Look back in hunger

Looking back over the week, it seemed to be mainly survivalist on the dinner front. In part, this was because of the demands of work (including two days' sightseeing from lane 2 of the M25, with a little bit of conference in the middle). But two things stand out, and one of them reprises the lamb shoulder.

But first, to the sausages. One of your directors pines (occasionally) for Brechin Bros, of Sauchiehall Street (and elsewhere in Glasgow); in particular for their Lorne sausage. This is like a square burger, the meat 50:50 beef and pork, nicely spiced with coriander and nutmeg (the Scots' favourite spice), and bulked out with bread or, for those attuned to living on the edge, rolled oats. But Brechin's have lapsed into the Sauchiehall Street that was, and is no more. Still, square sausage was good, and should be good again. A few years ago, a Fife butcher laced his sausages with Scotland's other national drink, Barr's Irn-Bru. I reckoned that the sweet citrus tang might do well with the spices of a Lorne sausage, and so I made up a kilo of mix, adding a little of the amber nectar to one half. I used oats rather than breadcrumb, reckoning it would keep the drink in suspension. Now the standard Lorne sausage was really good — after all, the meat came from good sources. But yes, the Irn-Bru did something for the overall taste, and it was positive.

But this wasn't shifting the remains of the shoulder of lamb, so time to cube up some of the meat and stir-fry it with green chilli, garlic, fresh ginger, tamarind and coconut, serving it on lime-infused rice. Simple, but delicious.