AS: Cool Britannia (sort of): the British thread 2019

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  • It might have been the big Windows update that went through yesterday, not the work app.
  • We’re fans of old hand tools here too, BF. When we do Tudor re-enactment my husband works in the coppice with a pole lathe and any work tools he has have to look authentic. So he’s always rooting through antique shops to add to his collection. I wish his were in a lovely neat wooden tray though.
    I enjoy ancient tools too, but with the non-negotiable exception of wooden handled tools such as screwdrivers and awls. I once had a handle split, and thereby discovered that it had been attached to the business end of the screwdriver by a sharp spike, which then stabbed my palm. I still squirm when I think about it. Never, ever, again.

    Wise words. I did carefully check each tool for handle integrity before I put it in the new tray.

    One can't be too careful, and, in any case, I've been known to saw completely through a piece of wood, and into my own hand......
    :rage:

  • Piglet wrote: »
    It occurred to me to wonder - I don't think I've ever been to a pot-luck that didn't include meatballs in some form or another. Not that I have anything against them (tbh I could take them or leave them) but they do seem to be an essential element. Maybe some of our Canadian or American chums can enlighten me.

    Most of the potlucks we have at church are our meatless ones that are part of our Lenten series, so obviously no meatballs!

  • Potlucks consisting, I trust, of Penitential Dry Bread, and CHEESE?

    (In which case, not so bad, after all.....)
  • The last potluck I went to I took a mushroom biryani (mushroom curry topped with coconut rice, shepherds pie style). I generally think veggie things are safer to take when you don’t know how long things will be sitting around.
  • Wesley JWesley J Shipmate
    [...] One can't be too careful, and, in any case, I've been known to saw completely through a piece of wood, and into my own hand......
    :rage:
    Ever thought of combining your priestly (and last rite) duties with those of a coroner? I am sure it would be very soothing to some of the grieving relatives... that whoever saw(ed) the deceased to eternal rest, did it with dignity.

  • ferijenferijen Shipmate
    @Heavenlyannie is there any chance you could share the recipe for that biryani on the recipe thread, assuming there is one? That sounds delicious!!!
  • HeavenlyannieHeavenlyannie Shipmate
    edited April 2019
    ferijen wrote: »
    @Heavenlyannie is there any chance you could share the recipe for that biryani on the recipe thread, assuming there is one? That sounds delicious!!!
    I generally make them up but I’ll have a think what I did/look at the original version I got the idea from.
    Pear and cabbage soup for tea, courtesy of the veg box, I’ll give a brief recipe for that too.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Mushroom biryani sounds lovely - if only D. liked mushrooms ...

    Lunch here on Thursdays is usually something on TOAST (we'll have something more substantial in the pub after choir practice). D. decided that he fancied a (small) fry-up, but as there are some avocados in the fridge I had TOAST with bashed-up avocado, crumbled crispy bacon and a chopped tomato on top, and it was heavenly.

    It's a glorious day, the sn*w (whisper it!) seems to be melting and the temperature is heading in the right direction - the forecast for Saturday is 17°!!!
  • Avocado and bacon on toast is definitely heavenly.
  • ((Heavenlyannie)), hope your interview goes well.

    I love antique needlework tools - I have several antique lace bobbins, some crochet hooks and a small needlework set with button hooks, scissors., a stilleto and crochet hooks. They are lovely to use.
  • Piglet wrote: »
    Mushroom biryani sounds lovely - if only D. liked mushrooms ...

    Lunch here on Thursdays is usually something on TOAST (we'll have something more substantial in the pub after choir practice). D. decided that he fancied a (small) fry-up, but as there are some avocados in the fridge I had TOAST with bashed-up avocado, crumbled crispy bacon and a chopped tomato on top, and it was heavenly.

    It's a glorious day, the sn*w (whisper it!) seems to be melting and the temperature is heading in the right direction - the forecast for Saturday is 17°!!!

    I am having for Friday breakfast leftover cheese on very grainy bread. Cauliflower was made by me for part of baked lamb last night and was a very good batch. Smashed avo is popular down here but I would never buy it. Fashionable with a price to match.

    I found brand new knitting double pointed needles in my stash a week ago. Back when needle sizes were in inverse proportion to size. These had original wrapper on them. Patons and Baldwin, size 14. What is now 3mm. I think I bought them at an op shop.

    I too like connecting with history with a couple of what are now called chibis to hold needles and darning needles etc. Mine are wood not **** plastic and have a design etched on them. I like the connection knitting gives with crafters from the past. A bit like connecting with others through using liturgy which is many years old.


    That however is another board.
  • I also have old sewing tools, with mother of pearl handles, and bone crochet hooks (which I use when I’m a Victorian lady).
    This morning I’m doing all the work I failed to do yesterday but nothing too difficult. I might do some work related reading this afternoon as a reward.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    It's another lovely day - it's 14° and really beginning to feel springy.

    It'll still be a wee while before all the accumulated sn*w disappears, but we're getting there!

    We had a v. nice (but rather pricey) lunch after D's recital today - seafood pasta and Caesar salad for me and a chicken and pesto panini (panino?) and potato and jalapeño soup for D.

    Then, most unusually, we both had pudding: he had chocolate cheesecake and I had salted honey ice-cream with toasted pecans.
  • BroJamesBroJames Purgatory Host, 8th Day Host
    All that shovelling s*** gives you an appetite!
  • Keeping up your strength, I see Piglet.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    edited April 2019
    I hope we won't have to shovel any more sn*w for a while, but we're not putting the spade away* quite yet.

    * partly because there's still a heap of sn*w between the deck and the shed ... :/
  • BoogieBoogie Shipmate
    I had to water the plants yesterday - it hasn’t rained for ages!

    Good weight training carrying watering cans. :smile:
  • Had a lovely day yesterday at the RHS Bute Park flower show. Chilly but unexpectedly sunny. We bought a few nice plants, some gardening shoes for Herself, and enjoyed listening to an anarchic Klezmer band. Church youth club in the evening with 35 lively youngsters ... I slept well!
  • la vie en rougela vie en rouge Circus Host, 8th Day Host
    My parents have safely made it back to Blighty, for which we are grateful. Captain Pyjamas is now the proud owner of a rocking giraffe provided by Grandma.

    Some rather delicious roast CHICKEN cooked by yours truly yesterday (Dad en rouge's recipe: stick a peeled shallot, half a lemon and a sprig of thyme in the cavity and massage olive oil into the skin. Roast at 200° and then savour the yummy crispy beast. Mmmm.)
  • Bishops FingerBishops Finger Shipmate
    edited April 2019
    Is the Young Captain's giraffe the size he himself can ride and/or rock on, IYSWIM? Or is it a smaller version?

    PIE and roast POTATOES today (well, it is Lent, and someone has to eat them....). The POTATOES are coated with duck fat, so the local Mallards are eyeing me reproachfully.

    Dad en rouge's recipe sounds toothsome indeed, though.....
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Saturday dinner is always Steak and Chips except now and again when it’s Lamb and Chips. But we had steak on Wednesday and lamb is scheduled for next week, so in a wild departure I’m making Carbonnade Flammande.

    The Trappist beer has been got in specially, I just need to remember to put it on about 4 o’clock.
  • Yes, Trappist BEER is very good at making you forget things....

    I know whereof I speak, having fallen off pavements in Lille under the influence. The pavement was only 30cm high, but to the BEER it was about a metre.....
  • Starting to prep food for visitors coming midweek.
    Did a big 2 supermarket shop yesterday, made a nectarine and plum compote this morning, and browned some onions - to save a little time assembling ingredients later.

    Planning another supermarket shop on Tuesday, for stuff that won't keep (nor fit in the fridge until after the weekend meals have been consumed). then a day and a half to get ahead with the cooking before they arrive.

    Probably not sensible to cook dishes I have not done before, but Mr RoS has no sense of taste, so I don't bother trying new things unless we have guests. and these guests are foodies and have recently bought me Yotam Ottolenghi's "Simple" to try.
  • We decided to treat ourselves and went to a pub in Grantchester for lunch, where I had a soft boiled Scotch egg which was coated in venison and black pudding crumb with a béchamel topping, accompanied by a wild garlic and celeriac slaw. Brownie with hazelnuts and chocolate ice cream for pudding.
  • Blimey - Scotch Egg, venison, and black pudding? Who (outside of gastric nightmares) dreams this Stuff up?
    :cold_sweat:

    OK with the wild garlic and celeriac slaw, though.....
  • finelinefineline Kerygmania Host, 8th Day Host
    I don't normally like scotch eggs, but I'd try that - sounds interesting. I've never come across a soft boiled scotch egg, still less one coated with venison and black pudding.

    I have just eaten a couple of regular hard boiled eggs in a rainbow coloured salad. And I also made myself a black coffee with salt added - because I read about adding salt to coffee and was curious. It gets rid of the bitter taste of coffee. Turns out I like the bitter taste of coffee though. But I do also like salt, so it wasn't bad.
  • Blimey - Scotch Egg, venison, and black pudding? Who (outside of gastric nightmares) dreams this Stuff up?
    :cold_sweat:

    OK with the wild garlic and celeriac slaw, though.....
    It was delicious, the black pudding was just part of the thin crumb and the venison was good. What was really good about the Scotch egg was that it was clearly freshly made - the yolk was runny.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    I have a vague memory of my mum putting a pinch of salt in the percolator* when she made Proper Coffee™.

    D. is going to cook me a steak for lunch today: as he's not much of a steak eater, he's having a small chicken PIE that we made a while ago and froze for just such a purpose. Both will be served with mounds of fluffy mashed POTATOES.

    * The first one I remember was one of those old-fashioned chrome ones with the sort of perforated basket thingy inside that was kept warm on the Aga; then they got an electric one, which presumably kept itself warm.
  • I have a reduced piece of steak for later; it will be interesting to see how much I actually get, with four pairs of feline eyes staring reproachfully at me. At least they won't want the cheesecake.
  • Don't be too sure of that. CATS will (IME) eat ANYTHING that their staff particularly like.....

    Re Scotch Eggs, I'm afraid I simply can't eat eggs in any visible shape or form (it goes back over 60 years.... :grimace:), but I do appreciate that, for others, such Things are palatable.
  • My childhood cat ate Madeira cake, I’m quite certain he would’ve liked cheesecake
  • Well, quite - why would he not?
    :wink:
  • I had a cat that once licked all the lemon curd from a plate of tartlets I had ready and waiting for afternoon tea with elderly neighbours.
    And another which liked those pink and white marshmallow cubes. I didn't make a habit of feeding them to her - it was fun to watch, but probably not much good for her teeth.
  • In our last house, next door's cat visited us frequently. We had to watch her though: she could open both the fridge and the kitchen door!
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    The carbonnade flammande was a stoater. Over to the recipe thread in Heaven if you want to know more...
  • As you say, BF, cats will normally eat anything their staff want. This particular mob don't bother with cheesecake. Don't get me started on the Birmans with a taste for champagne and cherry brandy.
    ailurophiles please note - I did not encourage the latter tastes. I thought it was only dogs you had to watch with drinks, but soon learned.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    edited April 2019
    Birmans are quite posh cats though - they would have a taste for champagne, wouldn't they? :mrgreen:

    Pre-Easter ecclesiastical laundry has been done - ironing surplices is my Lenten penance. At least our ironing board is a decent length; our old one (which got forgotten about in the move) wasn't long enough to accommodate a Cathedral-length surplice for a nearly-six-foot organist, making for a task not unlike painting the Forth Bridge.

    It should be added that by comparison, ironing a surplice for a 5'1" piglet is wee buns* ...

    * Northern Ireland expression for something really easy

    * * * * *

    The steak was very nice, and I'm now off to start chopping veggies for the lamb casserole I'm going to make for tomorrow's lunch.
  • Ironing surplices - one thing I don't miss about the choir. That and getting wax out of L1 & 11's cassocks after 9 Lessons.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    We had a very decent Palm Sunday liturgy today - procession round the church singing All glory, laud and honour (of course), the Gospel of Luke set to music by Viadana and Hosanna filio David by Victoria.

    Now looking forward to lamb casserole followed by Quality Bear Time™
  • fineline wrote: »
    ......And I also made myself a black coffee with salt added - because I read about adding salt to coffee and was curious. It gets rid of the bitter taste of coffee.....
    When I used a campfire coffee pot I added salt because I read somewhere that it makes the grounds sink to the bottom of the pot, saving having to filter the coffee through a strainer. Turns out that it doesn’t and I really don’t like straining coffee through my teeth.
    CATS will (IME) eat ANYTHING that their staff particularly like......
    Cats eat bagels as if they are chewing gum. Not that current cat would eat anything I’d eat - she tends to see strange foodstuff as poison.

    This afternoon has been a time of seed sowing and potting on. Roll on the end of frosts when I (and the cat) get my (her) windowsills back.

  • I ventured out onto our patio this morning, and it was absolutely freezing with a bitter wind. Decided that if it was too cold for me it was probably too cold for sowing seeds. They will have to wait until after Wednesday, when we are promised weather more suited to April, springtime and all the rest of it.

    I did sow some marigold seeds before I went on holiday three weeks ago, thinking if they grow, good, if not, I'll sow some more. About 4 have made it through the compost, but why did they all have to huddle together right at the edge of the pot?? I sowed them very thinly and well spaced. Good thing I've got some more seed!
  • I suspect they're huddling together for warmth....

    ....a nasty East Wind here, too..... :angry:
  • Oh, these are indoor windowsill wimpy seeds, so they can laugh in the face of the frosts forecast tonight - I’m relying on them all springing into life while I’m away over Easter so I can pot them on after I get back.
  • Well, if they do indeed spring into life over Easter, they'll be in good company..... :wink:
  • Well, I do not eat week-old nut load, but our cat at the time did.
  • SarasaSarasa Shipmate
    I'm just back from a lovely long weekend away with a group of friends. We only see each other once a year and are connected by our Quaker background, though not all of us are Quakers any more. Lots of good conversation, food, wine and walks.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    edited April 2019
    Sounds good, Sarasa!

    It's been a nice day here: it got up to 14°, and when we came back from church, there was so little sn*w left on the deck that D. pushed it off with a few swipes of the shovel.

    I reckon the only one who'll miss it is our little red squirrel, who used to sit on the top of the heap and enjoy the view while he ate his lunch. :smile:

    PS - talking of lunch, the lamb casserole was really rather good, though I say it what shouldn't. Went down very nicely with a glass or two of red WINE.
  • My current favourite activity is standing at the top of stairs and gazing out of the window. I may have mentioned that a pair of robins had started to make repeated appearances. It turns out they have nested in the corner of our greenhouse, luckily used more for storage than growing. They are clearly feeding chicks, although not quite visible getting closer may upset the parents. I keep seeing them zip past with a mouthful of insect.

    In food news leftover pork and beetroot stew with chana daal tastes better the next day.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    It's been absolutely tipping it down since late yesterday evening, and all but the most stubborn of the sn*w has gone. It's great to get rid of it - I just hope it won't be too sudden a thaw, causing flooding like last spring.

    As we're very high up, it doesn't affect us (if we were flooded, the whole of Fredericton would be under several feet of water), but we have friends who very nearly lost their summer cottage last year, and others on the other side of the river whose basements are prone to flooding.

    You'd think I was never satisfied, wouldn't you? :disappointed:
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