I have been told that tomorrow's dinner has to include Welsh lamb, leeks and potatoes. (We already have some Pembrokeshire daffodils by the fireplace).
Can anyone think of a suitable dessert, apart from appropriate Cheeses?
Welsh cakes.
Or decent welsh ice cream.
Or both together!
*When I was an undergraduate at York in the 70s, there used to be non-Health and Safety friendly 'round the bars' races. ?Eight college bars, a pint in each, and back to Derwent across the stepping stones in the lake, below Central Hall. Ah, them were't days...
Sounds similar to the infamous "Mick's Cafe Race" at Birmingham, my alma mater of the 80's. Eat a greasy breakfast at the cafe of that name, down a few pints, race round a prescribed course, throw up in the fountain on arrival in the square at the end. I never took part, or even observed, and I'm pretty certain they don't do it now, Elf'n'Safety'n'All That.
Welsh cakes.
Or decent welsh ice cream.
Or both together!
Good idea, but we have Welsh cakes quite often; and we had a good Knickerbocker Glory and a Sundae just a couple of days ago (see upthread). However we do have an excellent baker reasonably close at hand who makes Very Excellent Welsh cakes ...
Because of various Other Plans (see above) we've decided on Monday for the lamb-shank, which will be slow-cooked with red wine and veggies and served with mashed potatoes.
Can anyone think of a suitable dessert, apart from appropriate Cheeses?
Somewhere online I have seen Pwdin Eva touted as a Welsh dessert. No different, as far as I could see, to the Eve's pudding I've been making for years, which is just chopped, sweetened apples covered with a sponge mixture and baked.
Like many 'passed down the family' recipes it can be varied according to family traditions by such things as spicing the apple with cinnamon, or adding sultanas or raisins
We went to the supermarket. They had Welsh daffodils, leeks and potatoes, all of which we bought. But they'd sold out of Bara Brith - I wonder why? So we bought some Welsh cake (i.e. a fruit cake made in Wales) instead.
I’ve got to the supermarket and bought myself some daffs and a few bits for tea - nothing welsh though. I’ve checked into work and done my emails/forums/admin and there’s nothing else pressing to do except a couple of hours marking this afternoon. I might have to spend the day studying.
I have been told that tomorrow's dinner has to include Welsh lamb, leeks and potatoes. (We already have some Pembrokeshire daffodils by the fireplace).
Can anyone think of a suitable dessert, apart from appropriate Cheeses?
Easy! What you want is Monmouth Pudding and I've found a recipe for you here.
We'll be having this on Sunday but with the family variant, using lemon and lime marmalade instead of the jam. Enjoy!
Welsh cakes (made by a Welshwoman) were on offer at the church cafe today - and very nice they were too. Fortifying me for an afternoon of working on a constitution (thankfully thChaity Commission Model Constitution is a good.... erm.... model).
Going back to one day holidays, I often do this a couple of my friends.
Last Saturday the three of us went to Leeds to visit the exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci drawings scattered round the country, the Chinese supermarket and outdoor market at Leeds, back to Wakefield to this place for food. We returned to their house to watch old films on DVD: 'It Happened One Night' (totally stands up to a rewatch) and a Bela Lugosi film called 'Invisible Ghost' (less so).
Deciding to do last minute things can be more fun than planned events.
Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant hapus, pawb! happy St. David's day!
I've got some Welshcakes as pudding for tonight - bought, not homemade. My grandmother and my mother made beautiful Welshcakes, but I always had problems ☹️
All this talk of Welshcakes is making me hungry. A couple of people in my writing class are Welsh and I was hoping one or other of them might bring some in. We did get a Welsh flag waved, but that was about it. .
I've got some Welshcakes as pudding for tonight - bought, not homemade.
My wife likes the Tan y Castell ones, I prefer Braces'. However IMO the ones from Parsons Bakery are better than either, as are the ones from the Bakestones stall in Cardiff market.
We had a rather leek-heavy day today. The soup I grabbed from the freezer last night, for today's lunch, turned out to be leek and bacon.
I already had tonight's meal planned and prepped, as Mr RoS eats before he goes to help with youth club - it was a leek, potato and Abergavenny goat's cheese frittata, with a side salad.
D's weekly organ recital was very Welsh in flavour today, including preludes on Welsh hymn tunes (by Vaughan Williams, who wasn't Welsh despite sounding as though he ought to have been), a couple of pieces by Mathias (who was) and his own improvisation on the hymn tune Aberystwyth, which also included a gloriously unsubtle reference to Cwm Rhondda - you couldn't really have St. David's Day without that, could you?
It went down a bomb, and he got a standing ovation.
It's another glorious day here, but I think we may enjoy it while we can - they're now forecasting not one, but two snowstorms in the next few days.
It's been unseasonably warm over here these last few weeks, and they say February has been too sunny, too warm and with much less rain (or snow) than unsual. So, Houston, we may have a problem...!
However, on Tuesday, we went on an 18km hike with a big group of teenagers from one of the schools, and halfway through had a long, planned lunch break at the edge of a forest, preparing a hot meal for everyone on two fires, with everybody helping. That was fairly pleasant.
It's interesting to see how some 'kids these days' don't appear to have proper hiking or rambling gear (by which I mostly mean, decent shoes or boots for longer walks) any more, and they venture out 'into the wild' less often than they did in olden times. I guess all the 'lectronic entertainment is taking its toll: why go outside and get yourself dirty when you can check everything out on the web, and a webcam? - What they miss out on of course is the 3D plus element, the stimulation of all the senses, and the interaction with the 'real' outdoors. At least they weren't hanging around much in the shopping centre that day!
Hm. Actually I think it's less a matter of ill will that they're less outdoorsy; they're just not used to it. It's not a conscious attempt at extracting yourself, but simply a lack of something - knowledge, guidance, inspiration, encouragment. They were clearly enjoying it, despite the habitual grumbling. So not all's lost, then!
D's weekly organ recital was very Welsh in flavour today, including preludes on Welsh hymn tunes (by Vaughan Williams, who wasn't Welsh despite sounding as though he ought to have been), a couple of pieces by Mathias (who was) and his own improvisation on the hymn tune Aberystwyth, which also included a gloriously unsubtle reference to Cwm Rhondda - you couldn't really have St. David's Day without that, could you?
Sounds wonderful! But no rousing climax of Land of my fathers? Tis, tis ...
Wesley, my church has a group has a group that goes walking about once a month. This is always described as a "hike" for the sole reason of making people turn up in appropriate footwear. Call it a hike and they'll wear at least trainers. Call it a walk and they'll attempt to walk 12km through the countryside in flip flops
We once walked down the Samaria Gorge, decently clad in walking boots and extra socks. There were also other, more 'local' people, wearing white stilettos or flipflops according to gender <eek!>
Would there be? I think it really depends on the exact type of sole. Anything spikey will be unhelpful in the proper maintenance of said surfaces, I s'ppose, which certainly includes the hi-heely type. And after some soul/sole-searching, I could well imagine hefty-imprint-less, lighter but still sturdy shoes are available these days?
I believe early hiking or mountaineering heavy leather boots literally had nails in the outer soles for appropriate grip. And to think that they climbed places like the Alps with these! Heroic.
I suspect BT may still be Under The Influence Of Welsh Foodstuffs......I thought Mrs S implied that her sensible walking shoes were...umm....sensible, and therefore unlikely to scratch the kitchen floor!
I may be wrong. It's happened before, as I recall. On an April Saturday afternoon in 1978, when I Got Married. First time around.
I'm with Mrs. S. - I very rarely buy shoes that I couldn't cheerfully spend a day in. Having said that, when I do, they're usually to go with a specific outfit, as for an occasion like a wedding ... when you literally have to spend a day in them.
I think my next Occasion outfit will be based around a pair of smart, but comfortable, shoes.
It looks like another nice day so far, but the "periods of light* snow" are set to start in mid-evening.
I'm with Mrs. S. - I very rarely buy shoes that I couldn't cheerfully spend a day in. Having said that, when I do, they're usually to go with a specific outfit, as for an occasion like a wedding ... when you literally have to spend a day in them.
Indeed. For my daughter's wedding a few years back I wore a pair of shoes with heels - not very high, but higher than I'm used to. I was walking around the house in them for weeks beforehand, to get myself into training. And I had a pair of pretty "flats" to change into for the evening do.
Colourful, funky, comfortable shoes sound like A Plan for the next occasion.
In other news, we are battening down the hatches in preparation for the arrival of Storm Freya tomorrow.
It's rather amusing me that the next storm is called Freya. It's also amusing the mother downstairs, who occupies that flat with her stormy daughter, Freya, she of tempestuous and unpredictable turns. (I suspect that she has ADHD or is on the autistic spectrum, compounded by a disorganised mother.)
The Knotweed and I had cawl cenin tonight, with a pint of Butty Bach on the side, and the Morriston Orpheus on the stereo. Imagine how much trouble we'd go to if either of us were Welsh!
In other news, I once saw someone trying to walk up Snowdon in white stillettos. I knew I was under-equipped in DMs, but that was just silly.
We had to enlist the help of some of our lovely neighbours again today - the Pigletmobile beached itself on the accumulated ice in the drive and there was nothing we could do to shift it. So we asked a bloke with a truck to tow us out.
We have now invested in an electric snow-shovel, with which D. has managed to shift some of the ice (he says it's noticeably less knackering than an ordinary shovel), and we're hoping the snow forecast for tomorrow doesn't come to as much as they're saying ...
[...] We have now invested in an electric snow-shovel, with which D. has managed to shift some of the ice (he says it's noticeably less knackering than an ordinary shovel) [...]
That sounds like an eminently reasonable purchase, Piglet! I actually had to look up what it is; I'd never seen any of these, except those with self-propelling wheels behind the shovel, or behind a blower.
Pray tell - if you feel like it: is the snow situation different there from your previous position? I'm afraid I really don't know much about this.
I hope it'll be spring soon with youse!
Bound to be between 5 and 15C here today, which is rather warm for the season. We need rain (or snow). Lower temps next week, they say, but daytime still in the low 10s... Birds, mostly smallish, are pleasantly a-singing at dawn, can't wait for the blackbirds. that'll be spring for real!
And down here, Wesley, we are expecting more heat this week. Fires in Victoria are as bad they often are in mid summer. Tasmania has been ravaged by fire. Big fires in northern NSW and in the west of the country.
Up here in lower mountains I can feel a difference in the air on my skin. Years of this suggests that autumn really might be thinking about arriving. The air smells different to a few weeks ago and many of us are longing for autumn as you do there for spring. We are over summer. Mornings have freshness to them and the evening is definitely cooler here now than the rest of the day.
The silly thing was, the shovel was reduced to clear, and we actually had to pay more for a 100-foot extension cable than we did for the shovel. What we really wanted was a cordless, rechargeable one, but none of our local hardware shops had them (either they just didn't keep them, or they'd sold out by the time we could afford one).
The difference between Newfoundland and New Brunswick weather is mainly in extremes - the winters are colder (but it's a somewhat drier cold) and the summers hotter (but again, mostly less humid). This winter's been particularly tough - we had our first big snowfall in early November, and there's been at least some snow on the ground continually ever since. Our neighbours were saying it's one of the longest and worst they can remember, so it's not just us being soft Brits! At least the snow that was forecast for last night didn't materialise (it gave us a miss and went straight to Nova Scotia), but we're expecting another 6 inches or so tomorrow, which we could do without. Part of the problem this year has been that whenever we've had a temperature hike, it hasn't lasted long enough to do any good (usually less than a day), and been followed by a plummet back into the -15° to -20° range, so there's no chance of any real thawing, what's there will set as hard as granite and you start running out of places to put the next load.
I wouldn't generally expect winter to be properly over before Easter (even when it's as late as it is this year), so unless the shovel purchase triggers a spectacular manifestation of Murphy's Law, I reckon we'll be unlikely to see the back of it for a while.
However, for the moment, it's a beautiful, sunny day.
Storm Freya seems to be smiting SE Ukland at the moment, with much W*nd and Ra*n, just at the moment when I need to go on deck to fetch more coal for the Palace-Ark stove!
It won't do. I shall write a Letter of Complaint to whoever it is who organises these apparently anthropomorphic storms. We never had such things When I Was A Boy.
We cancelled our Evening Service, due to start in 15 minutes, because of the weather forecast. So far the storm hasn't arrived, although things are getting blustery. Hopefully it won't be as bad as predicted (in which case I may have Ecclesial Egg on my face for being timorous sensible). But I'm not holding my breath ...
Comments
Welsh cakes.
Or decent welsh ice cream.
Or both together!
Sounds similar to the infamous "Mick's Cafe Race" at Birmingham, my alma mater of the 80's. Eat a greasy breakfast at the cafe of that name, down a few pints, race round a prescribed course, throw up in the fountain on arrival in the square at the end. I never took part, or even observed, and I'm pretty certain they don't do it now, Elf'n'Safety'n'All That.
I'm rather looking forward to it!
Somewhere online I have seen Pwdin Eva touted as a Welsh dessert. No different, as far as I could see, to the Eve's pudding I've been making for years, which is just chopped, sweetened apples covered with a sponge mixture and baked.
Like many 'passed down the family' recipes it can be varied according to family traditions by such things as spicing the apple with cinnamon, or adding sultanas or raisins
Easy! What you want is Monmouth Pudding and I've found a recipe for you here.
We'll be having this on Sunday but with the family variant, using lemon and lime marmalade instead of the jam. Enjoy!
But that would be bad for our waistlines ...
Last Saturday the three of us went to Leeds to visit the exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci drawings scattered round the country, the Chinese supermarket and outdoor market at Leeds, back to Wakefield to this place for food. We returned to their house to watch old films on DVD: 'It Happened One Night' (totally stands up to a rewatch) and a Bela Lugosi film called 'Invisible Ghost' (less so).
Deciding to do last minute things can be more fun than planned events.
I've got some Welshcakes as pudding for tonight - bought, not homemade. My grandmother and my mother made beautiful Welshcakes, but I always had problems ☹️
I already had tonight's meal planned and prepped, as Mr RoS eats before he goes to help with youth club - it was a leek, potato and Abergavenny goat's cheese frittata, with a side salad.
It went down a bomb, and he got a standing ovation.
It's another glorious day here, but I think we may enjoy it while we can - they're now forecasting not one, but two snowstorms in the next few days.
To quote somebody or other, enough already!!!
However, on Tuesday, we went on an 18km hike with a big group of teenagers from one of the schools, and halfway through had a long, planned lunch break at the edge of a forest, preparing a hot meal for everyone on two fires, with everybody helping. That was fairly pleasant.
It's interesting to see how some 'kids these days' don't appear to have proper hiking or rambling gear (by which I mostly mean, decent shoes or boots for longer walks) any more, and they venture out 'into the wild' less often than they did in olden times. I guess all the 'lectronic entertainment is taking its toll: why go outside and get yourself dirty when you can check everything out on the web, and a webcam? - What they miss out on of course is the 3D plus element, the stimulation of all the senses, and the interaction with the 'real' outdoors. At least they weren't hanging around much in the shopping centre that day!
Mrs. S, whose default footwear is walking shoes
I believe early hiking or mountaineering heavy leather boots literally had nails in the outer soles for appropriate grip. And to think that they climbed places like the Alps with these! Heroic.
I may be wrong. It's happened before, as I recall. On an April Saturday afternoon in 1978, when I Got Married. First time around.
It's those tiny sips that lead to.......
I think my next Occasion outfit will be based around a pair of smart, but comfortable, shoes.
It looks like another nice day so far, but the "periods of light* snow" are set to start in mid-evening.
* I'll believe that when I see it.
Very wise. Or even colourful, funky, comfortable shoes.
I will keep this idea in mind for our next Occasion.
💡
Indeed. For my daughter's wedding a few years back I wore a pair of shoes with heels - not very high, but higher than I'm used to. I was walking around the house in them for weeks beforehand, to get myself into training. And I had a pair of pretty "flats" to change into for the evening do.
Colourful, funky, comfortable shoes sound like A Plan for the next occasion.
In other news, we are battening down the hatches in preparation for the arrival of Storm Freya tomorrow.
In other news, I once saw someone trying to walk up Snowdon in white stillettos. I knew I was under-equipped in DMs, but that was just silly.
AG
Sung in Italian!
We have now invested in an electric snow-shovel, with which D. has managed to shift some of the ice (he says it's noticeably less knackering than an ordinary shovel), and we're hoping the snow forecast for tomorrow doesn't come to as much as they're saying ...
Spring really can't come soon enough!
Pray tell - if you feel like it: is the snow situation different there from your previous position? I'm afraid I really don't know much about this.
I hope it'll be spring soon with youse!
Bound to be between 5 and 15C here today, which is rather warm for the season. We need rain (or snow). Lower temps next week, they say, but daytime still in the low 10s... Birds, mostly smallish, are pleasantly a-singing at dawn, can't wait for the blackbirds. that'll be spring for real!
Up here in lower mountains I can feel a difference in the air on my skin. Years of this suggests that autumn really might be thinking about arriving. The air smells different to a few weeks ago and many of us are longing for autumn as you do there for spring. We are over summer. Mornings have freshness to them and the evening is definitely cooler here now than the rest of the day.
The difference between Newfoundland and New Brunswick weather is mainly in extremes - the winters are colder (but it's a somewhat drier cold) and the summers hotter (but again, mostly less humid). This winter's been particularly tough - we had our first big snowfall in early November, and there's been at least some snow on the ground continually ever since. Our neighbours were saying it's one of the longest and worst they can remember, so it's not just us being soft Brits! At least the snow that was forecast for last night didn't materialise (it gave us a miss and went straight to Nova Scotia), but we're expecting another 6 inches or so tomorrow, which we could do without. Part of the problem this year has been that whenever we've had a temperature hike, it hasn't lasted long enough to do any good (usually less than a day), and been followed by a plummet back into the -15° to -20° range, so there's no chance of any real thawing, what's there will set as hard as granite and you start running out of places to put the next load.
I wouldn't generally expect winter to be properly over before Easter (even when it's as late as it is this year), so unless the shovel purchase triggers a spectacular manifestation of Murphy's Law, I reckon we'll be unlikely to see the back of it for a while.
However, for the moment, it's a beautiful, sunny day.
Storm Freya seems to be smiting SE Ukland at the moment, with much W*nd and Ra*n, just at the moment when I need to go on deck to fetch more coal for the Palace-Ark stove!
It won't do. I shall write a Letter of Complaint to whoever it is who organises these apparently anthropomorphic storms. We never had such things When I Was A Boy.
Don't you mean, "When I Were Nobbut A Lad?"
We cancelled our Evening Service, due to start in 15 minutes, because of the weather forecast. So far the storm hasn't arrived, although things are getting blustery. Hopefully it won't be as bad as predicted (in which case I may have Ecclesial Egg on my face for being timorous sensible). But I'm not holding my breath ...
'When Ah Wor Nobbut A Lad' - but being an effete (albeit well-educated) Southron, I was right first time.
Shame about your evening service, though, but perhaps prudence is not such a Bad Thing.
BTW, it's about a year ago, IIRC, when SE Ukland (and perhaps even other parts) were shrinking under the onslaught of the Beast From The East...
(We cancelled an evening United Prayer Vigil on account of TBFTE. Clearly, our Orisons were not sufficiently Efficacious).