. . . to all my readers. Please translate these wishes into any other version you can think of - e.g. solstice blessings etc.
I have made some delicious pork and apple puff pastry sausage rolls this morning and they've turned out very well. Messy to make because the apple makes the meat very sticky - lots of flour needed . The cooking apple just takes away the greasiness. Lovely!
Cottage pie this afternoon for tea tonight and then steak in red wine for tomorrow with jacket potatoes and veg. Might seem boring but we decided not to go out because after it rained last night it froze so we've got a couple of inches of ice over everything. So that's why we don't have the festive joint of meat for Christmas day. We shall venture out before New Year and do a sort of Christmas dinner for New Year instead. We do have Christmas Pudding and mince pies and chocolates and plenty to drink so we shall enjoy it.
I hope everyone will enjoy their Christmas however they intend to celebrate it.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Thursday, 24 December 2009
Monday, 14 September 2009
Lamb to the slaughter
I have been interested to read the story of the lamb kept by a school to teach children where meat comes from. The outcry about it being slaughtered seems a little extreme to my way of thinking. Unless you're going to be a vegetarian - which is not good for children in any case - you need to know where meat comes from. Children are far more pragmatic than adults in this sort of situation and I suspect it has been blown up out of all proportion by the parents rather than the children.
I saw a comment by a member of the public to the effect that if it turned every child in the school into a vegetarian then it would be a good thing for the animals. So if we all stopped eating meat there would still be lots of animals running around in the fields would there? Perhaps there would be for leather, milk and wool but that still makes the animals into a commodity to be bought and sold and not just to be admired. You can't get leather without killing the animal and cows are slaughtered when they no longer produce milk. Animals kill for food so why should humans be different?
I saw a comment by a member of the public to the effect that if it turned every child in the school into a vegetarian then it would be a good thing for the animals. So if we all stopped eating meat there would still be lots of animals running around in the fields would there? Perhaps there would be for leather, milk and wool but that still makes the animals into a commodity to be bought and sold and not just to be admired. You can't get leather without killing the animal and cows are slaughtered when they no longer produce milk. Animals kill for food so why should humans be different?
Saturday, 10 January 2009
Books in the bestseller lists
I was just glancing through Amazon's 'bestseller' and 'movers and shakers' lists and was interested to see that many of the most popular books at present are about such things as feeding a family cheaply, making your own bread, growing your own veg - most notably in poly tunnels, living on a pound a day etc. Is thrift the new black? If it is then the economy is doomed since the popular wisdom seems to be saying we should spend our way out of a recession.
The other top seller seems to be the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer. I have not read these not being particularly interested in vampires, but they seem to have taken the world by storm. I wonder whether that is something else to do with the economic climate? Do we turn to fiction which is as far removed from reality as possible when things get tough? An interesting thought.
The thrift bug has bitten me as well. I called in at Sainsburys on my way home last night because I needed some bacon - we fancied a bacon sandwich. I was standing at the checkout and glancing over some magazines and wondering whether to buy the Sainsbury's magazine. Then I saw the price - £1.40 - and decided against it. After all I bought Good Housekeeping before Christmas and still haven't read it and I have 4 other magazines to read - Mslexia,Writers' News and Writing Magazine and Writers' forum. At one time I'd have bought it and probably done no more than glance through it. I do think before buying these days.
Talking of which there have been some very good bargains in some of the shops - Christmas cards - boxed - for 99p each in W H Smith's. If you're a sad person who buys Christmas Cards in the sales then now is a good time to buy.
As for the domain name saga - watch this space . . . . .
The other top seller seems to be the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer. I have not read these not being particularly interested in vampires, but they seem to have taken the world by storm. I wonder whether that is something else to do with the economic climate? Do we turn to fiction which is as far removed from reality as possible when things get tough? An interesting thought.
The thrift bug has bitten me as well. I called in at Sainsburys on my way home last night because I needed some bacon - we fancied a bacon sandwich. I was standing at the checkout and glancing over some magazines and wondering whether to buy the Sainsbury's magazine. Then I saw the price - £1.40 - and decided against it. After all I bought Good Housekeeping before Christmas and still haven't read it and I have 4 other magazines to read - Mslexia,Writers' News and Writing Magazine and Writers' forum. At one time I'd have bought it and probably done no more than glance through it. I do think before buying these days.
Talking of which there have been some very good bargains in some of the shops - Christmas cards - boxed - for 99p each in W H Smith's. If you're a sad person who buys Christmas Cards in the sales then now is a good time to buy.
As for the domain name saga - watch this space . . . . .
Wednesday, 7 January 2009
Pretentious cookery
I finished reading Daisy Garnett's Cooking Lessons last night - a combination of cooking and memoir which appealed to me. The book itself was a huge let down as far as I was concerned. It's beautifully produced - about A5 size - has a substantial feel to it and is printed on good quality paper. The illustrations are charming and in the style of water colours. I can't identify with her lifestyle which is sort of luxurious Bohemian though not the sort of Bohemian life I'd want to lead if I was rich. That is not a criticism as I enjoy reading about other people's lifestyles.
My main criticism is that the recipes are in general complicated, in many cases adaptations of someone else's - though the source is identified - take too long to make for an ordinary individual with a life to lead apart from food and many of the ingredients are hard to source unless you live in a city or want to buy much of your food by mail order. There are many spelling mistakes which should have been picked up by the editor or the proof reader and there are far too many instances of the f word in my opinion. Is there really a need for swearing in a cookery book - unless you happen to be Gordon Ramsay?
When I came to a recipe for Shepherd's Pie containing 19 separate ingredients I rather lost patience with the whole thing. Shepherd's Pie is meant to be something comforting which you sling together when you want to eat something simple with a minimum amount of preparation.
No ordinary person buys a special Tarte Tatin pan - a snip at only £25 - unless they are determined to make that particular dessert every day of the week! Likewise if you're making Tiramasiu you're probably going to use Tia Maria in it rather than a special Italian liqueur called Caffe Borghetti which is probably unobtainable outside Italy, or a particular type of biscuit - easily obtainable from your local Italian grocer. Hello? I live in darkest Lincolnshire. I could probably get anything Polish from our local Polish grocers - but Italian - now that's another matter.
I could go on - but you get the picture. I'm just glad I didn't pay for it otherwise I'd have been extremely disappointed.
My main criticism is that the recipes are in general complicated, in many cases adaptations of someone else's - though the source is identified - take too long to make for an ordinary individual with a life to lead apart from food and many of the ingredients are hard to source unless you live in a city or want to buy much of your food by mail order. There are many spelling mistakes which should have been picked up by the editor or the proof reader and there are far too many instances of the f word in my opinion. Is there really a need for swearing in a cookery book - unless you happen to be Gordon Ramsay?
When I came to a recipe for Shepherd's Pie containing 19 separate ingredients I rather lost patience with the whole thing. Shepherd's Pie is meant to be something comforting which you sling together when you want to eat something simple with a minimum amount of preparation.
No ordinary person buys a special Tarte Tatin pan - a snip at only £25 - unless they are determined to make that particular dessert every day of the week! Likewise if you're making Tiramasiu you're probably going to use Tia Maria in it rather than a special Italian liqueur called Caffe Borghetti which is probably unobtainable outside Italy, or a particular type of biscuit - easily obtainable from your local Italian grocer. Hello? I live in darkest Lincolnshire. I could probably get anything Polish from our local Polish grocers - but Italian - now that's another matter.
I could go on - but you get the picture. I'm just glad I didn't pay for it otherwise I'd have been extremely disappointed.
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
1950s childhood
I seem to be in nostalgic mood at the moment - something which doesn't often happen. I've been thinking recently about the 1950s in particular and comparing then with now - which was probably why I found The Accidental Time Traveller so good.
Were the 50s really a golden age? They seem like it to me. I can remember going to school on the bus when I was 6 or 7 on my own which is something parents seem very wary of now. I don't remember having the fear of God put into me about strangers either. We lived in a leafy cul de sac in an Edwardian semi with attics and cellars - I slept in the attic for a time - which I loved. The house seemed huge to me though I suspect it would not seem so now.
I can remember frost flowers on the inside of the windows in the morning and getting dressed in bed to keep warm - or downstairs in front of the fire. We used to toast crumpets and bread at the open fire on a brass toasting fork which had the Lincoln Imp on the handle.
Life was simpler. Television was only the BBC. People listened to the radio, talked, read, did embroidery or general sewing or knitting. My grandparents played cards for matchsticks or read the paper. There was much less choice of food in the shops and there were no supermarkets. We had no fridge and for a long time no washing machine. My mother used to wash in the cellar - boiling the water in the copper and doing the washing in a dolly tub, with a posher and then rinsing in cold water and putting clothes through the mangle (or wringer). Meat was kept in a meat safe in the cellar. Food was bought fresh every couple of days. Bread was unsliced and any that went stale was made into bread pudding or bread and butter pudding. Leftovers were not wasted.
It was a thrifty existence but not a miserable one. Parents spent time with their children. When the weather was fine everyone would be outside. In winter people sat by the fire. There would be curtains over internal doors to keep out the draughts and everyone wore jumpers socks and slippers as a matter of course. We were hardier I think. I didn't live in a house with full central heating until 1977 but I don't ever really remember being cold - you just put on more layers.
Were the 50s really a golden age? They seem like it to me. I can remember going to school on the bus when I was 6 or 7 on my own which is something parents seem very wary of now. I don't remember having the fear of God put into me about strangers either. We lived in a leafy cul de sac in an Edwardian semi with attics and cellars - I slept in the attic for a time - which I loved. The house seemed huge to me though I suspect it would not seem so now.
I can remember frost flowers on the inside of the windows in the morning and getting dressed in bed to keep warm - or downstairs in front of the fire. We used to toast crumpets and bread at the open fire on a brass toasting fork which had the Lincoln Imp on the handle.
Life was simpler. Television was only the BBC. People listened to the radio, talked, read, did embroidery or general sewing or knitting. My grandparents played cards for matchsticks or read the paper. There was much less choice of food in the shops and there were no supermarkets. We had no fridge and for a long time no washing machine. My mother used to wash in the cellar - boiling the water in the copper and doing the washing in a dolly tub, with a posher and then rinsing in cold water and putting clothes through the mangle (or wringer). Meat was kept in a meat safe in the cellar. Food was bought fresh every couple of days. Bread was unsliced and any that went stale was made into bread pudding or bread and butter pudding. Leftovers were not wasted.
It was a thrifty existence but not a miserable one. Parents spent time with their children. When the weather was fine everyone would be outside. In winter people sat by the fire. There would be curtains over internal doors to keep out the draughts and everyone wore jumpers socks and slippers as a matter of course. We were hardier I think. I didn't live in a house with full central heating until 1977 but I don't ever really remember being cold - you just put on more layers.
Saturday, 6 January 2007
Eating disorders
I have been distracted today from my rant on the material society by the news items on anorexia and eating disorders in general. It made me wonder why anorexia is regarded as an illness when obesity is regarded as self-inflicted.
I feel desperately sorry for sufferers of anorexia or bulimia as it must be awful to have what is in effect a fear of food. Everyone has to eat to stay alive, and to fear the very substance which nourishes you is tantamount to a suicide wish.
Websites which promote anorexia as a lifestyle choice are an abomination. These sites are preying on those who have low self-esteem and who are vulnerable to the suggestion that they may be overweight. How can anyone think a skeleton covered in skin looks attractive or healthy?
I find magazines which take photographs of celebrities and then comment adversely on their weight gain however microscopic, almost as bad as anorexia promoting web sites. Think of the media bashing which Kate Winslet, Sophie Dahl and Renee Zellwegger (in her Bridget Jones incarnation) have received. At least Kate Winslet has made it very clear she is happy with her shape and does not wish to chamge it.
The trend in America, which is starting on this side of the Atlantic as well, for encouraging women to fit it into size zero clothes is pushing people towards anorexia. For most average size Britons size zero means virtually existing on fresh air.
I upset someone recently by saying that I considered her delight in getting into a pair of size 6 jeans misplaced. This is someone who is 26, about 5ft 7ins tall, and I would suspect probably weighs no more than 8.5st. She has, to me, an unhealthy attitude to food. You get lots of comments from her about certain foods being forbidden or not in accordance with her food combining principles, or they make her bloated etc. An average size meal would probably make her feel bloated as she eats very little normally. What's more she is always going down with bad colds, or has stomach upsets, feels tired all the time, falls asleep when she gets home from work etc. This girl needs help, not encouragement to lose weight.
I'm pleased there have been one or two items in the media recently saying research has shown dieting can be dangerous. It has been suggested statistics on overweight people suffering heart attacks may have been misinterpreted, if they are looked at more closely. Many of those who died of heart attacks have died while they have been dieting. Those people whose weight is stable are less likely to suffer heart attacks. I read somewhere recently - I think it was in Shelley Bovey's fascinating book - The forbidden body: why being fat is not a sin - that it is actually statistically more unhealthy to be underweight!!
Which brings us back to anorexia . . . . .
Material society: saw a cushion I liked in 'You' magazine - Mail on Sunday - a few weeks ago. It was a special offer so I expected it to be cheap. It was about 16ins by 16ins covered in an attractive black and white leafy print.
Guess how much?
It was £45 reduced from a staggering £68. It wasn't even a designer name.
Cushion pad - say £1.25; material - probably about 0.6m - say £5.00; zip £0.75; cotton etc. Cost price say about £7.50 - time taken to make it - 30mins. If I'd sold it for £20 I'd have been making a reasonable profit.
Maybe I ought to make cushions for a living . . . . . .
I feel desperately sorry for sufferers of anorexia or bulimia as it must be awful to have what is in effect a fear of food. Everyone has to eat to stay alive, and to fear the very substance which nourishes you is tantamount to a suicide wish.
Websites which promote anorexia as a lifestyle choice are an abomination. These sites are preying on those who have low self-esteem and who are vulnerable to the suggestion that they may be overweight. How can anyone think a skeleton covered in skin looks attractive or healthy?
I find magazines which take photographs of celebrities and then comment adversely on their weight gain however microscopic, almost as bad as anorexia promoting web sites. Think of the media bashing which Kate Winslet, Sophie Dahl and Renee Zellwegger (in her Bridget Jones incarnation) have received. At least Kate Winslet has made it very clear she is happy with her shape and does not wish to chamge it.
The trend in America, which is starting on this side of the Atlantic as well, for encouraging women to fit it into size zero clothes is pushing people towards anorexia. For most average size Britons size zero means virtually existing on fresh air.
I upset someone recently by saying that I considered her delight in getting into a pair of size 6 jeans misplaced. This is someone who is 26, about 5ft 7ins tall, and I would suspect probably weighs no more than 8.5st. She has, to me, an unhealthy attitude to food. You get lots of comments from her about certain foods being forbidden or not in accordance with her food combining principles, or they make her bloated etc. An average size meal would probably make her feel bloated as she eats very little normally. What's more she is always going down with bad colds, or has stomach upsets, feels tired all the time, falls asleep when she gets home from work etc. This girl needs help, not encouragement to lose weight.
I'm pleased there have been one or two items in the media recently saying research has shown dieting can be dangerous. It has been suggested statistics on overweight people suffering heart attacks may have been misinterpreted, if they are looked at more closely. Many of those who died of heart attacks have died while they have been dieting. Those people whose weight is stable are less likely to suffer heart attacks. I read somewhere recently - I think it was in Shelley Bovey's fascinating book - The forbidden body: why being fat is not a sin - that it is actually statistically more unhealthy to be underweight!!
Which brings us back to anorexia . . . . .
Material society: saw a cushion I liked in 'You' magazine - Mail on Sunday - a few weeks ago. It was a special offer so I expected it to be cheap. It was about 16ins by 16ins covered in an attractive black and white leafy print.
Guess how much?
It was £45 reduced from a staggering £68. It wasn't even a designer name.
Cushion pad - say £1.25; material - probably about 0.6m - say £5.00; zip £0.75; cotton etc. Cost price say about £7.50 - time taken to make it - 30mins. If I'd sold it for £20 I'd have been making a reasonable profit.
Maybe I ought to make cushions for a living . . . . . .
Friday, 29 December 2006
Today's thoughts
I am reading a book by Judith Levine called 'Not Buying It: my year without shopping'. It gives a fascinating insight into how we are all led to spend money on things we don't actually need. The author decided to try living for a year without spending money on anything other than necessities. Difficult in today's consumer society. The book is American so not everything is relevant in the UK but it still makes interesting reading.
Why do we feel the urge to go out and spend money on things we really truly do not need? A simple example. Where I live there are no coffee shops such as Starbucks or Cafe Nero etc, so I have no temptation to get a takeaway coffee on the way to work, or when I've been out at lunchtime. I am saving myself an absolute fortune! Assuming you might spend £3.00 per day on takeaway coffee - that's £15 per week and assuming you work about 45 weeks each year that's £675 per year. Admittedly if everyone stopped doing this then all the coffee shops might go out of business - but that's another topic entirely, and maybe one for another day.
Again thinking about food and drink and work. If you take yoour own sandwiches from home each day how much money can you not spend? Where I live sandwiches are relatively cheap and £3.50 will probably get you a freshly made sandwich, a cake or yoghurt and a drink. Other areas are more expensive. I mainly keep the wherewithal to make sandwiches in the communal fridge/freezer at work. Loaf of granary bread - £0.59, butter perhaps £0.69 - between them enough for at least two weeks' worth of lunches; cheese, ham etc to put in them - say £1.50 per week; youghurts £0.29 for 4 from Lidl. Then you can have fresh fruit - 6 apples for about £0.50. I have a reasonable lunch each day at work for probably about £3.00 a week.
In case you're wondering about the prices I try and shop at places like Lidl and Aldi. They are at least 30% and frequently 50 - 60% cheaper than Tesco or Sainsbury. Quality is as good if not better than the big ones. As an example. I buy unsalted butter - usually hovering around the £1.00 mark in Sainsbury. Same product - not a recognised brand - £0.69 - in Aldi. Every bit as good as its more expensive cousin.
There are plenty of ways that you can live well without spending a fortune.
Watch this space for further thoughts on the subject
Slogan for today - don't be a sheep - think for yourself!
jillysheep
Why do we feel the urge to go out and spend money on things we really truly do not need? A simple example. Where I live there are no coffee shops such as Starbucks or Cafe Nero etc, so I have no temptation to get a takeaway coffee on the way to work, or when I've been out at lunchtime. I am saving myself an absolute fortune! Assuming you might spend £3.00 per day on takeaway coffee - that's £15 per week and assuming you work about 45 weeks each year that's £675 per year. Admittedly if everyone stopped doing this then all the coffee shops might go out of business - but that's another topic entirely, and maybe one for another day.
Again thinking about food and drink and work. If you take yoour own sandwiches from home each day how much money can you not spend? Where I live sandwiches are relatively cheap and £3.50 will probably get you a freshly made sandwich, a cake or yoghurt and a drink. Other areas are more expensive. I mainly keep the wherewithal to make sandwiches in the communal fridge/freezer at work. Loaf of granary bread - £0.59, butter perhaps £0.69 - between them enough for at least two weeks' worth of lunches; cheese, ham etc to put in them - say £1.50 per week; youghurts £0.29 for 4 from Lidl. Then you can have fresh fruit - 6 apples for about £0.50. I have a reasonable lunch each day at work for probably about £3.00 a week.
In case you're wondering about the prices I try and shop at places like Lidl and Aldi. They are at least 30% and frequently 50 - 60% cheaper than Tesco or Sainsbury. Quality is as good if not better than the big ones. As an example. I buy unsalted butter - usually hovering around the £1.00 mark in Sainsbury. Same product - not a recognised brand - £0.69 - in Aldi. Every bit as good as its more expensive cousin.
There are plenty of ways that you can live well without spending a fortune.
Watch this space for further thoughts on the subject
Slogan for today - don't be a sheep - think for yourself!
jillysheep
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