The Year Round Nigel Slater Discussion thread

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Hello, all.

The Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles readalong usually takes place here between November and February each year (the Christmas Chronicles being a book written by Nigel Slater full of winter recipes and anecdotes) It's been running for a few years, and the contributors have collectively decided it would be nice to have it running all year round.

So here it is. It is a place to appreciate all things Nigel-esque. Think seasonal food and recipes, enjoyment of nature, sharing of news and small moments of joy. It's a calm, cosy space for gentle chat and merriment so pull up a chair, grab a cuppa and relax.

A very hearty welcome to friends new and old!

We had a great time this afternoon at the party for DDs friend. They live a little further out into the mountains.

Lots of sledging, grilling hotdogs on the fire, cocoa and being taken for a ride out into the wilderness on the snowmobile. All the kids piled into the trailer being towed was so much fun.
Beautiful sunshine and cold fresh air.

that looks amazing, @IngenTing! It has rained all day here, I spent most of the afternoon under a heated throw on my sofa

Wow @IngenTing that looks fabulous! Still blowing like heck and horizontal rain here, I have been lazing about all day and pondering getting a grip on things in life 😅

Dazzling blue sky here today and the cafe terraces were packed so it felt like being on holiday. It really lifts my heart to feel spring is on the way - though there’s still time for the temperature to plummet again (I remember snow flurries in April once shortly after DS was born!) Still following Nigel’s Japanese adventures with interest on Insta.

Oh, wow. Stunning pictures today from @HannahDefoesSpringFling @IngenTing and @LillianGish It makes me feel like I'm having the best travel experiences without even leaving my house 😊

I've also been following Nigel's adventures on Instagram. If I'm honest, it's what's held me back from booking Japan with DD. As much as it looks absolutely amazing, we were told by our travel agent that the ryokans will not cater for individual food preferences. I'd dearly love to take DD, but it could end up being a rather expensive mistake. I think perhaps I should wait until she's a bit older.

We've been looking at holidays for the May half term and found a charming cottage in Pickering (North Yorkshire). It's one of my favourite places in the UK, but I've never got round to taking DD. It ticks all our boxes and the NY Moors steam railway is just delightful. I've just come across this photograph I took from the village of Thornton-Le-Dale 25 years ago.

Loving the photos. Like @SheherazadesSeasonalNonsense Ive been supine with my heated blanket.
The chaps have delivered our hen equipment to our friends, arriving just as the heavens opened. Friend hadn’t quite worked out that a large henhouse (eglu) would not go through their garden gate so there was a lot of Ealing studios messing around to lift the thing over their 6ft fence. Fortunately ds1 is 6’5” and lifts weights - I think he more or less wore the thing like a hat over/ through a narrow gap in the fence whilst the others supported it.

@RainbowZebraWarrior ryokans aren’t very flexible but there are plenty of hotels and restaurants so unless you are dead set on the whole Nigel experience then Japan is definitely doable. My mother has done most of Asia eating only rice and fruit 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

I think it's partly me as well @SheherazadesSeasonalNonsense as I'm used to 'off the beaten track' travelling and love traditional / hate corporate high rise hotels. Having said that, my Mum stayed in a gorgeous one with a rooftop pool in Bangkok when she came to visit me once. Anyway, I'm trying to find a happy medium and will enlist my Japanese friend who lives in Osaka for advice.

Hope everyone is well. I got up at 8.30 and noticed the wonderful sunshine was back, made a cuppa and went back to bed with it, then heard the wind and 'leapt' back out of bed. A Perfect Drying Day! Off came the bedding and into the washer it went. I'm now prowling the house looking for other things to wash and air. Mr Darcy is looking decidedly worried that if he sits for too long he will be plucked up and pegged out too.

I love the smell of line-dried bedding.

Lovely pics as ever.
I woke up with a sniffle this morning, Ben to work and now feel like death warmed up. But here are some early
Lambs from work as a sure sign of spring en route!

That speckled one is a beaut @piscofrisco. I haven't put my girls into lamb this year (only five registered pedigree Shetlands). There's not much call for that breed (hence them being rare I suppose!), and small scale meat production is massively expensive, especially as people are saying they may buy some if we ever had some available... I don't want to be left with a flock in the freezer!
ETA that you're lambing quite late compared to the farms around here, most were done by Christmas which is shockingly early!!

That speckled lamb looks like it has a designer jumper on @piscofrisco ❤️

We've had quite a good day here. DD has just helped me get the line dried bedding back on. We also managed a visit to M&S and River Island where DD got a few bits she needed. The zip has gone on the boots I bought for Copenhagen back in December which is maddening as a. They are only just over 2 months old, and b. They were keeping my ankles stable. I've had to resort to trainers today which has meant repeated subluxations. I'm seeing my Orthotics specialist on Friday for a new suit fitting so will see if she has any good ideas.

Hope everyone is well. It's lovely not having to think of school for a week.

Evening friends.

It’s done - the funeral. It was really beautiful. It rained all morning and then when Helen arrived at the church it stopped. The funeral director said ‘the sun shines on the righteous’

Managed to carry Helen and none of us wobbled and I think we did a good job. She didn’t weigh much.

Frank did this incredible tribute to Helen. Then he sang a song to her - how?! Then Helen’s folk band played. It was perfect. The burial was perfect. The wake was perfect.

I do want to tell you about the food. It was just the most boujis buffet ever - even the crackers were home made. It was awesome.

But - best of all, I had the most sublime mackerel pâtè & the maker is going to share his recipe with me. Also the cracker recipe which he also made. Incredible. He runs a strangers supper club 6 times a year where 12 strangers come to dine at his house with no expectations of being friends or seeing one another afterward. Doesn’t that sound awesome?!

Also on offer were home made lemonades and traditional German marble cakes. Rich, deep quiches, the amazing wild rice and mushroom salad. Oh and a pea hummus. It was just delicious and VVVN.

Possibly the most peak Nigel funeral of all time. Esp with the woolen coffin and all the wild floristry too.

@AgathaMystery that sounds like a very fitting send off for your friend. Hugs and best wishes to you x

That sounds like the absolute perfect send off for an incredible woman @AgathaMystery

The Aurora are shining here tonight for Helen ❤️

That sounds perfect @AgathaMystery and everything about her was so very present.

Something in my eye re the Aurora. I hope we get a few more chances to see it, I need its magic.

The supper club sounds utterly wonderful. We have such a mix of food needs in the family (food choices, allergies and sensory) that something like that would need careful structure. DH’s gluten and egg allergy combined with no meat/ shellfish certainly give us a challenge when travelling!

What a sublime send off that sounds @AgathaMystery. Absolutely perfect. And an unmumsnetty kiss and hug to you for doing your lovely friend so very proud.

The strangers supper club does sound fun!

Well the beauty of the supper club is that it’s strangers. So you’d go alone and not have to worry about anyone else’s food needs! The luxury!

I’m going to go. His pâtè was so good, I bet he does a banging menu.

Sounds like a wonderful send off @AgathaMystery . The supper club sounds like a great idea too.

@AgathaMystery that sounds like a wonderful send off. I'm glad the sun shone for Helen.

You asked up thread about quilting - I am a beginner quilter. I have all of my squares cut out for one but so far have chickened out of actually getting the sewing machine out. I need to bite the bullet and just go for it.

We have fog and low clouds here today which is a bit unseasonal, but it was glorious last week and I took some pictures for you all as spring is springing here. Don't ever let anyone tell you California doesn't have seasons - we do! You just have to pay attention to notice them.

Hello, I've been enjoying a little bit of peace each evening / early morning, catching up on this thread. It's my bit of escape after a stressful day and the photos really give me a lift.

I'm posting a photo I took yesterday on my early dog walk - beautiful yellow crocuses / croci (?) They were a real pop of colour on a grey, wet morning.

And just wanted to add that I was so glad the funeral went well @AgathaMystery - what an amazing tribute to your friend.

Lovely croci @Willow12345 I meant to take a photo of mine yesterday. Will try and grab a snap today.

I'd like to share a little success story if I may. I've been keeping a diary relating to my activity / fatigue levels, and I'm rather impressed. I'm spending an average of 6 hrs and 20 minutes a day not in bed. This is a huge deal for me and an almost unthinkable improvement from 3 / 4 years ago when I was either in bed or asleep on the sofa all day barring school drop off and pick up. I now feel I have entirely mastered the art of pacing. I do a 20 to 30 minute activity then lie down for 30 minutes. It works (as perfectly as possible) for me, but it has taken years learning how to utilise my available spoons wisely. It is where my user name came from if anyone didnt know; I'm an EDS (we are often called zebras) Warrior and I kick EDS' butt!

Sorry for the slight indulgence, but here's my special little lucky namesake rainbow zebra charm. He reminds me to keep going.

Great news @RainbowZebraWarrior . I feel as if with each post we learn more about you (the vegetable-hating ex husband story up thread made me smile! The wailing phone call from your mother however had the opposite effect) so I can feel your sense of achievement - long may the good spells continue.
It's always good to get a glimpse of each other's 'normal' as it's a reminder that actually, there's no such thing.
Strength and love to all those facing challenges.

@AgathaMystery it sounds like you all did your lovely friend proud. Your description of the food was 'chef's kiss'! The strangers supper is something I would absolutely love! Do go so we can all live vicariously through you!

Morning all. I feel like it's been a long time since we had a Kitchen Diaries entry, so here's today's from KD2

February 26

A little meal of peace

Sometimes I rather like noise. The testosterone fuelled roar of a football match heard from my back garden; the tired and blissfully happy sounds of a crowd singing along at a festival; the swoosh of a barista's steam wand. But most times I prefer peace and quiet. The sound of snow falling in a forest is more my style - something I have yet to hear this year.

There is quiet food, too. The tastes of peace and quiet, of gentleness and calm. The solitary observance of a bowl of white rice; the peacefulness of a dish of pearl barley; running your fingers through couscous. The thing these have in common is that they are grains or something of that ilk. What is it about these ingredients that makes them so calming? Could it just be that they bring us gastronomically down to earth, show us how pure and simple good earing can be? This is food pretty much stripped of its trappings. It is, after all, the food that many people survive upon.

The peacefulness of grains, there earth tones and the fact that they don't have snap or crunch between the teeth, is what makes them good to eat when we are looking at solace and calm. The fact that they are not from a dead animal probably has something to do with it too.

More and more, I make a main course of what would generally be thought of as an accompaniment. Tonight, I make a dish of pale bulgur wheat, cooked with chopped onions, bacon, mushrooms and dill. It is a bit of a hybrid (pork and bulgur wheat are not often found sharing a plate) but it turns out to be one of those ridiculously cheap meals that hits all the right notes.

A lovely entry. I'm craving lots of veg and plain comfort food just now so unwittingly very Nigel. I had a sort of warm broccoli salad for dinner last night (grilled with various spices) and it was very nice indeed.

You are right to feel proud of yourself RZW. Small and big wins alike are always worth celebrating.

I'm off today as I've got a horrible UTI. I'm very prone to them since I became peri meno. Have had a 24 hour argument with the drs vs the chemist to get some antibiotics, now sorted, and I'm just about to go and get them. Why must these things be so needlessly difficult?

Glad to not be out in the chilly rain however. Yesterday was another fools spring sort of day, and now back to grim. Think we've a few false starts to come yet.
A happy Wednesday to all