The glass is more than half full - # 11/10

Charles Aznostix, the much loved Gallo-Armenian chanteur, nips about the kitchen preparing his lunch:  a fine field mushroom, topped with a disc of good French goat cheese accompanied by an excellent and unusual German red (yes, German red) wine - a rarely available estate-bottled Vogtsburg-Bischhofflingen of the pinot noir grape variety, followed by a fresh clementine, a cup of coffee and some Cadbury's whole hazel nut milk chocolate.  What better and what more healthy for one who must be constantly at peak performance for his expectant and demanding clientele?  Charles would not hesitate to recommend the wine - also superb with a fine 100% natural grass-fed Scottish grown rib-eye beef steak of totally traceable origin, with pommes frites, accompanied by a lettuce and tomato salad dressed in olive oil and Italian balsamic vinegar laced with a touch of fresh garlic.  Charles also declares his delight with his recent move to Britain where he finds the culinary standards to be far above his expectations and sounds a warning to his French countrymen.  "You may have won the rugby thanks to a bad referee who discriminated against the English who, critics all agree, actually beat you on the field; but just watch out - la France is definitely on a downer where lunch is concerned!"

Fruits of Autumn # 1 - # 08/251

The fungus.

Everyone has something to eat. The fungus is eating the fallen, rotting wood and returning the sugars to the soil. The animals are nibbling the fungus. I have friends who are experts and love foraging at this time, but on the whole, I think that mushroom hunting and understanding are lost wisdom in modern Britain.

That's one reason why it is nice to visit the Continent at this time, where the understanding of the mushroom is better exploited by cooks. What's better than wild boar, venison and forest fruits? The traditional winter cooking of Europe - so fortifying in cold weather - now comes into it's own. It's now clear that I'm not a vegetarian.