For those of you still awake and feigning interest, tonight's supper was a sort of paella with cod, courgettes, roasted red peppers and peas, flavoured with paprika nd saffron. I rather liked it (though I think it would have been nicer with prawns - I'm not at all sure that I see the point of cod), but S. wasn't keen - she's not wild about paellas and risottos. This is most unfortunate, as I could eat them to a band playing.
Risotto is just about one of my fav things to cook and eat; straightforward to prepare with reliably good results (lovely glossy rice).
We always eat at the table in the kitchen, a large kitchen was one of our criteria in house buying as we are both keen cooks and I was brought up in a house where all the women socialised in the kitchen. We also only bought a TV about 2 years ago (and that was to watch films on) and our lounge is smaller and dark - I spend most of my day in the kitchen.
Cooking/eating is our main social activity (practically the only time I see Mr F...) The dining room therefore has the kitchen - the cooking bit* at any rate - at one end. (Sink, washing machine, dishwasher and fridge freezer live in the scullery beyont).
Music is acceptable with eating, so there's the radio/CD player and the thing that plays streaming content from Spotify.
I think this does show up the differences in living arrangements. We deliberately bought a small house a few years ago so it would be cheap to run when we retire. Hence the kitchen is only 11'9" x 6'2" - certainly no room for a table once the work surfaces, appliuances door and window are factored in. We have no separate dining room (we did in our last house) or scullery/utility room (which would be very useful!)
Now that I think about it, when I was growing up, Radio 4 was always on when we were having our evening meal - at least until The Archers came on. The signature tune triggered an almost Pavlovian response in my father to switch it off - Dum de dum de dum de ... CLICK!
The dining area (into which my dad built bench-seats) was divided from the kitchen by a long counter; the TV was in the sitting room, and eating in front of it would have been unthinkable.
As it appears to have stopped raining, I'm going to amble in a wee while, while contemplating ways of making salmon fillets interesting for supper. I quite like them just baked / fried / whatever, with new potatoes and veggies, but part of me wants to make them a bit more exciting ...
Thinking of eating and TV watching being considered separate activities ... I have on my bookshelf a memoir by someone who worked on the Clyde pleasure steamers in the 1950s. They had proper sit-down dining rooms (both 1st and 3rd class) and a bar "down by the engines"... but the idea that you might want to drink alcohol while eating your meal was completely unimaginable! It was tea (probably), coffee, soft drinks or water in the eateries.
I think it's quite common for parents of families to find TV unsociable during meals, as they see it as a time for conversation. Though some families are so dysfunctional and unpleasant to each other that TV is a better option than chitchat, and provides relief. For people who live alone, TV can be like an equivalent of conversation - it's a way to let others into your space and enjoy their chatter, though you can't actually join in (at least, not so they can hear you and respond!).
In some convents and monasteries, meals are silent, but at the midday meal, someone reads from a spiritual book for the duration of the meal. When I have stayed at convents, I have found it hard to multitask listening and eating, but then I struggle with auditory processing and that is one reason I don't have a TV. I used to like reading at meals when I was a kid, but had it drummed into me that it was rude. Which I think, broadly speaking, it is considered to be if you are not eating alone, but equally I think the same principle applies as with TV, that if your family is dysfunctional, it's a better option than conversation!
Thinking of eating and TV watching being considered separate activities ... I have on my bookshelf a memoir by someone who worked on the Clyde pleasure steamers in the 1950s. They had proper sit-down dining rooms (both 1st and 3rd class) and a bar "down by the engines"... but the idea that you might want to drink alcohol while eating your meal was completely unimaginable! It was tea (probably), coffee, soft drinks or water in the eateries.
AIUI, some of the Clyde steamers, certainly in earlier years, were tee-total, and proudly advertised that fact on their posters/handbills.
Indeed so, although passengers had been known to carry "Ivanhoe flaks" (named after the first TT boat) to circumvent this. https://tinyurl.com/y9y7bvy4. But that was probably 60ish years earlier.
We might just be accused of veering off the topic ...
My son, who is a nurse, has had a bad fever for three nights. He had a Covid19 test on Tuesday and it came back negative. He’s been sent for another test today.
I can remember a politician (can't remember which one) extolling the joys and virtues of the Family Meal, eaten at a Proper Table. The general consensus at the school gates was that this opinion could only be held by a man who spent the week at Westminster and had little actual experience of a Family Meal with his children. As one of the mothers remarked, at her home Family Meals started with the kids bickering over whose turn it was to say grace, and then went downhill from there.
Well I just found out that a local brewery is delivering 9-pint mini casks on a daily basis. I now have a weekly beer order but still no grocery delivery.
My son, who is a nurse, has had a bad fever for three nights. He had a Covid19 test on Tuesday and it came back negative. He’s been sent for another test today.
I’m not sure what to think or feel.
It's difficult not to worry at a distance ((Boogie)) As I said on the other thread, the tests are supposedly only 75% reliable.
Well I just found out that a local brewery is delivering 9-pint mini casks on a daily basis. I now have a weekly beer order but still no grocery delivery.
No booze for me, I'm on antibiotics in case my current symptoms are a secondary chest infection.
I've had a productive day reading through research papers for my doctoral assignment (today's theme is barriers to attainment in distance learning students with mental health challenges). Alas, tomorrow I need to get some marking done.
Not sure what's for tea, there's some fish in the fridge or we could get a takeaway.
“Just got back from second corona test. Feel fine in the day the fever begins every evening like clockwork. Still more likely to be another Virus, late aquired Epstein-Barr virus still not completely ruled out (most people get it in childhood).”
... at least until The Archers came on. The signature tune triggered an almost Pavlovian response in my father to switch it off - Dum de dum de dum de ... CLICK!
How funny - Mr Nen has exactly the same response, usually accompanied by an anguished "Nooooo!" as he heads for the radio. I think his mother used to listen to it every day and he got sick of it.
About eating in front of the TV, we do that as well and have done for years. I'm trying to remember when it started. We do have a dining room and a large table, currently taken over by a jigsaw puzzle and some car models. It's about the only time we do watch TV together as our tastes differ widely and we struggle to find things we'll both enjoy.
We sit up at the table at Christmas and Easter - there are certain standards! Also when we have family or people over for a meal... remember those days?
I can remember a politician (can't remember which one) extolling the joys and virtues of the Family Meal, eaten at a Proper Table. The general consensus at the school gates was that this opinion could only be held by a man who spent the week at Westminster and had little actual experience of a Family Meal with his children. As one of the mothers remarked, at her home Family Meals started with the kids bickering over whose turn it was to say grace, and then went downhill from there.
Sorry to disagree, but even when the twins were in high chairs we ate together once they didn't need help with every mouthful: we sat on the same side of the table as each other and the chaps' chairs were at 90 degrees to us. If one of us was late we sat between the two. We only dined separately if we had a dinner party.
Yes indeed.
<votive>
ION, is anyone else in the UK having trouble with BT Broadband? It seems to be having frequent 'outages', mostly between 10am-4pm - possibly the times of heaviest traffic, if people are working online from home.
Fortunately, I invested some while ago in a Vodafone Dongle (lovely word!), which is working well at the moment. Indeed, it's often a bit quicker than BT...
Having one's broadband embu**ered makes Zoom meetings/services/Facebook etc. rather difficult. I wonder if we are relying rather too much on technology at the moment? Or, IOW, is the technology not quite up to the demands being placed on it?
@Boogie - hope your son is going to be OK.
My sister, who's been trying to work from home, has had no end of trouble with her internet/e-mail connections.
My brother and s-i-l are bringing a load of groceries today from M&S, which is going to include meat!
I think I mentioned a couple of pages ago that S. has decided, after seeing a film about factory farming, that she doesn't want to eat supermarket meat (fair play - that's her decision, and she says she'd be OK with meat from an ethical farm), so we've been living on fish and veggies for the last couple of weeks. I'm really not a fan of most fish, so I was delighted when she suggested we get some meat in our next order (I'm going to pay for it - I wouldn't expect her to). I'll still cook fish or veggies for her, but I'm looking forward to a lamb shank and a sirloin steak at some point.
This evening's offering is likely to be a Thai-style veggie curry, as we've got shedloads of coconut milk. I'm quite looking forward to it - I like veggie food if it's well-flavoured, and curries and chillies are the sort of dishes I like cooking.
Regarding veering off the topic, I shouldn't worry too much - this thread's for absolutely anything that might conceivably be of interest to a Brit. The fact that it frequently veers towards matters gastronomic is just proof of what a civilised lot we are.
We sit up at the table at Christmas and Easter - there are certain standards! Also when we have family or people over for a meal... remember those days?
We're having Thai green curry this evening as well, with chicken. It's a recent addition to my gastronomic repertoire and we now have it quite regularly.
That's after our regular Friday evening Zoom wine tasting.
Been reading the Ship to unfrazzle after work, and it's making me hungry
Our department split all the teams in two, to work 2 weeks on, two weeks off (Mon-Fri only, thankfully!). Unfortunately, a third of the team are vulnerable, so had vanished the week before, and the initial split put both the remaining experienced staff in one batch. So, when we came back after Easter, I got asked to do my 2 weeks on, then swap to the other half of the team so that they have someone to ask questions of... I'm now on week 3 of working with only a third of us in, we're dealing with slightly more incoming work than we had before, and one of the reasons I got moved was because I'm the trainer for one of the other 2 people, so am used to her asking 100s of questions daily. Four more working days and counting to my fortnight off.
On a better note, I made baba ganoush last night, which vastly improved my packed lunch, there's the remains of a game stew defrosting for dinner that will have mushrooms added/as a side, and Sandemaniac is seeing if the allotment has any asparagus pickable on his way home from work Plus we have chocolate.
Husband made some green veg balls to go with meatballs and pasta.
I would like some wine but I’m on antibiotics so I will have non-alcoholic gin substitute with tonic (Cedars classic is the nicest non-gin I have tried).
Now that I think about it, when I was growing up, Radio 4 was always on when we were having our evening meal - at least until The Archers came on. The signature tune triggered an almost Pavlovian response in my father to switch it off - Dum de dum de dum de ... CLICK!
We were the reverse: it came on even if the radio hadn't been on for the 6.30 comedy. These days Mr Dragon plays the podcasts on his phone.
We had asparagus yesterday: I discovered 2 crowns hiding in the garden last week (they were under the log pile where we had the trees cut down a couple of years ago, when we moved in.), so we had 6 spears to accompany the veg box mega stems. I don't really want to crop any more this year as it needs to recover a bit, but it's gorgeous.
The Thai curry was quite good - it was a very simple recipe with courgettes, broccoli and sugar-snap peas, and the Thai flavour coming just from ready-made green curry paste. While it had (to my mind) the right amount of heat*, we agreed that it could have done with more depth of flavour - maybe with the addition of lemongrass and ginger.
Comments
We always eat at the table in the kitchen, a large kitchen was one of our criteria in house buying as we are both keen cooks and I was brought up in a house where all the women socialised in the kitchen. We also only bought a TV about 2 years ago (and that was to watch films on) and our lounge is smaller and dark - I spend most of my day in the kitchen.
Music is acceptable with eating, so there's the radio/CD player and the thing that plays streaming content from Spotify.
*and the Drinks fridge of course.
The dining area (into which my dad built bench-seats) was divided from the kitchen by a long counter; the TV was in the sitting room, and eating in front of it would have been unthinkable.
As it appears to have stopped raining, I'm going to amble in a wee while, while contemplating ways of making salmon fillets interesting for supper. I quite like them just baked / fried / whatever, with new potatoes and veggies, but part of me wants to make them a bit more exciting ...
Tonight is Cheez Nite. So far I'm thinking onion, spinach and mushroom mixed with egg and cheese, topped with potato and a lot more cheese, and baked.
In some convents and monasteries, meals are silent, but at the midday meal, someone reads from a spiritual book for the duration of the meal. When I have stayed at convents, I have found it hard to multitask listening and eating, but then I struggle with auditory processing and that is one reason I don't have a TV. I used to like reading at meals when I was a kid, but had it drummed into me that it was rude. Which I think, broadly speaking, it is considered to be if you are not eating alone, but equally I think the same principle applies as with TV, that if your family is dysfunctional, it's a better option than conversation!
AIUI, some of the Clyde steamers, certainly in earlier years, were tee-total, and proudly advertised that fact on their posters/handbills.
We might just be accused of veering off the topic ...
I’m not sure what to think or feel.
We have a topic? Is it food related?
Looking at the header, tea presumably? Or vicars?
🕯️
Now.... That.....is worth exploring.....
It's difficult not to worry at a distance ((Boogie)) As I said on the other thread, the tests are supposedly only 75% reliable.
Do they deliver to Canada?
I've had a productive day reading through research papers for my doctoral assignment (today's theme is barriers to attainment in distance learning students with mental health challenges). Alas, tomorrow I need to get some marking done.
Not sure what's for tea, there's some fish in the fridge or we could get a takeaway.
Is that further than Burton on Trent?
“Just got back from second corona test. Feel fine in the day the fever begins every evening like clockwork. Still more likely to be another Virus, late aquired Epstein-Barr virus still not completely ruled out (most people get it in childhood).”
🤔
How funny - Mr Nen has exactly the same response, usually accompanied by an anguished "Nooooo!" as he heads for the radio. I think his mother used to listen to it every day and he got sick of it.
About eating in front of the TV, we do that as well and have done for years. I'm trying to remember when it started. We do have a dining room and a large table, currently taken over by a jigsaw puzzle and some car models. It's about the only time we do watch TV together as our tastes differ widely and we struggle to find things we'll both enjoy.
We sit up at the table at Christmas and Easter - there are certain standards! Also when we have family or people over for a meal... remember those days?
Sorry to disagree, but even when the twins were in high chairs we ate together once they didn't need help with every mouthful: we sat on the same side of the table as each other and the chaps' chairs were at 90 degrees to us. If one of us was late we sat between the two. We only dined separately if we had a dinner party.
<votive>
ION, is anyone else in the UK having trouble with BT Broadband? It seems to be having frequent 'outages', mostly between 10am-4pm - possibly the times of heaviest traffic, if people are working online from home.
Fortunately, I invested some while ago in a Vodafone Dongle (lovely word!), which is working well at the moment. Indeed, it's often a bit quicker than BT...
Having one's broadband embu**ered makes Zoom meetings/services/Facebook etc. rather difficult. I wonder if we are relying rather too much on technology at the moment? Or, IOW, is the technology not quite up to the demands being placed on it?
Trying to get it to sync email has defeated even Mr F thus far.
Not that that would necessarily affect setting up a new laptop, but given that all this stuff is tantamount to Necromancy, I wondered...
Perhaps if Mr F were to take a wee dram, it would concentrate his mind?
The current house dream dram is Gelston Irish Single Malt
Tasting Note
Nose: Toasted teacakes, jam and vanilla pod.
Palate: Dates and ginger cake, with lychee, banana and vanilla custard.
Finish: Honeyed baking spice and toasty oak.
(Off now to search online...)
My sister, who's been trying to work from home, has had no end of trouble with her internet/e-mail connections.
My brother and s-i-l are bringing a load of groceries today from M&S, which is going to include meat!
I think I mentioned a couple of pages ago that S. has decided, after seeing a film about factory farming, that she doesn't want to eat supermarket meat (fair play - that's her decision, and she says she'd be OK with meat from an ethical farm), so we've been living on fish and veggies for the last couple of weeks. I'm really not a fan of most fish, so I was delighted when she suggested we get some meat in our next order (I'm going to pay for it - I wouldn't expect her to). I'll still cook fish or veggies for her, but I'm looking forward to a lamb shank and a sirloin steak at some point.
This evening's offering is likely to be a Thai-style veggie curry, as we've got shedloads of coconut milk. I'm quite looking forward to it - I like veggie food if it's well-flavoured, and curries and chillies are the sort of dishes I like cooking.
Regarding veering off the topic, I shouldn't worry too much - this thread's for absolutely anything that might conceivably be of interest to a Brit. The fact that it frequently veers towards matters gastronomic is just proof of what a civilised lot we are.
That's after our regular Friday evening Zoom wine tasting.
Our department split all the teams in two, to work 2 weeks on, two weeks off (Mon-Fri only, thankfully!). Unfortunately, a third of the team are vulnerable, so had vanished the week before, and the initial split put both the remaining experienced staff in one batch. So, when we came back after Easter, I got asked to do my 2 weeks on, then swap to the other half of the team so that they have someone to ask questions of... I'm now on week 3 of working with only a third of us in, we're dealing with slightly more incoming work than we had before, and one of the reasons I got moved was because I'm the trainer for one of the other 2 people, so am used to her asking 100s of questions daily. Four more working days and counting to my fortnight off.
On a better note, I made baba ganoush last night, which vastly improved my packed lunch, there's the remains of a game stew defrosting for dinner that will have mushrooms added/as a side, and Sandemaniac is seeing if the allotment has any asparagus pickable on his way home from work
I would like some wine but I’m on antibiotics so I will have non-alcoholic gin substitute with tonic (Cedars classic is the nicest non-gin I have tried).
Come 9.30 we will be watching a program on The Shadows - you know, Dow na now, dow na now, dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum duum dum.
If you don't remember that... try this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPvG7hlfsbw
AG
We had asparagus yesterday: I discovered 2 crowns hiding in the garden last week (they were under the log pile where we had the trees cut down a couple of years ago, when we moved in.), so we had 6 spears to accompany the veg box mega stems. I don't really want to crop any more this year as it needs to recover a bit, but it's gorgeous.
* i.e. not very much
No doubt @Piglet will be familiar with North Ronaldsay lamb from their seaweed eating sheep