The Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles Readalong 2024 Part 3

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Welcome to thread three.

The Christmas Chronicles is the story of Nigel Slater’s love for winter. Taking you from 1 November all the way to early February, The Christmas Chronicles covers everything from Bonfire Night, Christmas and New Year to Epiphany. Throughout the season, Nigel offers over 100 recipes to see you through the build-up, the celebrations and the aftermath.

Anyone who hasn't yet joined in, there's still a big chunk of the book to go as you can see from the description above. It's in diary form with an entry most days and is easy to dip in and out of.

Anyway, welcome friends new and old. Pull a cosy chair closer the the fire, light a candle, pour a glass of something warming and settle in.

Just made some onion soup after reading the thread. Perfect pick me up when I spent last night drinking far too much vodka and gossiping with people I've worked with for 20 odd years at the retirement do of the woman responsible for my induction when I first started at the organisation. Me and my mates have realised we're now just a few more retirements away from forming the organisation's oldies DH&DS2 are off to the football so my afternoon plan is onion soup, Netflix and maybe a little doze.

@Confusedmeanderings do you have a medicine box or cupboard? That's where all my little used/seasonal things end up.

Good Afternoon everyone! Lots of positive news for so many of you on job front! Always good to start a new year this way.
We have a very mild -5 today which is a welcome reprieve from the bitter cold we had earlier in the week. We've been out snowboarding as a family today. It's a different experience this year as DD is now completely independent using the lift and sorting her bindings. The last 2 years have been spent teaching her on the kids slope and her standing on our board going up the lift. She is 5 now and started at 3 years old, she's already much better than me and DH. DS is looking nervously over his shoulder as she catches up with him.
Lovely to read about different traditions, especially yours @EphemeraleEudemonia . DS has some friends who were celebrating christmas earlier in the week.
There are lots of lights still up around our mountain village, it's common over here for them to be up through the dark winter. Trees are generally taken down by now, but the outdoor ones are still lit. There is no colour though, just warm white.
We have had almost constant snow now which we love. The walk to kindergarten is either done on sledge or skis. The kids want a kicksled, which almost everyone here has. I've attached a photograph of our path to school/ kindergarten.

I've rescued my copy of CC from the cabin and enjoyed the part about porridge. It's called grøt here and it's like a core food group! DD likes to grate brown cheese on hers with cinnamon. Brown sugar and cardamom for me with raisins.

Gorgeous photos @IngenTing. I am so jealous!

This was on Nigel's Instagram post today:

'We rarely get frost in this garden, so I am rather enjoying this stunning winter's day. The hedges and evergreens sparkling magically in the sunshine.'

I like the sound of being a mystery shopper/FBI field agent @RainbowZebraWarrior!
Lovely pics @IngenTing. -4 even here when I just dropped DD2 off in town. Brrr.
I think I've got your hair dryer @Bimblesalong as I found one today that I thought I'd left on holiday. I've spent the day swapping our room with DD2's. She is the child who has had the worst room of the four throughout as it is at the back of the house downstairs which gets no sun, is loud when anyone goes downstairs and she gets woken by my DSS's when they leave very early for our long school run (they are at school an hour and a bit away). She is in the run up to a levels now so we've been forced to concede that she needs a quieter room. Therefore she is now in our lovely light upstairs room with all the storage and dh and I are in her (dungeon) room downstairs trying to cram all our stuff into two thirds of the drawer and cupboard space and feeling quite grumpy about it really, (though putting a brave face on it for her so she doesn't feel bad).
The only upside is it isn't as far to the kitchen to make the morning tea and to let the Pupper out I suppose. And dd is delighted. Always a silver lining if you look hard enough.

I've woken up feeling the need for carby stodge later today. I'm either going to make Nigel's garlicky creamy potato dish from here
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/jan/27/ofm-20-best-potato-recipes-nigel-slater-smoked-garlic-comte-cheese

Or the one listed today in Kitchen Diaries (January 12 - Potatoes and cheese for a cold night - cheese smothered potatoes)

It's so quiet here. All I can hear are the wood pigeons that are currently sitting on my chimney pots.

Don't forget, Nigel and Adam at 11am today, BBC2.

That looks delicious @RainbowZebraWarrior I’m on cream crackers this weekend due to a rather feisty reaction to side effects. Hopefully only 4 to go and I’m so going to enjoy catching up on what I’ve missed out on.

We have a very seasonal ice skating lake in the garden thanks to a burst pipe. Dh has isolated the valve and ds1 has offered the use of his washing machine (ours is in the outbuilding). Hopefully our plumber can sort it when he comes to do another job. Going warmer next week so we will have to enjoy the snowy delights of @IngenTing ’s photos. I love the descriptions of sporting adventures there.

@Bimblesalong time to lace up those skates then! I hope you've had them sharpened! I was looking through your photographs and I'm sure I recognised one area you posted. It was a picture of the canal and there was ( I think) a pub on the left then a grey block building on the right. I kept meaning to ask if you would share what area it was. Also, completely understand if you don't want to!
@RainbowZebraWarrior you have inspired me to look at some recipes for our potatoes today! No shops open to get supplies, so I'm going to try Nigel's potatoes with sherry (but I only have marsala, so that will have to do).
I might also try the ricotta and filo tart from CC, but DC have been asking for carrot cake, so it might be that instead.
After our mild day yesterday of a balmy -5 we have plunged right down again to -18 and it's dropping every hour. I find it fascinating how the temperature changes in such large highs and lows.

@IngenTing I’e not had them sharpened since I did a few figure skating exams in my early twenties. I reckon all I could do now is to fall on my backside!

The walk you’ve seen is the canal a little way out of the city of Chester - does that help?! I’m sure that there are people who recognise others and places. I’ve occasionally bumped into friends and even workmates on random mn threads. Quietly so.

I’ve been leafing through The Irish Bakery cookbook. lovely! We hope to get the kitchen done this year, delayed from last. I need to start looking around but one thing I do want is an oven which will prove bread. It’s a tiny kitchen so will be a challenge.

Mittens are progressing. Small, fiddly, great distraction. I can just about get my hand in this one so may do the next size up for my dominant hand, which is slightly larger.

@Bimblesalong thank you! I think that helps me place it! I grew up in Cheshire and mum still lives there, so I know Nantwich, Crewe, Chester, Sandbach areas well, but it's been a very long time since I've been back. I've also just moved out of teaching after nearly 20 years, so we have that in common too!
The mittens are beautiful by the way 😍

Nigel has a nice looking lemon curd on his insta today. I love lemon curd but I always seem to forget about it.
We've had a chilly walk, now settling down to the football whilst the roast cooks.

Those mittens look beautiful @Bimblesalong you are a wizard with those needles!

I've dipped in and out of these threads and sometimes lurking, I do listen to the cc podcasts every year.
I just wanted to say what a glorious corner of mn this is, calm, beautiful.

Welcome along @Chickensilkie - great choice of hen too!

So pleased we are going to endeavour to amble through the year.

I was thinking of seasonal treats ahead of us and my mind took me to Monty Don's description of the joy of picking and eating a perfectly ripe pear. I can't find the passage as it was in a book but I have found this old article by him.

So here's an unseasonal offering but a taste of things to come that the cooks and gardeners might enjoy. I probably should have kept it for September...

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2001/sep/09/foodanddrink.features7

I love watching Monty Don. Even though I have a tendency to kill any green thing that needs more than the very basic "stick in ground and neglect it completely" style of care. But I do want to grow more, both to eat and to feed the bees. I tried a pallet garden last year as we have a stack of pallets. Basically weed proof membrane stapled to a pallet then filled with soil. Easier to keep weed free than my actual garden. We have a concrete pad where I park the car so I just had it on that. I actually managed to grow some salad things: lettuces, rocket, radishes and herbs. I cheated and bought an already grown tomato plant but for the first year ever I got actual red tomatoes! I have feral (not wild, but definitely untamed) raspberries and blackcurrants, plus more blackberries than you can shake a stick at.

Anyone have any recommendation for nice easy things worth trying to grow?

@BobBobBobbing my DD grew potatoes and sprouts at kindergarten this year using buckets. They hand drilled holes in the bottom of the buckets, planted the potatoes and sprouts in a bucket each and watered them every day. It worked perfectly!

Oooh potatoes. I've managed them in the past and we do like potatoes so they are a useful thing to grow. I just looked up garlic and it seems I can plant that now and that is always a staple in this house so worth doing.

@Bimblesalong I really recommend going for an oven with pyrolitic cleaning - we call it paralytic cleaning in our house! I loathe and detest cleaning the oven and tend to put off which just makes it worse. Now I can just switch It on overnight and wipe with a damp cloth in the morning. My oven is spotless - pity about the rest of the house!

Thankyou, @Confusedmeanderings . That I already have although will add it to my list or will otherwise forget to do so! I call it pyroclastic cleaning. I have to use the cycle when dh Is out or he has a conniption. TBH we so rarely use the oven now we have an air fryer that it rarely needs doing.

DH is coeliac so I do cook gf cakes but I bloomin miss leaded stuff too - which I intend to make more of along with stuff for him.

Morning all, I am in the process of catching up have been in a bit of a fug for the last few days, virus returned with a vengeance and have been feeling terrible and not much like doing anything. Have been out of routine with taking some time off to look after Dog (who is doing brilliantly). looking forward to getting back into work and routine today. @BobBobBobbing absolutely love your log burner I've never seen a 'stove style' one like that before! Our house has been a bit of a project and my favourite thing in it is our lovely log burner which we were lucky enough to find on Facebook just after Covid and DH cleaned up and restored - nothing nicer at this time of year than sitting in front of it - I love just looking at the flames.

@Bimblesalong so pleased for you that the end to treatment is now in sight although it sounds like these last few weeks will be tough - hang on in there - you've been so amazingly positive, thinking about you x

@AgathaMystery brilliant news on your DH new job - can't imagine what a worry it has been especially at this time of year. @piscofrisco your new job sounds heavenly - I am also in the same boat of looking for dog walkers as DM who usually helps out hasn't been brilliant herself recently - although there do seem to be quite a lot around here.

@RainbowZebraWarrior thank you as always for keeping this lovely thread going - keen to continue as we move into the new year - your mystery shopping job also sounds really cool. CC is my first book of Nigels - I am listening to ATF as I drive around for work appointments but think I might treat myself to a Kitchen Diaries book for the New Year - I really love the idea of eating more seasonally and have loved the diary style entries of CC - would you recommend starting with Volume 1 or are they all good? May see what I can find on Vinted!!

I think we have all been feeling a bit rubbish for a few weeks now - poor DS has been suffering terribly with huge mouth ulcers and we can't seem to find anything that really helps. Think the answer may be a bit of a new year refresh - some nice healthy food and plenty of rest. DH is away this week so planning to use it to reset a little, will have some more time for self care for both myself and DC and also to research and make some nice healthy meals that hopefully everyone will eat!!!

Good morning, all. Nigel makes a 'velvety soup for a cold clear day' in Kitchen Diaries today. It's made from leeks, potatoes and parmesan rinds. I might try this at some point, however I'd sub the leeks with something else as I dislike them.

@imp2007 someone just listed this Kitchen Diaries volume 1 for £1. Bargain. If not, look on eBay. World of books does nearly new ones at about £4 with free postage

https://www.vinted.co.uk/items/5628537802-nigel-slater-the-kitchen-diaries-cookbook?referrer=catalog

Hope you all feel much better soon.
Meals that everyone likes - I once made a list of all the foods that someone in the house didn't like. It was very long!

Hahaha you’re a saint for doing that!!

things my husband doesn’t like:
beans
rosemary
Parmesan cheese
vermouth

one of my husbands favourite meals: pancetta, borlotti bean and rosemary risotto.

ingredients:
arborio rice
stock
pancetta
vermouth
Borlotti beans
Parmesan (heaps of it)
Rosemary

I’m 100% happy to cater for allergies and intolerances…. But if I cooked to what my husband ‘likes’ we would live off roast dinners and bolognaise. Oh, and fish/steak & chips. Drives me bonkers.

Some frosty pics from yesterday which reminds me my patio needs a good scrub. It’s just too cold to tackle it though.

@piscofrisco lemon curd and blueberries is an amazing topping for a pavlova. Better than raspberries in my opinion!
@RainbowZebraWarrior those potatoes look incredible - definitely going on the list for next week.
@BobBobBobbing Monty is just so soothing. He is very Nigel and I love him for it. Peas are easy to grow and taste incredible fresh from the garden so that's my recommendation for you. Lettuce also tastes so much better freshly picked but you do have to accept slugs are an issue so you might not want to go there.
@HannahDefoesChristmasHamper I think I have mentioned it on here before but when my kids were small I threatened to make a spreadsheet of their likes/dislikes - once something was noted as being one of those options then nobody was to change their minds. Then I decided to aim for everybody having one thing they didn't hate on their plates (DD3 ate a lot of carrots!) and these days they get what I fancy cooking 😂 None of them individually is very fussy, but their dislikes just didn't overlap - apart from aubergine which they all still hate and which is my favourite vegetable - and it was very annoying! DH is just grateful to be fed, mostly, although left to his own devices he goes very Scottish male.

AgathaMystery; Sounds like my late husband. He wouldn't eat any fish or poultry.

I found runner beans the easiest @BobBobBobbing. And cucumbers. I love Monty Don too-and gardeners world. He's quite Nigel adjacent in my view.

Thankyou for the link @RainbowZebraWarrior-i think my kitchen diaries got lost in the house fire so I will be replacing .