Thread 11 - TalkLair: “The candle flame gutters. Its little pool of light trembles.”

[Kucinghitam]

Whoops, missed the filling up of the previous thread! (thread 10).

Although the nights are gradually drawing in, the new lair of JTT escapees is all cosy and homey inside. The hearth is glowing, the walls covered in dubious artwork, books by non-approved authors line the shelves, rugs are down on the floors (and assorted pets curled up on them).

We just won’t mention the gnawed bones of our prey over there in the corner of the cave…

I've been very pleased with my recent foray into carnivorous plants. I've tries Venus flytrap and pitchers without much success in the past, but butterworts are much more interesting.

Got them to deal with a fungus gnat outbreak and they've been great for that, and very satisfying that you can see exactly what they've caught. But they also have rather gorgeous flowers that just seem to keep going and going. Every time one fades a new on unfurls.

https://www.littleshopofhorrors.co.uk/product/pinguicula-anna/

Ooh, that's pretty (well, minus the dead insects). I love the flowers.

We've got night-flowering catchfly (Silene noctiflora) that seeds itself about. The flowers open at dusk and attract moths and the leaves/stems are sticky, which traps insects. Ladybirds come along and eat them.

I love the South Western carnivorous plant. The flower is so pretty. The night-flowering catchfly is beautiful too.

I used to have a lot more houseplants but my huge Swiss cheese plant was deaded by the move. It was taller than me! I now just have a rubber plant and a parlour palm both of which are thriving and make me happy. I bought some daffs today because it's daff season! I'm going to have to buy more because I bought five bunches and ended up giving two to Snoop and two to my friend E. E was going to bring me hyacinths but wasn't sure if the smell might be bad because of chemo. This made me realise that so far - and please let it stay so - my sense of taste is fine and so is my sense of smell. It wasn't nice at the beginning of the week but on Thursday I put on Chanel no.5 and that was lush and yesterday after my lovely shower I put on the original Prada that I'd found and felt lovely. I put it on again today and, yep, everything smells good still. I might buy some hyacinths tomorrow.

In progress news.

I had to go in for a blood test today. I'd forgotten that now I have a PICC line there are no needles for the foreseeable and while I have no issue with needles it's nice to not have to have them. Snoop drove me to the hospital but I was able to navigate it without leaning on her so she waited in the car. Then she drove us to Waitrose where I got a trolley and shopped! I had to lean into the trolley and when I was waiting for her to finish her shop I had to crouch down on the floor because I was a bit done in, but I did it! And a nice young member of staff came over to make sure I was okay which was lovely. I was okay, just resting.

Got back to mine, Snoop went home and E and I had a cuppa soup each - classy birds! Just before I had the cuppa soup I was a bit sick which may have been more exertion than my body's known in nearly a week, but there was nothing to really "sick", and having the cuppa soup immediately afterwards made me feel a lot better. E went home and about an hour after the cuppa soup I had scrambled eggs. I have the energy to do "mild" cooking again! Two large eggs with delightfully rich yolks, 25g butter and full fat milk with lashings of salt and pepper. I'm going for the rest of the lobster bisque in a bit and attempting soft brioche, slathered in butter, melting in the soup as extra calories and then a final cuppa soup before bedtime!

I also brought squirty cream to spray into my mouth at regular intervals because I will start piling the weight back on!

@BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn I've been very pleased with my recent foray into carnivorous plants.

Not literally "into", I hope?

LOL @Gonners

@MouseMinge this is indeed very wonderful progress! I went through a Phase with President squirty cream but then it seemed to disappear from the shelves. You have reminded me to add it to my shopping list. I’ve barely eaten a thing for the past week thanks to ovulation woes and I feel like I’ve lost a stone. I did manage some rice and paneer this evening even though I really didn’t feel like cooking.

When your appetite has gone it's so hard to cook. I nearly bought president but there was a pricier one so I went for that instead. Still thinking I should maybe have gone with President because it has added vanilla!

I have a 1960 cookbook with a chaper giving advice (from Gina Lollobrigida, I think, or possibly Sophia Loren - somebody like that) about putting on weight. I shall have to see what it recommends - I only remember ice cream and resting for an hour after meals - but doubt it reaches the heights of lobster bisque with brioche. And definitely didn't have paneer, although the world cookery recipes elsewhere in the book are surprisingly diverse.

A banana and milk (even a bit of extra cream) zapped with stick blender is nourishing and easily absorbed - all that potassium.

No good if you hate banana, of course.

I used to make my mother real custard with egg and sugar and milk - she liked that, with or without a tiny shot of brandy.

You can mix an egg and some butter into hot mashed potatoes to enrich them. You can also mix an egg into custard made with custard powder.

Entirely wrong - it was Pier Angeli, and only 30 minutes rest after meals.

No mention of lobster, pot noodle, or squirty cream. But I suspect 2 of those hadn't been invented.

Not convinced by the orange juice/olive oil cocktail.

If you have a potato ricer and a strong-armed friend, aligot is good and fattening. Especially recipes that are equal parts cheese and potato (plus some cream and butter to avoid the risk of under-dairying). www.theguardian.com/food/2020/feb/05/how-to-cook-the-perfect-aligot-felicity-cloake

@BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn that book looks amazing. Orange and olive oil cocktail

I've got some shopping coming tomorrow with lots of easy food to try and tempt me. I'm on the waiting list for Zoladex injections so hopefully after the initial menopause on speed subsides, things should start to improve.

No internet today except on my phone. Spectrum has an outage which it claims to be connected to the coming snowstorm except that isn't here yet. This is possibly the first time I've regretted cutting the cable in favour of streaming everything.

MouseMinge · Today 20:08

In progress news.

It's heartening to hear that you are eating better and enjoyable food, to boot! Long may it continue.

Echoing everybody's sentiments about @MouseMinge's improved eating!

Incidentally, the rubber plant that is kept as a houseplant is not actually a rubber plant (i.e. the plants grown for actual rubber). It's a species of fig from SE Asia. It's also very closely related to the strangler fig, also from Asia, which can grow insanely huge by means of growing upon and eventually strangling its host tree to death.

Here's one in KL, if you zoom in you might be able to see how similar the leaves look to the houseplant version (DH for scale).

Wowsers to that plant!

I love the fatten up skinnies book! I'm pleased it mentions banana sandwiches because they were my go to in Ireland as a child. Just mine, other children had other foods but I was all about the banana sandwiches and Fanta.

Thanks for recommendations. I think blitzed milk and banana is something I could go for. I miss bananas but they became too much. I miss satsumas even more but my stomach can't do citrus at the moment.

I'm up early because I couldn't sleep. I might try again in a bit but might have some mango sorbet first.

Oh, whoever recommended Nairn cheese oatcakes. Oh my! I thought there was no way one would melt in my mouth. I was wrong.

And another thing! The squirty cream I got? It's bloody vegan! Nothing wrong with that and it's very good but I need dairy to fatten me up. President with vanilla it is then!

a minute (barely there) pinch of salt makes the banana and milk even more absorbable (it's my default lunch if I've been working hard in the summer - lawnmowing etc - and need to rehydrate - also after a gut upset).

I'm really enjoying your food posts, @MouseMinge the descriptions make me drool.

Years ago I needed to put on weight after a nasty cycling accident and I ate vast amounts of Shreddies with full fat milk. These days I'd go for bacon and onion rolypoly pudding which is incredible stuff and very rich. I have it potatoes, peas, cabbage (all slathered with butter) and gravy. The first time I tried it my entire being was so shocked I had to go and lie down afterwards.

@Kucinghitam I remember seeing those trees in Taiwan, they're really impressive.

That is good MM!

I like your anti-fungus gnat plant Kuc. I can get behind that... What happens to the wretched gnats? I didn't think I liked insectivorous plants, because they seemed to be such sickly colours, but that is pretty.

Vegemiteandhoneyontoast · Today 10:50

...I'd go for bacon and onion rolypoly pudding...

Were you in The Other Place? The cooking advice was pretty good.