There's a Party in my Mouth and Everyone is Invited...

...except you.

I have a bit of a love affair with ginger. Although not the prettiest looking object in the world it is an incredibly versatile spice. I really love the smell and the warming fiery taste of ginger. Taste aside, ginger has many medicinal properties too- it aids digestion and helps to quell nausea, it stimulates your circulation, helps remove toxins from your body and contains essential oils to make your skin look nice. It comes as no surprise then, to learn that ginger is allegedly an aphrodisiac, and in South-East Asia ginger is used to "gain the affection of a woman."

Nifty eh? (But then again- who wouldn't want a man with lovely skin?)

This week I baked a Dark Chocolate and Ginger Cake for Jake's birthday.

I can say in all honesty that I feel I have once more outdone myself. This cake was supreme, it was fiery and rich and moist and it tasted exactly how I imagined it in my head, it had the perfect icing-to-cake ratio (VERY important when it comes to cake!) and I think I probably had an orgasm in my mouth when I ate it.

We presented it to him with a honorary birthday spliff in place of candles, had some tea, had some cake, had a smoke. It was yet another of our "Life is good" moments for sure.

We then continued the celebrations at The Devonshire Cat- a pub that offers an impressive wide range of imported beers. They have a beer menu, they serve specific beers in specific glasses in order to show off their flavour best- as beer should be. The Belgian beers are becoming a favourite of mine, admittedly I am very new to the world of beers. In Belgium, they make the glasses for the beers and then produce the beers to go with the glass- thats how important it is to get the right beer in the right glass. I tried out a Ara Bier which was very good, it had a very strong and distinctive flavour. It does make me want to go to Belgium and become a fat prick sitting on my arse eating their good food, drinking their good beer and admiring how pretty everything is- the film 'In Bruges' really makes me want to go to Bruges but I'd like to think that people will not be so careless as to cascade themselves down high churches while I'm eating my lunch.

The celebrations of Jake's birthday spilt over into the weekend, several of us hopped it down to London to see Luke Vibert. (who was very, very good, my ears are still ringing)

While in London I took the chance to visit the repute Caffé Vergnano and tried out the coffee. They had a beautiful and very unusual espresso machine, although they sprinkled "1882" on the cappuccinos which looked tacky and a bit piss. I always think chocolate sprinkled on top of coffee ruins the look unless its put on the espresso prior to the pouring of the milk. But hey! I'm a bit of a snob. While on the topic of coffee I would like to congratulate Trevor from my beloved 'The Plan' café, as he came fourth in the UK Barista Championships this year. He is officially one of the BEST people to make your coffee in Britain. I suggest you try it.

Back to ginger: coffee and ginger? Could probably work very well with the right blend. :)

If you're into ginger and getting drunk I also suggest you try Crabbie's Ginger Beer, either on its own or with the supreme Ginger Tam's Whiskey. Ginger Tam's is really something, its halfway between a mead and a whiskey in taste with a kick of ginger (mmmmmm) to finish. Good straight, or with ginger beer and lime. Saying that, most whisky is good with ginger beer and lime.

In other news I have, of late: come to the conclusion that often the only remedy for being stoned is to get more stoned, had a very entertaining mission to the massive Tesco with Josh, had a very entertaining night in London and returned to Sheffield by noon the next day- 8am coaches for the win, been affiliated with an amusing but close-shave incident involving a Greek Orthodox Church incense burner/a shitload of frankincense setting off a fire alarm, gone to the hairdressers for a 'trim' and hacked all my hair off, knitted a pair of gloves, crocheted some juggling balls, cooked a curry...

...AND have managed to keep on top of reading huge piles of wank otherwise known as 'Shakespeare and Renaissance Drama'.

I am officially amazing.