and today's recipe

Bedraggled sausage casserole

Fry some onion in olive oil and butter, in a stove-proof casserole.
Add carrots, celery, garlic, and chopped tomatoes and fry a bit more.
Seperately, fry a very good sausage cut into large bite-sized chunks,
then when they're going brown add some halved closed-cup mushrooms and
brown them a bit too. Throw into the pot with some thyme and rosemary,
stock (i used pheasant stock to go with wild boar sausage), a slug of
red wine and some water to only just cover. Add a really good sprinkle
of freshly ground pepper.

The really important bit of this recipe is to put it in your oven at
160'C on a timer, and then walk 20 minutes in the pouring rain to a
violin lesson. If you don't play the violin, then maybe you could
substitute a penny whistle, ophiclides or spinnet. Regardless, take
your instrument for a walk. If it's not raining, you could stand under
a cold shower with a fan blowing in your face.

... When you get back in about two hours time, it will have been
cooking in the oven for an hour and a half. Ladle out as much juice as
you can, and whisk with cornflour in a small saucepan to form a thick
gravy. Another dash of red wine might be nice. Season to taste and
pour back into the pot. Serve with rice or potatoes.