow. Tomorrow is the day we wrap.

Speaking of wraps - yes, this is the kind of blog this is going to be today - I had a Leon Christmas wrap and for a tortilla filled with mush (British turkey, ham hock, and pork, sage & onion stuffing balls, all wrapped up with spinach, tarragon mayo and a cranberry & clementine sauce), it was pretty okay. I wish I had gotten the turkey curry, though, so if anyone gets a chance, you gotta let me know how it is. 

For dinner last night, Nathania and I went to Dirty Bones and there we shared their Christmas burger - obviously bottom right pic in the grid above - a venison and pork mince patty with hazelnut brown butter mayo, smoked bacon, caramelised shallots and red cabbage marmalade. It was salty af and seriously tasty. Also super squishy and easy to eat, all qualities I like in a dirty burger. For all that I don't care for Dirty Bones of the Bad Service, I can't say I fault their food. (Just is it WORTH it, having to wave frantically at a server just to get the menu, let alone try to order food or drink or - God forbid - get the check?) 

All in all, yesterday was a resounding Eating Christmas success, though. Which is good, considering today I only had time to eat a bowl of leftover edamame I found in the fridge, which I scarfed standing up while studying maps of ancient Germania. 

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow! It should be much calmer (famous last words).

Hugs,

Esssss

And I thought I wouldn't see a snowman this year

OMGYOUGUYS. It's Pre-Christmas-Christmas, the time every year when Al and I celebrate the holiday, just the two of us. It's a day for a big, slow meal, a roaring fire, blankets and books and our exchanging of gifts. We do this every year since the Day itself we're always in Scotland surrounded by family and it would feel strange to pack our bags with presents for each other, just to bring them all back home again. No, it turns out one can have many Christmases, and this little tradition feels as special as the loving fullness of the 25th itself, with the children and the chatter and the lovely food in the midst of the rustic beauty of the Scottish borders.

We went for a Christmas brunch this morning, and it led us through Liverpool Street Station, which is terrific on a Sunday when it's quiet and empty.

I had the Merry Berry Benedict at Polo Bar, with stuffing and chilli cranberry sauce, which was good, if not special. The stuffing was a nice addition but I was more pleased with the fact that the eggs were perfectly poached, which is always a risk at a place like this, a 24-hour diner in a commercial district.

Now it's time for a bath before we light the fire and start the roast. I got this hilarious bath bomb for Christmas and look forward to seeing how long he'll last before succumbing to a fragrant, bubbly death:

Look at the sadness in his eyes. This is the best.

Much love to you all, and I hope you're having a wonderful Sunday,

Essss

Time to feign some domesticity

Alright youguys, I have 19 minutes to blog before the washing machine stops and I have to start ironing while the going is damp and the pressing is easy. Then it's time to make dinner - a healthy one, no less - and relax for what may be the first time this entire manic, burger-fuelled, proofreading-crushed week.

Speaking of burgers, last night we had our last one for the week - this time from Mac and Wild - which was a venison burger with pork stuffing, melted Morangie brie, red cabbage, and shredded sprout tops. This burger - like Hawksmoor's - stands on the power of its perfectly cooked, high quality meat. Which is good, because the red cabbage came on as aggressively as a Roman centurion and there wasn't enough brie to give it a passing fight.

I dismantled this entire burger trying to find the cheese, which was the complete opposite of Bad Egg's, where I couldn't find the burger. Like last year, it was a tiny smear, looking much like an anemic swab of mayo, and its stinginess irritated me almost as much as the three million corporate Christmas parties hollering at the tables around us. But we more than made up for it with the haggis macaroni and cheese, and will definitely be returning for their regular burgers at another, less festive time of year. 

AW SHOOT. The machine has quit rumbling across the floor and now it's gone into the high-pitched whine of the spin cycle. Gotta go, much love and hugs,

Essss

Gonna have to do a Salad January

OMGYOUGUYS. I'm almost done with my Christmas burgers. I've only got two left and then DUNZO for another year. There are a few that I regretfully didn't have a chance to hit that I loved last year (Lucky Chip, Blacklock) but I got to try new ones (FUGBK, Red's) and all around it feels like a success. (For my taste buds, if not my health.)

Here are the Christmas burger/sandwiches I have had in the last 24 hours: 

Bad Egg: A rare breed beef patty, with roast beef, gravy, horseradish, caramelised onions, and cheese fondue. 10/10 for the absolutely pornographic cheese waterfall and being served in a bowl of gravy (is gravy the new cranberry sauce? Last year I only recall two burgers getting served with it - Hawksmoor and Blacklock - but this year, it is EVERYwhere. Even the hot dog had it!), but flavour-wise, the real standout wasn't that golden fountain or that meaty moat - shocking - but the horseradish. They would've done well to layer it between the meats rather than on the bottom bun so every bite got a hit. (I also have to say I also don't love having to knife and fork a burger - it's so hard to get every element together in a single bite and isn't that the point?)

Then, of course, we have MeatLiquor, who had not one but THREE Christmas sandwiches on the menu. I didn't bother with the XXXmas burger after last year's debacle but happily tackled the two new ones with my buddy Mike - a hero who joined me on his lunch break to help - and the most prolific burger-lover I know in London. We shared the Turkey Cheesesteak and the Burgducken. 

Let's start with the cheesesteak, which was "a free-range roast turkey bathed in gravy with melted camembert, crispy stuffing crumbles and cranberry sauce": the photo I took above (left) doesn't do it justice. It was really, seriously yummy. It actually tasted - more than anything else I've had so far - like Christmas. The turkey was moist and flavourful, the cranberry sauce sweet-but-not-too, and the stuffing - well, who doesn't like stuffing. This is the sandwich you actually make out of leftovers the day after the holiday and it got to the true spirit of things.

Now for the Burgducken: the creation of Tom Kerridge and Nick Beardshaw (of Michelin-starred famis place and famis place) made this take on the turducken, which is '5 birds (turkey, duck, chicken, pigeon & pheasant) minced with pork belly, deep fried in southern fried panko breadcrumbs, with brandy and cranberry mayo, brussel sprout 'slaw, xxxmas pudding ketchup, and topped with a free-range piggy in a blanket.' Got all that? It was tasty, this gimmickiest of gimmicks - but I can't say my unrefined palate was able to discern what all those other birds added to the affair, other than maybe structure, or comedy. Didn't taste the pork belly at all, but it probably gave it some juice. The cranberry mayo - that horrifyingly pale purple sauce - had tons of orange zest in it that livened things up, and the slaw - well, like the stuffing above - was likeable. It was surprisingly easy to eat, despite its girth - bonus points for that - though as Mike pointed out, 'It's one of those burgers that once you pick it up, you can't put it down again or it goes everywhere.' 

Tonight I hit my fourth Christmas burger and then take a break - lest the gout seek and find me - until my last one next week. I still have my eye on a Christmas burrito, and a Christmas brunch, but only time will tell if I'll manage them. May have to figure out how to (ugh) jog or something if I plan to keep this up. 

I've got to get back to work now - these Romans are literally tearing things up in Germania and it's thrilling - but I'll see you tomorrow! (By the way, if you have any recommendations for decent ways to work out at home - any youtubes you like? an app? - send 'em my direction, so that at the very least I can feel guilty that I'm not doing them, and satisfied that I've asked.)

Big hugs and lots of love,

Essss

a hot dog, a book club, and a Christmas Carnival

OMGYOUGUYS. LET'S DO A POST, SHALL WE. Unlike last night, when I was a half-second from sleep before foggily remembering - then jerking awake - THE BLOG! I fumbled blearily for the laptop, stumbled out an entire sentence, and then immediately fell back asleep, blissfully content that I had written SOMEthing, coherent or otherwise.

But now, after that brief intermission, the show must go on. 

I had the best night: I had my first Christmas hot dog - a DELIGHT - and a Christmas party with a wonderful group of lively women (and a man) at book club. This particular club is casual, funny, and full of warmth, and I haven't laughed so much in ages.

The best (well, depending on my mood, or how late I'm running) part of meeting in Picadilly is the chance to cut through a charming part of the city, notably this time of year. It's not an area I venture into often - what with crowds, and not being much of a shopper - but they always dazzle it up at Christmas time with absolutely bizarre themes. This year was no exception, and I was overjoyed:

Nothing says Christmas like celebrating Lent.

Then I went to Foxlow for their Christmas hot dog: a free-range turkey sausage, slow-smoked sugar-pit bacon, sprout tops, and cranberry hot sauce in a toasted brioche bun. Also the obligatory gravy tureen, which is the feature that keeps me coming back again and again. It was SO GOOD.

 Just LOOK at that thick-cut sweet, crispy, tender bacon. LOOK at it.

Today has been good - I did my proofreading from the bed, where I could spread out all my maps and character lists, and really create a sprawling Roman empire - which is appropriate, since this book is about the Batavi Revolt - and helpful, since these battles are COMPLICATED. Now it's time to put on some Outside Clothes and head to south London, where I'm meeting a friend and then returning home (via one more Christmas dish) to do a little more work before bed. 

Hope your days have been lovely, and until tomorrow,

Hugs,

Essss

That ham and cheese fritter, though

Yesterday was a SUCCESS, youguys. We put two Christmas burgers in us, watched some football, and fell into bed exhausted by . . . well, eleven. Not as early as I needed, but as late as I liked. Tonight, though - tonight is blissfully free and I'm making venison steak and risotto for dinner then crawling into bed with my book.

Now about yesterday's Christmas burgers. Chick'n Sours was the first up, for lunch. (Note about this burger: they only make a limited number a day, so if you want to make sure you don't miss out, ask them to save you one when you're making your reservation.) It's worth the effort, though, because like all Chick'n Sours chicken burgers, it was terrific. This year's burger is different from last year's, which I appreciated because so many on my list are duplicates and who's got time for that?? This year, their burger is a fried chicken fillet, 'Christmas' ham and cheese fritter, kewpie mayo, lettuce, and pineapple kimchi.

I've always wanted to spend Christmas in Hawaii.

Its only demerit was how impossible it was to eat: my mouth simply isn't big enough to get all the layers in one bite. I had to tackle it with a knife and fork after my first attempt scattered its contents all over my plate. It was a burger that wanted to be shovelled, and so I obliged. 

Then, after a snow-filled, romantic* jaunt around Covent Garden, we headed east to Red's True BBQ.  Their Christmas burger, called The Great Uniter, was a turkey patty with ham, bacon, Monterey jack cheese and cranberry sauce, tucked into a custard-soaked fried brioche bun:

Yep. Exactly as described. 

I'm not gonna lie: I liked it. The turkey patty was really flavourful - I thought for a moment I was actually eating stuffing, they must've put buckets of sage in it - and you can never go wrong with two different kinds of pork. The custard-soaked bun - the riskiest guest at the party - was not overpoweringly sweet, and kept the overall affair from dryness. Despite its appearance, it was also remarkably contained and easy to eat: 

I love a good burger cross-section. It reminds me of studying the earth's layers in science. "See the mantle? That's the tastiest bit."

And all that was for the best, because the rest of the food we ordered was not great. The restaurant was understaffed and perhaps because of this - the delayed service that plagued us all night - the pulled pork platter came out cold. The cornbread accompaniment was so dry you had to choke it down and so hard it could've been used as a missile if it didn't crumble into a thousand pieces just looking at it, and the mac and cheese - which might've been nice, if it were warm and bubbly - had become goopy and bland. The jalapeno and cheese sausage was the only dish that didn't suffer from cooling.

The best part of the night, though, was the company: we got to see our old friend Marcos, a world-travelling Brazilian who works as a freelance travel guide. He's seen more corners of the world than anyone I know, and always has great stories when we catch him. We were entertained well into the evening.

Today is work work work: I'm going to try to get through a quarter of this book edit and that requires a media and laptop blackout. Time to turn off phone and wifi, and dive in.

Wish me luck, and see you tomorrow.

Hugs,
Essss



*If by 'romantic,' we mean 'cold, wet and crowded'

Two more burgers down, only one worth it

OKAY, YOUGUYS. Speed-post. It's nearly ten and I have two burgers to talk about and the house is so cold all I want is to get under the duvet as quickly as possible and read my book.

Today Jess helped me knock a couple burgers off my list (one cannot eat all of these alone) and we decided to tackle Patty & Bun and Gourmet Burger Kitchen (henceforth called GBK, or FUGBK).

First, Patty and Bun. Lovely, juicy, thoughtful Patty & Bun.

This year, instead of doing a traditional* Christmas burger, Patty & Bun got together with Flat Iron and made this beast of a special called The Iron Patty. It was terrific, and contained all the elements promised cooked to medium rare perfection: a galloway mince beef patty, roscoff onions, fontina ‘goo', dripping & truffle mayo, on a brioche bun with pickled cucumbers on the side. I don't need to say much for this, other than it was scoffed heartily and with great pleasure. 

    

Two more snaps for your viewing pleasure before we leave P&B and things take a dark turn. 

THEN WE GET TO BURGER TWO. There was a GBK located right around the corner from Patty & Bun, a convenience that I took advantage of, but should not have. I should have immediately high-tailed it all the way across town, to Red's, or Dirty Bones, or heck, KFC, whose Christmas burger I ate last year and which was, for the record, STILL BETTER THAN THIS, and I'm pretty sure it was just mayonnaise. I learned tonight why I've never been to a GBK: BECAUSE IT IS TERRIBLE.

According to the article I read, it was 'Beef, venison or chicken, topped with hash browns, smoked Applewood cheese, cabbage, bacon and tarragon mayo. All sloshed down with a shameful wheelbarrow of gravy'. None of these are bad ingredients, right? In fact, pretty standard, hardly even worth calling it Christmas-themed. We ordered the venison version (because something had to make it feel festive), and then, soon, this arrived:

Now, okay, objectively, not the worst burger we've ever seen. It may not be the sexy, gooey fun-fest the others have been, but it's not sloppy. The pieces are all there, including the seemingly-obligatory, gratuitous, crowning meat chunk. (A little excess for you, Emma.)

THEN WE OPENED IT UP.

Just LOOK at this:

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A DRIER BURGER IN YOUR LIFE? 

Also, that cheese? It had clearly been frozen and then defrosted. It was crumbling, no, flaking out of the burger in oily pieces. FLAKING. How gross is that descriptor for something falling out of your burger that isn't truffle, or parmesan?

Oh, and the 'shameful wheelbarrow of gravy'? THIS:

The only thing shameful about this is the reviewer's description of it. And, well . . . everything else. We poured it over the burger hoping it'd save the day - or at least, fix the sahara-like texture - but alas. Nothing could. Jess didn't even finish her half, calling it - graciously, elegantly - 'a serious misstep'. Oh yes it was, Jess. Oh yes it was. 

Now I need to go upstairs, put on my pajamas, and try to forgive myself. 

Tomorrow's schedule isn't likely to allow any Eating Christmas, but it will contain editing, laundry, and probably a stomach-ache. EXCITED ALREADY. 

Hugs,

Esssss

*I'm flying pretty fast and loose with this word here

Eating aubergine in the dark, as a Monday does

I haven't had a moment to write all day and now I'm in that ravenous window, right between lunch and dinner, where all I want, more than anything, is to EAT - real food, not these clementines I keep cramming in my face - but I can't because dinner is in a couple hours and I have to WAIT. In a previous life, when I worked as a nanny, this was the hour I fed the kids and stole bites of their macaroni and cheese when their backs were turned. 

Super fun that my entire post today is food-related. This will be great and not at all torturous. 

      

Let's talk about last night's Yard Sale Pizza! On the left we have their cheesy garlic bread, which - even though not Christmas-themed - was so perfect it deserved some credit. Let's all take a moment and admire the way the cheese has already melted back into the cracks where it was sliced. (Does that make anybody else feel funny inside?) To the right, we have the star of the show: Yard Sale's Christmas pizza, the Damn Son. It came with shredded brussels sprouts, pancetta, Fio Di Latte mozzarella, black pepper, and DJ BBQ's double smoked garlic and sriracha mayo. It was, like all of Yard Sale's pizzas, excellent. So this review is going to be boring. It is excellent. If you live near a Yard Sale, put it in your mouth. That is all I have to say about it.

Today unfortunately did not contain a Christmas food of some sort, but there is a homemade soup for dinner, which functions as both a punishment for our gluttony and a necessary break for our waistlines. It's harissa-roasted aubergine with orange and its incredibly unappealing purple-brown colour makes the lovely flavour all the more shocking - but if you cover your eyes, hey hey hey!

I hope your Mondays have been nice; see you tomorrow!

Hugs,
Essss

Oh Pizza, Where Art Thou

So much has happened in 24 hours. 

It all started with a dinner party based on Land of Fish and Rice. The menu:

+ Shanghai noodles with dried shrimp and spring onion oil (SUPER EASY, STUPID TASTY)

+ Ningbo omelette (you think you have too many chives, but get this - you DON'T. They hecka earthy fragrant. Also the directions say to flip it, but it also doesn't specify pan size and my fry pan was so large it was cooked through in less than a minute with no flip required. So you can choose your own adventure.)

+ Shaoxing slow-cooked pork belly (is it possible to go wrong with pork belly?)

+ Spiced wheat gluten and four delights (the most work, the most beautiful. Will never make again but will pay any amount to put it back in my mouth)

+ Cucumber salad (always and forever. Is there any culture that doesn't do this right?)

+ Slippery wood-ear salad with coriander (this black mushroom looks so much like ears it's FREAKY.)

+ Green soybeans with snow vegetable (the surprise of the night, and may've been my favourite)

Spring onion noodles, soybeans with snow veg, and below, spiced gluten with the full spread

       

We made a sleepover of it and ended the night in our TV nook (or the 'Den of Iniquity' as we like to call it, our Room-under-the-Stairs), watching Nightmare Before Christmas - Al and I hadn't ever seen it, and Pip and Rich knew EVERY WORD AND SANG ALONG (heck, I didn't even know it was a musical) so basically, our christening was in the best environment possible.

Then we get to today: EATING-CHRISTMAS SUNDAY. We decided to try the All Star Lanes Christmas burger, described as "a turkey, chestnut and cranberry patty beneath a layer of duck-fat-roasted potato salad, topped with a sausage and apricot stuffing fritter." Here's what we got:

Not gonna lie: the description was close enough, and It. Was. Tasty. The problem? The cold potatoes that constantly fell out, and sogged up the bottom bun, on a hot burger (this contrast did not bother Al, but man loves potatoes, so if you are in that category, it likely won't bother you, either). I will also contest their use of 'fritter' - while I did find that bulbous hunk on the top to be the tastiest bite of the entire burger (Honestly. GOOD), it was far closer to a meatball than anything battered and deep-fried, and I didn't taste a lot of stuffing.

All of that is minor, though - it was objectively a tasty, tasty burger and we would both definitely eat it again. The real problem? THE SETTING. This is a BOWLING ALLEY. In a MALL. Maybe other locations are different - a BOWLING ALLEY. In the FINANCIAL DISTRICT - but regardless, this time of year, esp on a Sunday, it's Kidsfest2017. We were surrounded by shrieking birthday parties, balloons, tiny monsters screaming at vocal pitches that should not be possible in humans - and no burger could possibly be worth the assault on the senses. 

But we ate it, and we liked it, and would even go so far as to recommend it (if you can get it delivered, or enjoy dining out with headphones).

Then we took our full bellies to the nicest of nap spaces: the movie theatre. We watched Murder on the Orient Express, and as usual with me and mysteries, I did not come close to guessing the culprit. Alan took a nap. Altogether, SO SATISFYING. I hope they make more. 

Now we're home for the evening and waiting for our Christmas pizza from Yard Sale. I am going to be MADE of brussels sprouts by the end of this month. 

I love this country.

Big hug and lots of love,

Esss

First burger down, now let's make some pork belly

YOUGUYS. Let's talk about the Hawksmoor Spitalfields Christmas Burger for a minute. I don't know what's different from last year's (on paper the elements are the same: one turkey burger, one pork patty, with bacon, sprout tops, spiced cranberry ketchup and a slice of Ogleshield, all topped off with a pot of turkey gravy) but I don't even care because it was INCREDIBLE. It was so juicy that you didn't even need the turkey gravy to rich it up (though we poured it on anyway, because obviously) and the meat wasn't so thick you couldn't get it all in on a single bite (a hindrance with a lot of these loaded burgers). And the bacon was so RIDICULOUSLY crispy it was basically bacon crumble. Every bite was a drippy, crunchy delight.

Also Christmas NUGGETS, that beauty in the foreground, filled with creamy cheesy turkey goo, which we devoured in about three seconds.

So of course now I have all the regrets, because what if I started with the best one? WHERE CAN THEY GO FROM HERE?

Today is going to be the opposite of Christmas Eating: we have friends coming over and we'll all be cooking from The Land of Fish and Rice. I'm excited. I have almost no experience cooking this style of cuisine, and the recipes are gorgeous. We've already had our first adventure just sourcing half the ingredients. Noble, heroic Rich volunteered to go to the Chinatown supermarket, a maze of epic proportions, with a list that included dried lily flowers and snow vegetable - which is not what you think it is - and within seconds was sending pics through to the group chat: 'Is this the Shaoxing dried fermented greens? Or this? Wait what about this?' Turns out there is also a billion different varieties of peanut, maybe more. I was absolutely useless: 'Yes?' while his wife helpfully supplied snapshots: 'You're looking for mei gan cai.'

She's clearly going to be the one keeping us from self-harming in the first hour.

Now I've got to go tidy up so that we can make a proper mess. Wish us luck tonight, and see you tomorrow!

Hugs,
Essss

Diving in for December

Alright alright alright. I know I said I'd never do another MyBloWriMo but I have the memory of a goldfish and can't recall now why it's the dumbest idea ever. Also I don't do things by halves (which is probably why I do so very little) so here we are.

It's a good month for it, to be honest - it's too cold to leave the house without getting a tension headache from hunching my shoulders which means I will be spending an inordinate amount of energy trying not to - but also there are holidays, and holiday foods, and fireplaces, and family, and twinkly trees, and all that is nice to talk about.

Youguys want to see the dark cave that is our house in the winter? Our social spaces are subterranean and this is as bright as they get this time of year. This was taken just past 9 this morning and soon I will need to turn on the lights.

That is not a nice wintery thing, per se, but it is my current view from the shadows of the couch, so there we go. I hope you like it, because I'll probably be sharing it every day.

Starting this blog as we mean to go on.

Today is going to be a lovely one, despite having to enter it. I have a friend's* birthday party this afternoon, followed by our first Christmas burger of the season at Hawksmoor Spitalfields Bar. I have high hopes, even though I'll confess I wasn't crazy about last year's (though at least their pork patty was heads above MeatLiquor's) (who, incidentally, seem to have created THREE Christmas burgers this year, so I'm diving back in).

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a book edit to work on and it's due Monday so as much as I hate to leave you, I also want to invoice things so I can buy more Christmas sandwiches.

Big hugs and lots of love,
Essss





*I HAVE FRIENDS, THEY JUST HAPPEN TO BE CALLED 'BREWERY' AND THEY'RE BIG AND SHINY AND I SPEND MONEY TO HANG OUT WITH THEM