# My Life and Other Animals



## Phoenix14 (Dec 24, 2014)

My daughter & her partner live about 4 1/2 hours away from me and they are fortunate enough to be able to get holidays for Christmas and New Year.   They are due to arrive tonight and I know, chaos will reign for just over a week.  Thinking back on some of her visits, I just wonder what is in store for me.

A previous visit from my daughter, who decided at the last minute, before leaving for home again, would make chocolates.    She is, under normal circumstances,an intelligent, well adjusted young woman who from time to time metamorphoses into something else. Whether or not it's an allergy or if there is a medical term for it, I often question the thinking behind what she does.   When she donned her chocolatier hat, I vacated the kitchen and left her to it.   The next few minutes were punctuated with the 'where's the's...' and 'have you got any's' so in answer to where's the sieve, I said in the drawer.  Eventually I was asked if I could help, she needed raspberries strained for the raspberry cream ganache, hence the need for a sieve, and the chocolate was getting to the right temperature so she needed to hurry.   I couldn't believe it, she had been trying to sieve the raspberries through a tea strainer!  In the end, the chocolates were delicious, salt caramel filling and raspberry cream ganache filling.  Unfortunately they had to leave so I said not to worry, I would clear up to let them get on their way.   I scraped chocolate off crockery, cutlery, hob, the hob's control knobs, table, floor and even inside the fridge.   I don't know how the professionals cope but working with chocolate is messy to the enth degree.  No wonder my mother settled for showing me how to make tablet & fudge!  My daughter was most apologetic and remarked about her not being allowed back but she's wrong, I wouldn't change her for the world.


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## hollydolly (Dec 24, 2014)

hahaha...very funny...but like you say..as with my daughter as you know, neither  me nor you would change our normally  very intelligent daughters, for all the mess in the world...

Hope you have a great time with them there this week and all the mess and chaos will be worth it artytime:...I wish my daughter could get here from Spain but this is her business's busiest time, so tomorrow she will ring instead and I'll see her in the Spring when I next go over there


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## Ameriscot (Dec 24, 2014)

I can relate because at home my husband cooks the dinners. These are often curries and he likes to use a stick mixer to make a sauce which involves tomatoes. 

Our deal is he cooks, I clean up. Fine. He's a good cook and I'm not fond of cooking. It works.


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## Meanderer (Dec 27, 2014)

Maybe she was planning on making raspberry tea?

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## jujube (Dec 27, 2014)

I do the majority of the cooking, probably 95%, but the Spousal Equivalent loves to watch cooking shows.  Thus, this leads to the desire to make "exotic" dishes.  Unfortunately, they very seldom turn out well as he's not good at doing several things at once.  I try to explain that what he sees on cooking shows is not what happens in ordinary kitchens: the ingredients are prepared ahead of time by someone else, someone is standing off-camera handing the cook items that are at the perfect temp, properly beaten, chopped to perfection, everything is ready to go at the same time.  So, usually we end up with something that is, at best, edible and, at worst, inedible.  Then he's upset that it didn't turn out. He also won't substitute items for the ingredients used by the TV chefs, so he'll pay $10 for something he'll only use a teaspoon of and then it sits until it rots.  

Which leads us to the worst problem.....the fact that every bowl, every pan, every utensil in the kitchen has been used.  And who does the dishes?  You guessed it....me.

Now, he does have about five things that he makes that are terrific and I'm always glad when he makes them.


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## Josiah (Dec 27, 2014)

Well Phoenix14, we seem to have a goodly number of Scots who are active on the Forum which is certainly nice. I enjoy the diversity of English speakers who have gathered here together to exchange ideas. Regretfully what's missing are the spoken accents. I'll just have to imagine a Scottish accent when I read your comments.


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## Phoenix14 (Dec 28, 2014)

Josiah09 said:


> Well Phoenix14, we seem to have a goodly number of Scots who are active on the Forum which is certainly nice. I enjoy the diversity of English speakers who have gathered here together to exchange ideas. Regretfully what's missing are the spoken accents. I'll just have to imagine a Scottish accent when I read your comments.


Just wait until I post something in a colloquial language LOL.  It might surprise you how much of it you would understand but you would need to practise the dialect


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## Phoenix14 (Dec 28, 2014)

It's surprising how many men cook and think there is a good fairy as part of the kitchen fittings


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## Pappy (Dec 28, 2014)

Nice story, Phoenix. Reminds me of the time my daughter was visiting and she offered to peel the potatoes. No one was watching her as she was stuffing the peels down the garbage disposal without turning it on. 
DAD...something is wrong with the disposal! No kidding. It was stuffed full. After awhile getting it unstuck, I finally got it going again. 
We kid her about it to this day.


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## Josiah (Dec 28, 2014)

I have of late been forced to take over food preparation responsibilities for myself. This wouldn't be too hard for many seniors with no wife in the kitchen. My widower next door neighbor eats out more than he eats in and when he eats in its a frozen tv dinner in the microwave. Because of a rather strict diet I follow, I don't eat out at all and I eschew all processed foods in favor of fresh organic produce and pasture raised meats and eggs_. _I continue at the very bottom of the food preparation learning curve with the most bland monotonous fare imaginable. One benefit of all this is that I stay consistently at my ideal weight.


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## Josiah (Dec 28, 2014)

It just occurred to me that beside being deficient in cooking skills, I am also tone deaf to the conventions of social forums. This is your diary Phoenix14 and I shouldn't be barging in with what's on my mind. Please accept my apology.


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## Phoenix14 (Dec 28, 2014)

Barge in by all means Josiah - that's what conversations are all about


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## Phoenix14 (Dec 28, 2014)

Christmas seems a bit like a dream now, after all the planning weeks ahead sourcing interesting gifts for family and friends and then suddenly it's upon us.  Not that I need to worry about Christmas dinner, my daughter's inlaws like all the razzmatazz of the great British Christmas dinner and all we have to do, is turn up.   The numbers are variable to attend these dinners but often there is only about 5 - 10 of us but still tradition stands, they must have a turkey – with all the trimmings.


I live in a very small flat but they have a big house with a lovely big kitchen and dining room that everyone has enough space to move around in.   At times like that, I admit to a certain amount of envy but I don't have all the dusting and hoovering of something that size and if they don't mind holding the dinner parties,  I don't mind letting them.   My turn comes with the New Year dinner.


This year I was informed that it was goose for Christmas dinner and for some reason,it makes me think of Charles Dickens and Scrooge.   The goose was big, so big, they had trouble getting it in one of their ovens.  However as the fat drained, so did the body of the goose and in the end, they had 2 litres of goose fat and a much reduced fowl.  Starters are nearly always seafood, lots of it and  added to what was bought, my son in law, has a smoker and brought up home smoked trout,chicken and salmon.   So we munched our way through prawns, crabs,smoked salmon, smoked chicken, blinis with Philly & more smoked salmon.  After a bit of a break, we retired to the dining room for the goose.   Nice as it was, I have to say I enjoy the accompaniments better, the potatoes roasted in goose fat were really good and I could have been happy just eating them & the sprouts.  By the time we had finished, we were all feeling just a tad full but we still had to face the pudding.


The Christmas pudding,as usual was ceremoniously brought through, dowsed with brandy and set alight, quite impressive as it was, the thought of eating it was quite another thing.  Not only was there Christmas pud but at least this year there was only one alternative, profiteroles.   There were the usual lashings of cream and the offer of ice cream to partner these confections but after a token profiterole, enough was enough.  


Next came the indoor fireworks, not particularly impressive although it was quite entertaining seeing the small burst of flame and the fizzle before the died.   Where the names came from, I have no idea but they bore no resemblance at all to the actual pathetic little burst of flame.  'The snake' did cause a bit of hilarity when someone mentioned it looked more like dog poo.   The 'fountains' on the other hand were fine and I wouldn't have expected better of them indoors.   


Coffee in the lounge in front of the large ingle fireplace where everyone relaxed and tried to recover from over eating.  It was a time to unwind but I think we may have unwound just a bit too much, as it was difficult to drag ourselves away from the fire and out into the cold night where I had to scrape the ice off the car windscreen.


Next day we went off to the cinema and we were supposed to go back for something to eat as there was an lot of leftovers and nobody wanted to waste them.   Even then, the day after, I was beat and declined the invitation and just came home for a piece of toast.  We all agree there was far too much food and that it will be cut down next year but somehow I doubt it.  I am supposed to be hosting the New Year dinner, possibly in their house again and I would like to think any catering I provide would be ample but something tells me, there will be food available I didn't order


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## Meanderer (Dec 28, 2014)

Phoenix14 said:


> Christmas seems a bit like a dream now, after all the planning weeks ahead sourcing interesting gifts for family and friends and then suddenly it's upon us.  Not that I need to worry about Christmas dinner, my daughter's inlaws like all the razzmatazz of the great British Christmas dinner and all we have to do, is turn up.   The numbers are variable to attend these dinners but often there is only about 5 - 10 of us but still tradition stands, they must have a turkey – with all the trimmings.
> 
> 
> I live in a very small flat but they have a big house with a lovely big kitchen and dining room that everyone has enough space to move around in.   At times like that, I admit to a certain amount of envy but I don't have all the dusting and hoovering of something that size and if they don't mind holding the dinner parties,  I don't mind letting them.   My turn comes with the New Year dinner.
> ...


Thanks for your Christmas Dinner review Phoenix!  I could almost hear the goose and fat separating.  I could almost feel the warmth of the Inglenook. I could almost see the potatoes sprouting.  I could almost taste the pud and cream puffs.  I could almost hear the scale running to hide behind the door.  What's on your menu for New Years?
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## Phoenix14 (Dec 28, 2014)

It's in the planning at the moment meanderer, our traditional New Year dinner is usually Scotch broth, followed by steak pie and trifle for dessert.  However we may have a choice of soup and have cullen skink as well as Scotch broth.  I have a joint of beef which may remain as it is and get roasted or it may get made into steak pie.  Dessert is negotiable at the moment as it would appear that a favourite with some is raspberry cheesecake, personally I would prefer a fresh fruit salad


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## Meanderer (Dec 28, 2014)

Phoenix14 said:


> It's in the planning at the moment meanderer, our traditional New Year dinner is usually Scotch broth, followed by steak pie and trifle for dessert.  However we may have a choice of soup and have cullen skink as well as Scotch broth.  I have a joint of beef which may remain as it is and get roasted or it may get made into steak pie.  Dessert is negotiable at the moment as it would appear that a favourite with some is raspberry cheesecake, personally I would prefer a fresh fruit salad


I did come across a cullen skink recipe in a "Soup Box" thread: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/jan/05/how-to-cook-perfect-cullen-skink
https://www.seniorforums.com/showthread.php/6874-Time-To-quot-Step-Up-quot-And-Get-On-The-Soup-Box!


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## Phoenix14 (Dec 28, 2014)

I like thick soups but they are usually a meal in themselves.


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## jujube (Dec 28, 2014)

My sister and I were determined to do an "English" Christmas years ago and bought a goose.  It cost enough to be the GNP of a small third world country, it barely fit into the oven, and (as you said earlier) it produced at least a gallon of goose grease and barely enough meat for everyone to have a morsel.  The crackers wouldn't crack and the Yorkshire pudding was a disaster.  I bought a plum pudding from the English tea shop here for an astronomically high price and nobody liked it.  The Brussels sprouts stunk up the house.  

I told everyone if I heard one more complaint, we were going to revert to our Scots roots and they were getting haggis for Hogmanay dinner and the first-footer was going to be Uncle Bubba (Uncle Bubba won't go nowhere 'thout his three hounddogs and neither Bubba nor the hounds take much interest in bathing, if you get my drift...)  That shut 'em up good.


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## Meanderer (Dec 28, 2014)

I remember watching a movie: "Miracle Down Under" on TV(VHS).  The scene in bold print below, I will always remember!   Here is a synopsis:  

The story concerns a family living in Australia in the 1800's. Australia is very hot at Christmas, because their summer is then, so the holiday gets celebrated very differently. During the story, a drought is on and everything is dying. The family is very poor and can't afford to buy gifts but their little boy is sure that "Father Christmas" whom he thinks he's met in person, will get him a gift if he's good. When a scoundrel pretending to be Father Christmas, and the local rich man get involved, it becomes a Christmas none of them ever forget. *The movie has one scene that would make it worth watching anyway, even if it weren't a good movie: the scene where they try to have a traditional English Christmas (complete with Yule log in 100 + weather) and the roasted pig takes a header across the room. You'll love it!*


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## Lon (Dec 28, 2014)

I do all the cooking because it's just me. When I was married I did 95% of all the cooking and grocery shopping. My daughter and SIL will be here shortly for a Sunday dinner that I have prepared for us. I have prepared seasoned Pork Loin/Angel Hair Pasta Alfredo with mushrooms/broccoli floret cashew salad and Pinot Noir wine. My daughter is bringing a desert but I don't know what it will be.


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## Josiah (Dec 28, 2014)

Lon, I'm really impressed and envious.


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## Phoenix14 (Dec 29, 2014)

Josiah09 said:


> Lon, I'm really impressed and envious.


So am I 
Jujube, I think turkey has taken over from goose in England and we would serve Yorkshire puddings with roast beef not goose or turkey, they've got all sorts of other accompaniments.  In Scotland we are starting to develop the habit of a turkey Christmas dinner but if I was to do the catering at Christmas, it wouldn't be turkey. I think it's all the accompaniments that make it, I find turkey a bit tasteless.
Meandered: I can only see a turkey dinner working in Australia if it was bbq'd. LOL


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## hollydolly (Dec 29, 2014)

I would never have Turkey either at Christmas, I can't stand it...

However being an ex pat Scot.. I always have Haggis at new year and on Rabbie Burns birthday...and cullen skink is food for the Gods and fitted for any occasion including breakfast lol..

Roared laughong at Jujube's description of an ''English Christmas'' :lol1:


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## Phoenix14 (Dec 29, 2014)

hollydolly said:


> I would never have Turkey either at Christmas, I can't stand it...
> 
> However being an ex pat Scot.. I always have Haggis at new year and on Rabbie Burns birthday...and cullen skink is food for the Gods and fitted for any occasion including breakfast lol..
> 
> Roared laughong at Jujube's description of an ''English Christmas'' :lol1:


We had little haggis quiches for canapes last week when out with friends for Christmas dinner and they were to die for HD


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## Phoenix14 (Dec 30, 2014)

It is already the end of another year and like many others I look back, not just this year but the many years before that.    I have some lovely memories of New Year celebrations here in Scotland but they have changed so much over the time, of course it's not the same now.    

When I was young, people were more family orientated, more of them lived closer to each other and as in the case of my family, New Year started on hogmanay.   It wasn't with celebrations though, that was the time my mum had to get housework done just one last time before the old year left, everything had to be spick and span.  As children, we liked New Year because we were allowed to stay up all night if necessary and that made it special.    Once the town clock or the church bells rang out, or Big Ben could be heard on the radio, that's when dad charged our glasses, mum opened the back door to let the old year out and opened the front door ready to welcome the New Year in. 

After toasting the New Year with ginger wine and a piece of home made shortbread, we would wait a short time after that to see if we were getting any first footers, then go off in the car about ½ hour journey to my aunts'.    It was open house there, a constant stream of visitors calling to wish a good new year to everyone.  She had a running buffet with gammon and beef roasts, so there was always something to eat and it helped those who were fond of New Year tipples so stay on their feet just a bit longer.   There were always plenty of houses to visit.  Of course there were lots to stories getting told, and jokes and everyone seemed to have a good time.


As time went on, things changed.   Not only were families moving further afield, communities were changing and later when I was older,  I had moved to a small village with my parents, where there was still some community spirit.    We lived in a terraced house and our neighbours on one side were rather fond of a wee dram.   The neighbours on the other side had moved in the previous new year and were a Filipino couple who worked at the nearby US airbase and who had been disappointed when nobody first footed them that year.

As always, we brought in New Year at home, then set off to first foot our neighbours.   I'm not entirely sure our neighbours Donny & Martha had actually stopped celebrating from the year before for they seemed to live in a constant daze and everyone was their friend.   Anyway having gathered them both and their son and daughter, we went off to call on our Filipino neighbours who were ready and waiting for us.  We had a great time there, nobody bothered if the music was too loud, it was the one time of year, everyone was everyone's friend.   However, it was time again to move on and we called on other neighbours, some we had never met before but if their lights were on, we called in to wish them a good new year.   Somewhere along the line, we lost Donny and in trying to work out when we last saw him, it would appear he had been last seen rowing a boat on his lounge floor.

When finally we had had enough, we all went home.   The next morning,  shortly after we got up, Martha came to the door, Donny had lost his teeth, she wondered if anyone had seen them.  After a hunt around the house, we popped in next door to our Filipino neighbours, Lette was in the middle of vacuuming the carpet and trying to clear up from the night before.  She hadn't seen the missing teeth and she even emptied the vacuum to check.    It was a mystery, but not for long.   A passerby waved to Donny and he invited him in for his ne'erday (a wee dram) and while they were tippling and chatting, the visitor asked Donny what was the dog chewing behind the sofa......it was Donny's teeth.


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## Jackie22 (Dec 30, 2014)

LOL....nice story, great to read about the past traditions of your neighborhood.


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## Phoenix14 (Dec 30, 2014)

Thanks Jackie, things are so different now, I am fortunate to have pleasant memories of the past.  I don't know how the present generation will remember their younger years.  If it doesn't have a microchip, what is there to remember :-(


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## Meanderer (Dec 30, 2014)

I too liked your stories. Especially opening the backdoor to let the old year out and opening the front door to let the new year in!  We will have to try that tomorrow at  midnight!  I also got a chuckle at the dog with two sets of teeth! HAHA!


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## Phoenix14 (Jan 2, 2015)

*A very Sloe Gin*

In the weeks before Christmas, I collected sloes, with the intention of making Sloe Gin.   I have no idea why I wanted to make it, it was just one of those things you did when foraging autumn fruits.    In this case the fruits were not of the best so the resultant sloe gin was not quite up to standard.   I also was given a recipe for Sloe Port which I thought interesting and years ago, when we had a Christmas tree, we would put on a CD of Christmas carols and pour a glass of port and somehow decorating the tree came easier.   

My sloes were still in the gin, and wouldn't be available for anything else until Christmas, however I was given sloes which had been the remains of sloe whisky so I wondered if I used them, I could add some gin to them to make up with what was lacking in them.   So using the whisky sloes, adding a little gin, then red wine, I let it mature until just before Christmas, made a sugar syrup and added that, plus the recommended quantity of brandy.   I took a sip or two but decided it was just a bit too potent for my liking.   I have no idea what name I could give to the concoction, I was told it was very nice but it wasn't sloe port.  I just hope nobody wants another bottle because I don't think I could remember exactly how I made it.


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## Meanderer (Jan 2, 2015)

...sounds like fast gin to me!    New to me...a sloe is like a ...plum or prune??


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## Phoenix14 (Jan 2, 2015)

Meanderer said:


> ...sounds like fast gin to me!    New to me...a sloe is like a ...plum or prune??


  Sloes are small bitter fruits of the blackthorn, a bit like damsons but smaller.  Sloe gin is a liqueur so it depends how you get affected by alcohol, only fast gin if you're likely to run round the block a couple of times.   Sloe gin if you put your feet up and nod off to sleep. :sleeping:


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## drifter (Jan 11, 2015)

Cooking is becoming a chore for both of us. Truth is I haven't cooked for thirty years. I started cooking about the time i quit smoking. I gained 30 pounds when I quit smoking. When I started to cook, I sampled everything and got on a making bread kick. I gained another 20 pounds. To show off my culinary skills, I had a piece of toast for dinner with a light spread of honey on it.


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## Phoenix14 (Jan 12, 2015)

It really surprises me to hear about people who don't cook.  I used to care for an old lady who lived in sheltered accommodation and whilst, from time to time, used ready meals, she often did some cooking for herself, perhaps with a bit of help due to her failing eyesight, but simple things like making soup, I would help her clean the vegetables and she did the rest.   She found an easy way by cooking chunks of veg. then using a potato masher to break them up when cooked solved the problem of either cutting them up small or grating them raw. I wouldn't give up cooking out of choice, home made meals are far tastier and have less chemicals in them.


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## Meanderer (Jan 22, 2015)

Using a potato masher on large chunks of cooked vegetables doesn't sound too appetizing to me.  What about frozen veggies?


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