Pandora's cushion

Mooching around near Tooting Railway station on Saturday we passed Coppin Bros butchers and I was reminded me that some years ago, this family-run South London establishment reintroduced the 'Pandora's Cushion' from a recipe which had survived from the current proprietor's grandfather.

Better know as a 'Victorian Stuffed Goose' this rare dish consists of a boned Goose stuffed with a boned chicken stuffed with a boned pheasant with a boned quail at the centre. Each bird is separated with a thin layer of homemade forcemeat and then the whole thing is then hand stitched back into the size and shape of the original goose

We had a 'cushion' at Christmas one year. It is quite an experience to cook and eat it.

Now, if only I could get them to stuff one of these into a sheep and then a camel ....

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We also popped in to a West Indian cafe called Lighthouse Cafe Kook 2000, and had some fried dumplings with plantain. I will definitely be going back there for something more substantial some time soon.

Broke another duck by going into the pawn shop on the corner to look at silver jewelry. I'd never been in one before. I was surprised to see that there are cubicles where the real clients can go about their transactions. These little private boxes were, for me at least, curiously reminiscent of confessionals.