Today's purchase was Jameson's, but I like Bushmills as well, and occasionally treat myself to a bottle thereof.
In a spirit of austerity, I eschew the use of honey and lemon...
While contemplating the duty free offerings at the Dublin airport last year a helpful gentleman came up and asked what was my taste. "Lagavulin," I said reflexively. "I think you'll like this," said he, handing me a bottle of the local Teeling's Blackpitts. He was right.
Tea was mutton chops with gravy, with roasted parsnips and carrots. I suspect the mutton chops Pepys ate in chop houses were cheaper, as they were then a byproduct of the wool industry not a novelty item bought by foodies.
Mutton chops as trendy food???!!! gorblimey not in Oz and never trendy. My late granny ( brought up poor first in rural NSW then Sydney) would never serve it.
You’d be pushing to find it anywhere except a halal butcher in these parts. The small Uyghur population are the only enthusiasts I know of: local Lebanese and Syrians less so.
Many years ago a local butcher ( in the formerly rough but now gentrified suburb of Newtown where I spent my early adult years) sold “ baking legs” of hogget for $2. A bloody bargain as you could feed 6 (lived in a shared house of 5 in 1974) with leftovers for sandwiches.
Talking of sheepmeat, I actually made one of the recipes from The Guardian's food mag last night. A few changes - dried herbs for fresh, tomato puree for tinned tomatoes, cream sherry for oloroso and absolutely no kale - and it was very good. I will bulk out the leftovers with more butter beans for lunch.
Tonight is Chicken Braemar (like Chicken Balmoral but with black pudding instead of haggis). It has me speculating on other possible Chicken ScottishPlaceName - Chicken Arbroath, stuffed with herring? Chicken Dundee with marmalade?
Yesterday’s concert went very well according to various friends in the audience
( Mendelssohn’s Elijah), but it was a long and tiring day, with odd meals, in both content and timing. Lunch will be the ready-meal I had in the fridge for when I got home but I didn’t feel like it, so I had a poached egg on toast followed by toast and marmalade.
Today I ache all over, as standing holding a score affects all sorts of muscles.
We are singing Evensong tonight, so this morning after a leisurely start I am catching up with myself.
We went to the early service at Our Place this morning, which seemed like a good idea but it meant we were back home really early and I didn't get coffee with my friends (which usually happens after the main service) so the day now feels really odd and I'm discombobulated.
However, I'm getting on with the domestics I've got behind with following a couple of days out, and the lamb is in the slow cooker for our meal later, so it's not all bad.
... Tonight is Chicken Braemar (like Chicken Balmoral but with black pudding instead of haggis). It has me speculating on other possible Chicken ScottishPlaceName - Chicken Arbroath, stuffed with herring? Chicken Dundee with marmalade?
Chicken Orcadiensis - served with clapshot and a bere bannock.
It's a beautiful late-autumn day here: cold but sunny. So much so, that I had a little amble beside the loch after church and before brunch.
Laundry has laundered, and is waiting for the tumble-dryer to be free; I arrived at the laundry just as someone else was putting her washing in, so I've set a timer to go and put mine in.
If it stays nice, I might amble down to Tessie's to stock up. Two ambles in one day!
I noticed that the river is higher than normal, and there is a bit of flooding on the fields down by the Marina on my way to church, but otherwise we seem to have escaped the worst of Storm Claudia. Hopefully the forecast snow for later in the week won't actually happen, as it would be good to have a winter without a sodden garden.
My intention this afternoon is to catch up with a couple of emails and do a load of knitting. I really need to finish a cushion that has been hanging about for ages so I can give it to my sister-in-law for Christmas.
A little less damp and dull in Arkland the Overcast, with the promise of some Sun-Shine tomorrow!
It's noticeably cooler, and my Spy tells me that the church heating was not on at Our Place. FatherInCharge is very worried about the huge heating bills, and has (in effect) told the congregation that they have two options - either to Pay Up, or to Wrap Up Warm!
I have suggested that there is a third option, which is to use the Hall for Sunday Mass and the Vestry for weekday Mass. The Hall is used by a pre-school Nursery every day during the week, and by us on some Saturdays, so the heating (far more economical to run than that in the church) is on for a good part of the time. New double-glazed windows are now helping to keep the heat in, too.
FInC isn't too keen on using the Hall on Sundays, though we have done it on the odd occasion in the past. It would mean a bit more work setting up, but Our Place's people are quite good at coping with such challenges.
People also have a fourth option, of course - not to come to church at all, if it's too cold and unwelcoming...
Grey here and cooler. We changed over to our winter wool duvet yesterday and today some new pillows arrived which are made from shredded memory foam, which is softer than normal memory foam. I am a side sleeper and get sore ears from pressure so I am hoping these will be more comfortable than our previous lumpy pillows.
Nothing much doing here other than some tidying and laundry. Mr Heavenly is currently fitting a security light outside my garden office so I am not having to lock up in the dark. Church this evening as usual.
The long, dark, winter evenings are Not Enjoyable if one has to go out, which I (happily) don't. They are the time for sitting by the fire, grazing on CHEESE or whatever, reading Ghost Stories, and having the odd nip of WHISKEY in order to keep up one's courage...
It's been a long while since I went out in the Dark, whether to church or elsewhere. My loss, perhaps, as evening worship can be quite atmospheric IYSWIM - 'Lighten our darkness, we beseech Thee, O Lord...'
Sadly I forgot the reheating lamb casserole and ended up with a highly carbonised saucepan - and celery and dips for lunch.
However, after the magic of bicarbonate, salt and vinegar and a lot of scrubbing, the saucepan is Back.
I have been reading the (sadly posthumous) essays of Laurie Colwin on food and cooking - with the result I felt compelled to go prep dinner an hour early.
I agree about winter evenings being times for being cosy with a book or the TV and Something Alcoholic and Comforting and I don't go out in them unless I have to. Having said that, we did have a good evening with our friends last night.
This evening, Roast Lamb has been Most Heartily Enjoyed chez Nen - we have it occasionally as a treat, the usual roast being chicken - and partaken of quite early, with the result that it's not yet 8.30 and feels like bedtime. Who am I kidding... 8.30 usually feels like bedtime.
I am off shopping with a couple of friends tomorrow and hope to do a major part of what's necessary for the forthcoming festive season in the way of gifts. We are a small family so there aren't a huge number to get, to be fair.
I'm supposed to be travelling tomorrow, and I'm a little bit worried that flooding will have affected the trains - there's no information on the National Rail website about whether there's a replacement bus service, so I'll just have to turn up at the station tomorrow and hope for the best!
Hope your journey isn't disrupted today @Eigon. Hope the pillow was comfortable @Heavenlyannie. I'm very fussy about pillows and always take what my husband calls my 'dead pig' away with me when travelling. I only like very squashy down pillows.
Cold but sunny here. I haven't been feeling too great with general aches and pains so decided not to go to Pilates this morning in case it makes me feel worse. Instead I'm heading out to forage something for tea tonight. Probably a stir-fry.
Comments
While contemplating the duty free offerings at the Dublin airport last year a helpful gentleman came up and asked what was my taste. "Lagavulin," I said reflexively. "I think you'll like this," said he, handing me a bottle of the local Teeling's Blackpitts. He was right.
Mutton chops as trendy food???!!! gorblimey not in Oz and never trendy. My late granny ( brought up poor first in rural NSW then Sydney) would never serve it.
You’d be pushing to find it anywhere except a halal butcher in these parts. The small Uyghur population are the only enthusiasts I know of: local Lebanese and Syrians less so.
Many years ago a local butcher ( in the formerly rough but now gentrified suburb of Newtown where I spent my early adult years) sold “ baking legs” of hogget for $2. A bloody bargain as you could feed 6 (lived in a shared house of 5 in 1974) with leftovers for sandwiches.
Tonight is Chicken Braemar (like Chicken Balmoral but with black pudding instead of haggis). It has me speculating on other possible Chicken ScottishPlaceName - Chicken Arbroath, stuffed with herring? Chicken Dundee with marmalade?
Chicken Edinburgh stuffed with Edinburgh ro... no, don't even go there!
( Mendelssohn’s Elijah), but it was a long and tiring day, with odd meals, in both content and timing. Lunch will be the ready-meal I had in the fridge for when I got home but I didn’t feel like it, so I had a poached egg on toast followed by toast and marmalade.
Today I ache all over, as standing holding a score affects all sorts of muscles.
We are singing Evensong tonight, so this morning after a leisurely start I am catching up with myself.
However, I'm getting on with the domestics I've got behind with following a couple of days out, and the lamb is in the slow cooker for our meal later, so it's not all bad.
It's a beautiful late-autumn day here: cold but sunny. So much so, that I had a little amble beside the loch after church and before brunch.
Laundry has laundered, and is waiting for the tumble-dryer to be free; I arrived at the laundry just as someone else was putting her washing in, so I've set a timer to go and put mine in.
If it stays nice, I might amble down to Tessie's to stock up. Two ambles in one day!
My intention this afternoon is to catch up with a couple of emails and do a load of knitting. I really need to finish a cushion that has been hanging about for ages so I can give it to my sister-in-law for Christmas.
It's noticeably cooler, and my Spy tells me that the church heating was not on at Our Place. FatherInCharge is very worried about the huge heating bills, and has (in effect) told the congregation that they have two options - either to Pay Up, or to Wrap Up Warm!
I have suggested that there is a third option, which is to use the Hall for Sunday Mass and the Vestry for weekday Mass. The Hall is used by a pre-school Nursery every day during the week, and by us on some Saturdays, so the heating (far more economical to run than that in the church) is on for a good part of the time. New double-glazed windows are now helping to keep the heat in, too.
FInC isn't too keen on using the Hall on Sundays, though we have done it on the odd occasion in the past. It would mean a bit more work setting up, but Our Place's people are quite good at coping with such challenges.
People also have a fourth option, of course - not to come to church at all, if it's too cold and unwelcoming...
Nothing much doing here other than some tidying and laundry. Mr Heavenly is currently fitting a security light outside my garden office so I am not having to lock up in the dark. Church this evening as usual.
The long, dark, winter evenings are Not Enjoyable if one has to go out, which I (happily) don't. They are the time for sitting by the fire, grazing on CHEESE or whatever, reading Ghost Stories, and having the odd nip of WHISKEY in order to keep up one's courage...
It's been a long while since I went out in the Dark, whether to church or elsewhere. My loss, perhaps, as evening worship can be quite atmospheric IYSWIM - 'Lighten our darkness, we beseech Thee, O Lord...'
However, after the magic of bicarbonate, salt and vinegar and a lot of scrubbing, the saucepan is Back.
I have been reading the (sadly posthumous) essays of Laurie Colwin on food and cooking - with the result I felt compelled to go prep dinner an hour early.
This evening, Roast Lamb has been Most Heartily Enjoyed chez Nen - we have it occasionally as a treat, the usual roast being chicken - and partaken of quite early, with the result that it's not yet 8.30 and feels like bedtime. Who am I kidding... 8.30 usually feels like bedtime.
I am off shopping with a couple of friends tomorrow and hope to do a major part of what's necessary for the forthcoming festive season in the way of gifts. We are a small family so there aren't a huge number to get, to be fair.
Cold but sunny here. I haven't been feeling too great with general aches and pains so decided not to go to Pilates this morning in case it makes me feel worse. Instead I'm heading out to forage something for tea tonight. Probably a stir-fry.