Chibi Fugu Report - Kabocha Edition

Chibi Fugu here! Sorry for the long gap between reporting, I was being lazy and letting Game Fugu do all the updates. Still, now I'm back I have some great news on the Bromley vegetable garden. In addition to chillis, aubergines, pumpkins and tomatoes we now have a new addition to the family - kabocha (カボチャ)!

Mrs Game Fugu bought a kabocha from Waitrose recently, and after we finished eating it she tried planting some seeds in spare pots. We didn't think anything would grow, but a few days ago one of the four pots had a seed starting to sprout. It has already reached about 6 inches in height.

Now we have to hope a Japanese pumpkin can survive in the British summer. I think it will be kept indoors mostly!

Figeac, France

This week I spent two days in Figeac, France at the Chateau Viguier hotel. The town has a long history, and the hotel we stayed at was a converted 14th century monastery. It was also surprisingly clean. A couple of times I saw a guy on a moped riding around with a suction pipe, and noticed he was hoovering up dog mess - maybe this is the secret of how the town stays so tidy!

Figeac is a small town (about 10,000 people), but is famous as the birthplace of the one of the Rosetta Stone translators, Jean-François Champollion. The region is also well known for its Foie Gras - perhaps a more stomach churning dish than black pudding and haggis!

Wine Fugu - Chat-en-Oeuf

Now that the English summer has arrived (and gone, and arrived again), it's time to break out the chilled rose wine and relax in the heat. Our local Waitrose has a good selection which Mrs Game Fugu and I are working through.

My buying process is a complicated one - as I know nothing about wine, I go by what looks like good value and has an interesting bottle. For this reason a picked up Chat-en-Oeuf (Cat on Egg), a French Rose with a kawaii drawing on the bottle.

Unfortunately, my selection method failed me on this occasion. Instead of a nicy fruity wine as described on the label, it was dry and a little sharp. Any advice on how to pick a better wine next time?