Must snap out of gloomy outlook... I'm going dig out some recipes for a hearty supper. Was going to make a cake but my electric whisk has gone kaput! OH dismantled it and all the inner workings were covered in a cake-y dust! The cog bits are chewed up - so cannot be easily fixed. Oh well. Was thinking of investing in a good food mixer... they pretty £££ though!
Hope everyone doing ok - particularly those with worries - weather or otherwise.
Yesterday made a dumpling in the microwave. Took all of 8 mins rather than steaming for 2 hours. It was ok but could be better. If anyone has a recipe please post. Here was the one I used:
NINE MINUTE MICROWAVE DUMPLING
INGREDIENTS
Half pint water
Three quarters cup white sugar
2eggs,beaten
Half pound plain flour
1 rounded tablespoon mixed spice
1 rounded tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Half pound margarine
Half pound mixed fruit
Half pound sultanas
1 tablespoon treacle (if required)
METHOD
Put the water, sugar, mixed spice, cinnamon, fruit, margarine{and the treacle if you have chosen to include it} into a saucepan on the top of the cooker. Bring the contents to the boil, and simmer for one minute. Remove from the heat and mix in the sieved flour and bicarb. Add to beaten eggs.
Pour the mixture into a medium sized microwave-suitable bowl which has been lined with enough cling film to go well over the sides, do not cover mixture with cling-film. Cook in the microwave at 650w for nine minutes. Allow to stand until cool. (8mins for 800W).
'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
Fidget-I hope you enjoyed the doggies. They had got eight six week old pups when we went. We were allowed in the cage to cuddle them......they nearly lost the lot to a group of soppy English people that day!!! We took duty free with us- I wasn't paying £30 for a bottle of Blossom Hill from the off licence!! A bottle of Bells whisky was £60-like you say, not a lot of alcohol consumed...no wild parties...but you can concentrate on the scenery.
Not sure how to preface this ...... a British Foody Friend lives in Venezuela ... he posted this today ...
" ... sadly there is looting going on in Venezuela, and the people are hungry - or should I say, starving. The situation is very, very delicate, and I imagine I shall learn of some new disasters when I'm back in Caracas. The situation is far more complex than John Otis (article in The Guardian) paints it. What Venezuela is currently experiencing is a brutal, Soviet-style dictatorship. The President, who is as thick as ten teak lavatory seats, is firmly entrenched in power, supported by an inner oligarchy of blindly communist ideologues who absolutely hate success and a complacent, corrupt military. The government has harried, bullied and physically assaulted merchants and food producers, systematically destroying the agriculture, cattle and fish farming and the production of basic food items like flour, butter, and oil. Just last week, the Consumer Protection Agency ordered the large supermarkets to lower their prices on the spot. This meant, for example, that a packet of frankfurters which was on sale for, lets say, $5, was sold at $1. This caused a run on the (large) supermarket stocks and left the shelves empty. They have not been restocked, and maybe never will, because the owners state that they're not going to sell at a loss. When all this happened, the government blamed the supermarkets instead of themselves. The government has lost control - although it's all too happy to bring out the brutal Nazional Guard to repress any protest and shoot people for peaceful protest. Over the past 20 years, they have nationalised or simply stolen basic industries, including 80% of the country's sugar industry, 60% of the maize , 75% of the cooking oil companies and have effectively destroyed the ranches which used to provide meat for the population. These ranches are now in the hands of ex-generals or party cronies. Like most So-called Socialist governments, they haven't got the foggiest idea of how to make a business or industry successful, or how to produce anything. One of the things that makes my blood boil is to read, yet again, that the "Economic war" being staged by "the right wing and the USA" is the cause. Anyone with the slightest bit of common sense can tell you that a stupid President, plus uneducated, fanatical politicians, plus rampant corruption, plus brain-damaged generals is the cause. The Petrol Industry is now producing less oil than 30 years ago. The Electricity and Water utilities are very close to total collapse, because of lack of investment and no maintenance. The Iron and Aluminium industries are close to bankruptcy. And yet the idiot Bus-Driver blames the Economic War. Is there a solution? I don't see one at the moment, since the ruling party and the sycophantic fat boys of the military are firmly entrenched in power, even though popularity levels are around 20%. Where's the opposition? Several leaders have been arrested on trumped-up charges. Others have been cruelly persecuted or beaten by Nazional Guard or government thugs. Peaceful protest marches are met with a hail of bullets, tear gas and smoke bombs. Just last week, a group of anti-government commandos were mercilessly executed (shot between the eyes - all seven of them, including a pregnant woman) even though they had surrendered. How do you confront cold-blooded murdering communists like that? And finally, I'm sick of the Grauniad and the liberal Left for their underlying support for the "people's revolution" in Venezuela. There's no socialist revolution here, just an evil dictatorship. I'm still waiting ( and have been for over 6 years) for the Grauniad to write an article thoroughly condemning the constant and blatant abuses of human rights. There -
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I hope Zimbabwe gets better now that Mugabe has been deposed, but I suspect the new lot will be just as bad.
Doggies were wonderful. A couple of unplanned three month old puppies, but mostly adults. Yes, I would willingly have bought them home. The ride was good. Another tick on the bucket list.
Arctic Char like very delicate salmon trout.
Dandelion syrup good colour but not a lot of taste.
Doug Allen on delayed flight, missed connection in Oslo, will now arrive tomorrow.(fingers crossed)
The Northern lights are being spectacular tonight, swirling around above us. We seem to be sailing directly underneath. We have just come in to have hot chocolate as my chin is numb. Now minus 11C.
I think he needs to stop beating about the bush and say what he really means.
Does make you realise, that our media, although often good, can get things very wrong, something I have thought for years regarding many medical stories.
I only came on to say what a foul day it has been, snow replaced by heavy rain, with the stream due to imminently flood.
How can you lie there and think of England When you don't even know who's in the team
Posts
Such beauty in the these snow scenes Dacha but would not live in such conditions.
Raining.
Been thinking about our seasons in Wales...
Summer: not cold, often rains.
Autumn: cooler, rains often.
Winter: cold, rains often, occasional snow.
Spring: not as cold, rains.
Must snap out of gloomy outlook... I'm going dig out some recipes for a hearty supper. Was going to make a cake but my electric whisk has gone kaput! OH dismantled it and all the inner workings were covered in a cake-y dust! The cog bits are chewed up - so cannot be easily fixed. Oh well. Was thinking of investing in a good food mixer... they pretty £££ though!
Hope everyone doing ok - particularly those with worries - weather or otherwise.
Yesterday made a dumpling in the microwave. Took all of 8 mins rather than steaming for 2 hours. It was ok but could be better. If anyone has a recipe please post. Here was the one I used:
NINE MINUTE MICROWAVE DUMPLING
INGREDIENTS
Half pint water
Three quarters cup white sugar
2eggs,beaten
Half pound plain flour
1 rounded tablespoon mixed spice
1 rounded tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Half pound margarine
Half pound mixed fruit
Half pound sultanas
1 tablespoon treacle (if required)
METHOD
Put the water, sugar, mixed spice, cinnamon, fruit, margarine{and the treacle if you have chosen to include it} into a saucepan on the top of the cooker. Bring the contents to the boil, and simmer for one minute. Remove from the heat and mix in the sieved flour and bicarb. Add to beaten eggs.
Pour the mixture into a medium sized microwave-suitable bowl which has been lined with enough cling film to go well over the sides, do not cover mixture with cling-film. Cook in the microwave at 650w for nine minutes. Allow to stand until cool. (8mins for 800W).
Fidget-I hope you enjoyed the doggies. They had got eight six week old pups when we went. We were allowed in the cage to cuddle them......they nearly lost the lot to a group of soppy English people that day!!! We took duty free with us- I wasn't paying £30 for a bottle of Blossom Hill from the off licence!!
A bottle of Bells whisky was £60-like you say, not a lot of alcohol consumed...no wild parties...but you can concentrate on the scenery.
Not sure how to preface this ...... a British Foody Friend lives in Venezuela ... he posted this today ...
" ... sadly there is looting going on in Venezuela, and the people are hungry - or should I say, starving. The situation is very, very delicate, and I imagine I shall learn of some new disasters when I'm back in Caracas.
The situation is far more complex than John Otis (article in The Guardian) paints it. What Venezuela is currently experiencing is a brutal, Soviet-style dictatorship. The President, who is as thick as ten teak lavatory seats, is firmly entrenched in power, supported by an inner oligarchy of blindly communist ideologues who absolutely hate success and a complacent, corrupt military. The government has harried, bullied and physically assaulted merchants and food producers, systematically destroying the agriculture, cattle and fish farming and the production of basic food items like flour, butter, and oil. Just last week, the Consumer Protection Agency ordered the large supermarkets to lower their prices on the spot. This meant, for example, that a packet of frankfurters which was on sale for, lets say, $5, was sold at $1. This caused a run on the (large) supermarket stocks and left the shelves empty. They have not been restocked, and maybe never will, because the owners state that they're not going to sell at a loss. When all this happened, the government blamed the supermarkets instead of themselves.
The government has lost control - although it's all too happy to bring out the brutal Nazional Guard to repress any protest and shoot people for peaceful protest. Over the past 20 years, they have nationalised or simply stolen basic industries, including 80% of the country's sugar industry, 60% of the maize , 75% of the cooking oil companies and have effectively destroyed the ranches which used to provide meat for the population. These ranches are now in the hands of ex-generals or party cronies. Like most So-called Socialist governments, they haven't got the foggiest idea of how to make a business or industry successful, or how to produce anything. One of the things that makes my blood boil is to read, yet again, that the "Economic war" being staged by "the right wing and the USA" is the cause. Anyone with the slightest bit of common sense can tell you that a stupid President, plus uneducated, fanatical politicians, plus rampant corruption, plus brain-damaged generals is the cause. The Petrol Industry is now producing less oil than 30 years ago. The Electricity and Water utilities are very close to total collapse, because of lack of investment and no maintenance. The Iron and Aluminium industries are close to bankruptcy. And yet the idiot Bus-Driver blames the Economic War.
Is there a solution? I don't see one at the moment, since the ruling party and the sycophantic fat boys of the military are firmly entrenched in power, even though popularity levels are around 20%.
Where's the opposition? Several leaders have been arrested on trumped-up charges. Others have been cruelly persecuted or beaten by Nazional Guard or government thugs. Peaceful protest marches are met with a hail of bullets, tear gas and smoke bombs. Just last week, a group of anti-government commandos were mercilessly executed (shot between the eyes - all seven of them, including a pregnant woman) even though they had surrendered. How do you confront cold-blooded murdering communists like that?
And finally, I'm sick of the Grauniad and the liberal Left for their underlying support for the "people's revolution" in Venezuela. There's no socialist revolution here, just an evil dictatorship. I'm still waiting ( and have been for over 6 years) for the Grauniad to write an article thoroughly condemning the constant and blatant abuses of human rights.
There -
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Cont'd ...
.......There - I've said it!!"
I'm not sure what to say, but I thought I'd share it ... it's straight from the horse's mouth
This is the Guardian article he refers to https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/21/venezuela-looting-violence-food-shortages
Last edited: 21 January 2018 18:16:19
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Dovefromabove , Just reading a book including Stalin’s rein of Russia , sounds familiar , feel very sorry the ordinary people like myself
Dove, sadly it's another case of rulers and their cronies lining their own pockets at the expense of their people just as Mugabe did.
I hope Zimbabwe gets better now that Mugabe has been deposed, but I suspect the new lot will be just as bad.
Doggies were wonderful. A couple of unplanned three month old puppies, but mostly adults. Yes, I would willingly have bought them home. The ride was good. Another tick on the bucket list.
Arctic Char like very delicate salmon trout.
Dandelion syrup good colour but not a lot of taste.
Doug Allen on delayed flight, missed connection in Oslo, will now arrive tomorrow.(fingers crossed)
The Northern lights are being spectacular tonight, swirling around above us. We seem to be sailing directly underneath. We have just come in to have hot chocolate as my chin is numb. Now minus 11C.
I think he needs to stop beating about the bush and say what he really means.
Does make you realise, that our media, although often good, can get things very wrong, something I have thought for years regarding many medical stories.
I only came on to say what a foul day it has been, snow replaced by heavy rain, with the stream due to imminently flood.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border