Went to see For King and Country at Cambridge Arts Theatre last night. A powerful production with some excellent performances.

Last Sunday I cooked spaghetti carbonara but I managed to cook the egg so it was more like bacon and scrambled egg pasta -_- Still, it tasted good.

Last night I cooked Roasted lamb shanks but without the redcurrant jelly and with two very large shanks instead of six as specified. I also made the mistake of completely uncovering the dish instead of slightly in step 3 and this probably contributed to the lamb unfortunately turning out quite dry. But the shanks did end up with the thinnest tasty blanket of dark purple concentrated red wine and the concentrated jus was extremely tasty. The jus, together with roast potatoes, carrots, parsnips, some wilted pak choi and a roasted garlic bulb (from the Really Garlicky Garlic Company), salvaged the meal somewhat.

Later I watched Heston’s Roman Feast which was good fun, apart from when he decided to make garum according to the authentic Roman recipe which apparently required him to disembowel live mackerel. It may have been ‘authentic’, but a swift blow to the head before wrenching the fish’s gut out would have been more merciful without having any impact on the final product.

I’ve become ridiculously attached to my chickens. We’re keeping them for eggs so it’s not a huge problem, but when it comes to eating other chickens, even a Label Anglais chicken which would have led a very happy life before ending up on my plate, I can’t help thinking of my own ladies.

Dozy, Squawky and Audrey are wonderful. They are beautiful creatures, inquisitive and friendly. Nicole and Audrey haven’t started laying yet, but Meryl has been supplying me with a fresh egg every morning for the past few days. It’s thrilling to wander down to the eglu in the morning, still in pyjamas, to collect a warm egg.

It’s difficult to to think differently about my pet chickens and chickens raised for meat. But I’m going to have to. Furthermore I’ll have to extend that thinking to other species. Otherwise, if my dreams of keeping pigs, sheep and cows come true, I’ll end up a vegetarian, which would be missing the point.