Tube setting cabochons

[ps_bond]

Takeaway??? Pah. I'm doing prawn & crab ravioli, beef wellington with Lyonnaise potates and millefeuille tonight. OK, I'm cheating by using bought pastry...

My go-to inverted cone burr is usually a 1.2mm FWIW. Great for cutting bearing shelves when flush-setting fancies in particular.

[Tabby66]

Emily,
If you go into Walshes in person, they are just so helpful,........and you are quite right..........burrs will last oodles longer than flwers

Peter......*shocked*...........did I read that right.......BOUGHT pastry??!!..............I thought you handmade everything!!

[silken]

Gosh, Mrs Bond is one lucky lady! I didn't get a romantic meal, just a 3 hour visit from the police regarding the aforementioned incident...I feel very felt out! However, I did manage to get some wonderful new tools. I popped in to all the usual places, Walshes, Cousins, Cookies, etc. I bought myself one of the inverted cone burrs, a couple of the cylinder type ones that Dennis suggested and some other new goodies.

Tabby, give me a bunch of burrs over a bunch of flowers any day. Power tools over perfume too. Although, I did get a beautiful single rose as my OH thought it would be bad form to just buy me tools for V-day

Mmmmmm Nando's...I'm a sucker for flame grilled chicken, halloumi and macho peas but I do a mean home made macho pea recipe *drools*

[ps_bond]

Peter......*shocked*...........did I read that right.......BOUGHT pastry??!!..............I thought you handmade everything!!

3 horses, 1 lorry ramp under repair, full time work and the jewellery - I've been able to justify to myself cheating like that.

Gosh, Mrs Bond is one lucky lady! I didn't get a romantic meal, just a 3 hour visit from the police regarding the aforementioned incident...I feel very felt out!

....

Mmmmmm Nando's...I'm a sucker for flame grilled chicken, halloumi and macho peas but I do a mean home made macho pea recipe *drools*

Yeah, not much fun by comparison. Neither the incident nor the followup.
Hmm. I wouldn't mind seeing your recipe, please?

[ShinyLauren]

I arrived home late from work last night to a valentines card informing me that whilst I was reading it he was out foraging for Nando's I am nothing if not a cheap date!

Please share the macho peas recipe - I love those!

[silken]

For anyone interested in the macho peas recipe, here it is (sorry, mostly improvised quantities but I judge it by taste). The OH loves them and even as a pea despiser I actually enjoy them!

Ingredients:
Frozen peas (depending on how many you're feeding, I usually put in about 500g)
3 tbsp roughly chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh garden mint (mint sauce will do as an alternative but it is very vinegary so fresh is better)
2 tbsp butter/margarine
1 or 2 cloves of minced garlic
Crushed fresh or powdered red chilli to taste (I'm a wimp so only put a little bit in)
Salt and pepper (to taste)

The actual recipe is simple. Boil all your peas until they are tender. Drain the peas and separate about 1/3 to 1/4 of the peas into a separate bowl and put aside. Keep the rest of the peas in the pan (removed from the hob) and add the butter. Use a potato masher to mash the peas into a mushy consistency, the butter should melt into the mash but if it doesn't, heat the pan lightly until it does. You could use an immersion blender if you don't fancy the manual mashing! Throw in the parsley, mint, garlic and chilli and mash/mix it all in. Add some salt and pepper and taste the mix to test. At this point, you can add more herbs, chilli or seasoning if you like. When everything is mixed together into a nice smooth pea mash, take the rest of the peas that you put aside and mix them into the mash with a spoon. When everything is combined, garnish with a little more parsley and serve with grilled halloumi, grilled chicken or anything else that takes your fancy. You can omit any of the ingredients (other than the peas) and still great results.

Now, because this is a jewellery forum and not a cooking one, I feel that I should at least say that I will be playing with my new tools today

[Tabby66]

3 horses, 1 lorry ramp under repair, full time work and the jewellery - I've been able to justify to myself cheating like that.

...............well, so long as you can justify it to yourself Peter ;p

My 'romantic' valentines evening got spoilt by traffic jam on the M6.......deciding that NO-ONE (other than-according to daughter - saddo singles/ or those who are past it??) would be going to Ikea on valentine's evening, my darling hubby, thought it would be a helpful 'treat' to take me.......since I need a few bits n pieces for a forthcoming show......I mustered the courage and resolve to go.......only to travel 3 junctions, static, exit M6, static, eventually completed circuit of island to re-enter M6 and head home..........romance is not dead in this household!!!!!!!!!

[silken]

I'm lucky to live just around the corner (well, 5 minutes) from Ikea and don't have to get on the M6 which is pure bliss. Mmmm their Swedish meatballs and lingon berry jam are lovely, not to mention the cinnamon buns. Why can I not get food out of my head?!

Also, I think I'm missing some posts. Are the forum gremlins doing their rounds again?

[SilverBouillon]

James,
Thank you very much for posting cab setting tutorial! I've been searching for that everywhere.

[silken]

Just a quick update...well, I bought some new burrs last week. I added a couple of different inverted cone, cylinder and wheel burrs to my collection and WOW I cannot even start to say how useful they are. Where were they all the time I'd been trying to tube set those pesky little cabs? I mainly use the inverted cone burrs and they cut perfect little flat seats for my cabs, no more wibbly wobbly frustration. I've managed to make several pairs of earrings and a couple of rings with minimal hassle.

Thanks to everyone that helped/gave advice. You're all wonderful and have quite possibly prevented several things being smashed/hammered to pieces by reducing my tube setting rage