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!

@piscofrisco life comes at us very fast sometimes. I’m sorry it’s so tricky right now. Would it be worth contacting the tutor/ assessor team for the assessment and letting them know that your dear dad is seriously ill, which has an impact on your performance? Worth considering as they’ll have a bigger picture from applications / references to consider.

I’ve got my dahlias on order with Farmer Gracey, who are good performers for me. I have the jump though as I ordered early on their early buyers’ discount and then they gave better offers. I guess I had access to the full range then but couldn’t bear to see if the couple of fancier new ones had sold out by then. Last year was awful for dahlias all over. Too cold and damp and lots of us had poor performers. Even Monty.

I still haven’t checked my stored tubers but given that they came up between a major operation and chemo I’m not holding out hope of dh making sure the newspaper is dry (it was not). We were supposed to check them a few weekends in the trot. Hopefully we’ll have the opportunity to check over tomorrow and I can take advantage of the Sarah R offer if they’ve gone to slime.

@Bimblesalong I find the Farmer G website (and offers!) very tempting but their plants just haven't performed for me. I am determined not to be sucked in by the pretty pictures this year (we will see)!

What an artistic lot you are!

We are hunkering down here and being treated to an 'atmospheric river' - alarmist California speak for an absolute ton of rain. It's horrible outside but I have cracked a window open and am enjoying the sound of the downpour - one of the things I really miss about England.

Didn't catch up last night. Long day with DD's (very positive) induction yesterday to her new school then fitting for new blazer etc.

I'm with @Bimblesalong if I'm honest @piscofrisco you've got a lot going on and I think it's best to be honest about that with your assessor. So sorry to hear that you might have to cancel your Finland trip, too. Sending the most positive thoughts your way x

Interesting to hear about others lack of success with dahlias. I can not grow dahlias at all in my clay soil, but I was hoping for success in pots. There are so many negative reviews on most of the websites mentioned (Farmer Gracy was my first port of call), so I'm not sure what to do. Violas are my staple for spring and summer colour, so I'll get myself sorted for those first.

Kitchen Diaries

14 February

St Valentines Day

I won't eat out on Valentines Day, every restaurant filled with couples talking in whispers, the usual buzz and clatter reduced to a muffled sigh. Home is the place to be. More than that, there is something about cooking a special meal for someone you love that seems to mean more than simply sliding your credit card to the waiter.

I can find no reason not to go over the top on this night of the year; candles, Champagne, a chocolate pudding. St Valentine's is rather like Christmas, in that if you ignore it, you always end up regretting it, feeling mean an cynical. Yes, it is more than a bit cheesy, but I think we have to go with it.

That was from the first Kitchen Diaries book. In books 2 and 3 there are no mentions of, or entries on Valentines Day. Make of that what you will.

Just to add, I don't 'celebrate' Valentines Day. I'm not in a relationship and do not enjoy being so. I find it all rather bizarre. I've just watched a fella in Sainsbury's in a high viz jacket stop and look at the overwhelming array of flowers. Eventually he selected a single rose and stared at it for a long time. You could tell he was wondering if it 'would do' As he wandered off, another fella came along and seemed so overwhelmed by the choice that he just scuttled off scratching his head. So much expectation.

I liked it when it was all about sending anonymous cards at school. DD bemoaned that they would probably have to make Valentines cards in art today. I just told her to go for her usual dark and gothic style, or even something like this:

This, sorry:

@RainbowZebraWarrior Framer Gracy is so tempting and it sounds like @Bimblesalong has had success, but I have found them very hit or miss and think Sarah Raven is much more reliable (but not cheap). Thomson & Morgan is old-fashioned and appears to have a good reputation but it is interesting, I was moaning about how 5/6 of the raspberry canes I bought from them didn't take and my mum and dad, very long-term gardeners, both got this look of horror and said oh no never order from them they are hopeless! I'm honestly coming round to the idea that your best bet is to go to a local nursery (ideally) or garden centre. At least you can see what you are getting.
Intrigued to know who Nigel was cooking for in book 1! We don't really go in for it much here either - in fact we have settled into a steady pattern where one of us buys the other a card one year and then forgets the next, and we seem to alternate! It was my turn this year 😂. See also, our wedding anniversary.

Hi all 👋 omg it is windy here today, I've just been trying to wrestle hay out to the gang in the field, and if they can catch it they can eat it! Terrier is not moving from the fire today, she says being 10kg and trying to stay grounded in this wind is not happening!
I've had bulbs from Farmer Gracie, they are coming up now and the orange crocus were flowing lovely, but this wind and cold has flattened them. There are some more lovely plants they have I'm eyeing, but I bought so many seeds in the sales I think I have enough to do this year if I get round to it, I've kind of lost heart in gardening after the disaster of a summer last year and all the storms killing off everything I planted. We have tonnes of the cactus flower dahlia growing in the garden (clay soil), that haven't been lifted for the last 6 years or so, grown by the FIL (we've inherited the house, and moved in last year. I hate it.) I keep digging them up because I really dislike them (love the single flower variety. This type just reminds me of a not nice person). They grow like mad! The one thing I wouldn't mind the slugs destroying and they didn't touch them, they are everything else though!!
Love to all, and extra best wishes to all going through trying times, I hope they get better for you soon

I've just watched a fella in Sainsbury's in a high viz jacket stop and look at the overwhelming array of flowers. Eventually he selected a single rose and stared at it for a long time. You could tell he was wondering if it 'would do' As he wandered off, another fella came along and seemed so overwhelmed by the choice that he just scuttled off scratching his head. So much expectation.

Poor sod! Probably a thread about him on mumsnet later with his dp moaning all she got was a single rose 🙄

About to get the train up to London for my flight to Norway tomorrow! Managed to get 1st class for £20 which I'm embarrassingly excited about

That all sounds like jolly hard work with the wind @LostInAMist we have a snow and ice warning for tomorrow in my region, so I've planned nowt and will see how the land lies when I wake up.

Ooh, enjoy Norway @CrushingOnRubies and Billy bonus with the first class tix!

I was also really intrigued to know who Nigel was cooking for in the first book @SheherazadesSeasonalNonsense

I've just remembered that I promised DD I'd sit and watch The Simpson's movie with her tonight.

Velkommen til Norge! @CrushingOnRubies Jeg håper du har det veldig koselig her!

I think I remember you are visiting the west coast? I'm on the eastern border to Sweden up in the mountains, in one of the coldest areas.

I hope you get the chance to enjoy some vafler og brunost (waffles and brown cheese). That's my families breakfast at the weekend.

I'm quite envious of all of the garden talk, especially when I have frozen ground covered in about 4 ft of snow until about May. When I lived in Guernsey, I used to have lots of boxes growing vegetables, but that's really difficult now.

Happy Friday everyone.

SheherazadesSeasonalNonsense I've had good luck with most of the stuff I've bought from YouGarden.

Yes, happy Friday everyone.

I've just had this recipe for Plumbrillo recommended to me via my echo show. It's not something that would ever have crossed my mind before. Hoping for a bumper plum harvest this year as it will give me something new to try.

It's so cold here. We only have a little bungalow, but we have stone floors and when the temps have been low for a long time, it's a battle to keep it warm. I have left my bobble hat and fingerless gloves on for now. I'm just waiting for a mystery shop to be delivered and then will hopefully be able to relax.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/plumbrillo

It's interesting reading your Norwegian @IngenTing, I can recognise most of what you are saying based on my pitiful Swedish! The garden isn't much better here in West Wales, you have frozen, I have squelchy! Cold, old house here too RZW, if you aren't practically on top of the wood burner, it's very dank and chilly!

That plumbrillo looks lovely. I braved the empty-of-customers cheese shop today as they had some of their delicious cheese scones stacked in the window. There was a gorgeous block of membrillo in the chiller cabinet.

I agree with you lot re Valentine’s Day. I can’t stand any over-commercialism of these special days which are mostly rooted in folk history/ religion. I did, however, tweak our fruit and veg order to a specially themed box for dh - which he duly appreciated.

Enjoy Norway @CrushingOnRubies

@LostInAMist is a very apt name. Without specifics are you north or lower down in West Wales? I hope the field gang managed to wrangle some hay.

@Bimblesalong I am north of the very western sticky out bit! All the hay had gone when I went down to check and give them some more, eaten or blown away though I couldn't say! The boy horses and sheep always act like they've been starved for weeks, so their dramatics are not to be trusted!

@LostInAMist you are definitely up for some fun when there is weather then!

Please the induction went well @RainbowZebraWarrior

Hope things are OK under the atmospheric river @noodlezoodle

I'm getting a takeaway for Valentines
. Not romantic or VN

Not very romantic here either, DH and I exchanged some beer and chocolates yesterday because he had to go away for a couple of days so I’ve been in watching TV with DD tonight, I’m with Nigel on avoiding eating out. We are a what I would describe as a low-key family it comes to celebrations, we don’t tend to throw parties or have big get togethers, Mother’s Day means a card and maybe a bunch of tulips rather than going out, that sort of thing.

Also enjoying the gardening talk. I have a small allotment, had it for about 12 years now, my approach does tend to be “do the minimum you can without getting chucked off” but I do love it up there, sometimes the harvests are better than others. I don’t tend to use mail order, there are lots of garden centres round here so can’t comment on any of the firms mentioned. Normally at this time of year I am groaning about the amount of grass that has invaded the beds and that I didn’t clear last autumn because it means I start spring on the back foot. I only really get up there a lot once the evenings are light enough to go after work (which is why it also gets abandoned come October), last year we had a long damp spring and I was up every evening for weeks getting grass dug out, but you can’t rely on the weather for that, once the ground dries out it’s like concrete. So this year I have had a huge load of manure delivered and DH has helped me cover the plot with cardboard (which I get from work we get a lot of deliveries) and the manure so hopefully that will give me a breather from the invading grass and boost the soil condition. WHen I have done this before I have made holes in the card with a bulb planter to put my plants in.

@piscofrisco sorry about your father, I agree with others about contacting the uni about your circumstances.

Zilch romance here. On my Tod in an airport hotel restaurant 😂 spa gift to me are my flights to Norway

@IngenTing waffles and brown cheese sounds intriguing

Can't wait to explore the country

Just nipping in To say a belated happy Valentine's Day to those that partake, and a happy weekend to those that do not :)

Had an email at 5pm to say I got in to the masters! So some good news, and much needed.
Dad's Dr believes him to be stable for now (but at his age it's really pot luck), so after discussing it with Mum, we are still going to go away. It's for 4 days so we just have to hope all will be well. I fear I might regret it, but we would otherwise lose a huge amount of money, plus as Mum said, Dad would be the first person to tell us to go-he has always been all about the adventure, to be fair and he would hate it if we cancelled our trip just to, as he put it this afternoon in a moment of grumpy lucidity, 'sit around eating all my hospital grapes'. . I'm in Derbyshire now, so will drive down early in the morning, pack like the wind, then set off for the airport.

Thankyou again-truly-for all of your messages and good thoughts-I so appreciate them.

Congratulations on the course @piscofrisco

Enjoy your trip. Your dad is definitely in the seize the day camp and clearly wants you to go.

Ah good news @piscofrisco ! Congratulations and try to enjoy your trip x

@piscofrisco thats great news about the course. Hear your dad and go. Please forgive if the following is a bit emotional. I can still hear my dear dad’s voice in my head saying “do it!” My lovely dad managed to make it over to my niece’s primary school performance a few days before he passed, leaving my brother and family with the last happy memory of Grampa pulling faces from the front row and smiling at her. My bro and family did not make it to the bedside in time (my family and my other bro did, I was 3 days after my first op). It is truly how we live all of our lives, whilst taking account of of loved ones, that matters. I know that every day I just did/ do my best to make the most of my time on this rock hurtling through space. Now that dad is not here and I miss talking to him, I am comforted that he went sure of “who we all were” and what we loved in life. I know what his reactions and pride in us would have been as we led our lives as well as we could and shared that with both parents.

Nigel has a gorgeous cleansing insta post this morning, out in Japan. We are going to see some peak Nigel in the next few days.