Guardian Girl

Another day of grave failure on the recipe front, but the fashion is continuing to be easy to copy this week, which makes a nice change from feeling awkward in a strange combination of garments every day.

Today I christened the maxi-dress I bought courtesy of The Measure a few weeks ago, with a belt as decreed. It did feel weird being at work in a floor-length dress, but  in terms of professional integrity it was preferable to having a stuffed tiger attached to my shoulder.

Here’s the visual aid for the day:

Feather

Whatever

 Posing skills still need polishing.

As for dinner, the idea of going home and setting berries to macerate for hours, only to strain them and boil them with vinegar and all that… I just couldn’t be bothered. I love berry vinegar and I’m sure it’d taste delicious, and if I lived at River Cottage  I’d love to have a go at making my own. But I think this activity is not really designed for twentysomething London dwellers in tiny boxroom flats with limited kitchen space, equipment, time and patience. And who want to spend their hard-earned cash on something they can actually eat for dinner, rather than drizzle over the top of it. It’s far more economical to pick a kilo of fruit from your garden than buy it from Tesco that’s for sure. £2.50ish for 170g of raspberries!

So I paid lip service to Hugh’s recipe and serving suggestions by eating a few raspberries on the way home and having a goat’s cheese salad and some chicken for dinner. That’s about as close as it gets sometimes.

Conclusions:

• It is possible to wear a black maxi dress with a silver cuff neckline to work without feeling like a total idiot.
• As for homemade fruit vinegar – best left for the future of sunsoaked lawns, blooming veg patches, musty utility rooms, adorable kids and endless lazy weekends that I’m sure is just around the corner.