Posted                    

quote:

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Originally posted by Sarasa:
The celery sauce I do has eggs and herbs in it, but I guess there is a variety of recipes.

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I found the recipe! 2 egg yolks?

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But God, holding a candle, looks for all who wander, all who search. - Shifra Alon
Beauty fades, dumb is forever-Judge Judy
The man who made time, made plenty.

Posted                    

quote:

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Originally posted by Gee D:
We can never understand how brussel sprouts could ever be thought of as festive food. And to go back to Piglet's post, how people could waste their good works to bring them forward.

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Posted                    

quote:

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Originally posted by MaryLouise:
... cabbagey comfort ...

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Oxymoron of the week!

In other news, we are now in possession of a Christmas tree; Canadian T*** were having a sale yesterday and I managed to persuade D. that spending $70 instead of $140 was quite a bargain.

It came with 100 incandescent white lights, but whether that'll be enough remains to be seen. I have a garland with lights on that I might plunder if I think the tree looks too bare. I'll also need to raid a dollar-store for a few baubles.

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I may not be on an island any more, but I'm still an islander.
alto n a soprano who can read music

Posted                    

quote:

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Originally posted by M.:
... whether to have it with custard or cream. I like custard, and Macarius is wrong ...

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Oh no he isn't!

I don't mind custard, but Christmas pudding (or mince pies for that matter) without lots of cream is an Abomination.

You can keep the brandy butter as well ...

St. G. - it's as well you don't live round our way - someone round the corner from the new château has had his garden lit up like Blackpool since the beginning of November.

Our Advent candle-bridges will go up next weekend (and stay up until Candlemas), and the tree probably the weekend after; D's birthday is the 10th, and I usually start getting decorative sometime round then.

One of the decorations that did make the move was a garland wound with lights that I used to wind round the (very short - about half a dozen stair-rods) banister rail in the old château; as the new one doesn't have stairs, I'm not sure what to do with it. Cannibalise it for the lights? Hang it on the curtain-pole in the sitting-room?

Any better ideas gratefully received.

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I may not be on an island any more, but I'm still an islander.
alto n a soprano who can read music

Posted                   

quote:

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Originally posted by Piglet:
I'd never come across tourtière until we moved over the Pond, and I feel much the same about it as I do about Brussels sprouts - I'll eat it if politeness demands, but I'd never buy it or choose it in a restaurant.

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Even this vegetarian insists on a slice or two of tortiere for Christmas Eve. Not that I'm likely to get any in the benighted wasteland that is Southwestern Ontario.

Proper tortiere is of the Gods.

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Even more so than I was before

Posted                       

• 1 ounce butter
• 1 ounce plain flour
• ½ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
• ½ pint milk
• ¼ pint cream (optional)
• zest of 1 lemon
• ¼ pint rum (to personal taste, can be more)

Posted                    

quote:

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Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
Tut, tut - Advent hasn't even started yet!

How dare you call yourself an Anglican?

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Posted                   

quote:

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Originally posted by Bishops Finger:
May it be so, Mrs. B!

Meanwhile, does anyone know where I might buy tourtiere PIE in this country? A brief search online seems to indicate that I'd have to make it myself, and I. Can't. Cook.



IJ

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Posted                   

quote:

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Originally posted by Piglet:
Pete, would this recipe cut the mustard (so to speak)?

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Posted                    

quote:

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Originally posted by Uncle Pete:
... I like my pie with a sharp mustard ...

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A quite possibly heretical thought has just occured to me: tourtière might be really rather nice with Branston pickle.

It works with haggis (which may also be heretical) ...

The haggis season starts today (the feast of St. Andrew); I've got minced lamb in the freezer, and will be looking out for lamb or chicken livers whenever I'm in a supermarket, as we're having some friends round to take in the New Year and I'm planning on making haggis for the occasion.

[ 30. November 2017, 20:11: Message edited by: Piglet ]

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I may not be on an island any more, but I'm still an islander.
alto n a soprano who can read music

Posted                    

quote:

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Originally posted by Piglet:
... plugging it in and finding that the lights are b*ggered.

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I assembled the tree last night and when I plugged it in, only the top half of the lights lit up. What an embuggerance*, I thought - until I realised that because it came in two parts, the lights were two sets of 50 rather than one set of 100. Once I'd sussed that out (and added 100 of my own) it really looked rather pretty.

I had bought a box of silver baubles to add to it, and found that they don't include anything to hang them up with, so I've been burglarising any odd bits of wire I can find to make little hooks to hang them up. Why on earth wouldn't they come with something to hang them up by?



* with thanks to the late Sir Terry Pratchett for that most useful word

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I may not be on an island any more, but I'm still an islander.
alto n a soprano who can read music

Posted                    

quote:

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Originally posted by Piglet:

quote:

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Originally posted by Piglet:
... plugging it in and finding that the lights are b*ggered.

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I assembled the tree last night and when I plugged it in, only the top half of the lights lit up. What an embuggerance*, I thought - until I realised that because it came in two parts, the lights were two sets of 50 rather than one set of 100. Once I'd sussed that out (and added 100 of my own) it really looked rather pretty.

I had bought a box of silver baubles to add to it, and found that they don't include anything to hang them up with, so I've been burglarising any odd bits of wire I can find to make little hooks to hang them up. Why on earth wouldn't they come with something to hang them up by?

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I'm afraid I cannot approve of putting up the tree so early. (Santa decorates it on Christmas Eve!) However, putting that custom-difference aside for the moment, I have grown to profoundly dislike the use of "minilights," particularly those strings that have EVERY light go out if one minibulb is loose. Crappy technology. Some years ago I went back to good ol' C7 bulbs (which you can now get in LED versions ) allowing me to happily screw in just the color I want where I want it, and if one of the bulbs goes out or is removed, the rest of the string keeps shining happily!

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"We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it."--Pope Francis, Laudato Si'

Posted                    

quote:

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Originally posted by Hedgehog:
I'm afraid I cannot approve of putting up the tree so early ...

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Neither do I.

In answer to Miss Amanda's question, I did see packets of hooks, but I imagined they were for either replacements or individually-bought decorations; it didn't occur to me that you'd need them on a brand-new box of baubles.

I think I've found enough bits and pieces of wire that I won't need them anyway.

Regarding lights and the wiring thereof, I agree it would be much easier if only one would go out at a time. I don't know why they changed it (although I'm sure there'll be a logical explanation somewhere).

Oh, and Hedgehog - colours??? Is outrage!!!

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I may not be on an island any more, but I'm still an islander.
alto n a soprano who can read music

Posted                    

quote:

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Originally posted by Piglet:
Oh, and Hedgehog - colours??? Is outrage!!!

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Posted                    

quote:

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Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:
... they leave the decorated trees up until Candelmas ...

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I put the candle-bridges up this afternoon, and they'll stay up until Candlemas; the rest of the stuff will come down at Epiphany.

I knew people in Northern Ireland who would take their decorations down on Boxing Day which, as a Scot who likes to celebrate New Year, I found very strange indeed. Mind you, they'd probably been up since mid/late November ...

I've also decorated the tree but not put it up - Hedgehog please note.

[ 02. December 2017, 20:21: Message edited by: Piglet ]

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I may not be on an island any more, but I'm still an islander.
alto n a soprano who can read music