Year round Nigel Slater discussion thread Part 2

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Hello, all and welcome to this lovely space for our continued chats.

A bit of background for anyone not familiar with this topic:

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, gardening, appreciation of the weather, and sharing of news and small moments of joy. It's a calm, cosy space for gentle chat and merriment so pull up a deckchair, grab a drink and relax.

A very hearty welcome to friends new and old!

Only 2 of my dahlias came up this year out of the 8 varieties I planted. The slugs got to the rest, I usually put slug pellets down but I got a new pup late last year who likes to eat everything he sees so no pellets this year. I’ll have to think of a different way to deter them next year or stick to pots!

OH MY WORD! Our village Spar shop has started selling a limited edition Jacob's Bites with Frank's Red Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce and they are seriously addictive! They are definitely NVN and they are very spicy but I can't stop eating them! I'm not usually a snacky person, so this live has taken me by surprise

I never used to like dahlias, preferring more 'cottage garden' plants and flowers, but in the last few years I've grown to absolutely love them. They're so intricate, they look somehow improbable. Beautiful pics everyone, whether food, fields or flowers.

I know exactly what you mean. I suspect my own daliahs were full bloom when on holiday and either slugs went for them or lack of watering and they didn’t survive me getting back

I saw those yesterday in my local Spar and also spotted lots of really weird 'coated nuts' (cheesy wotsit flavour and Walkers Paprika) I might have to go back and sample these Jacob's wonders. DD loves a cracker.

I'm exactly the same. I was all for cottage garden flowers and obsessed over pinks, lavender, cornflowers and my childhood favourite candytuft for years. I've actually found the Dahlias quite easy to look after this year and am getting a lot of pleasure from them (if you ignore the constant picking up of fallen over pots, deadheading and feeding)

I’m back from two glorious weeks in Crete so just catching up. I do not have one dahlia flower yet - I don’t know what’s the matter with them as all my neighbours have them looking lovely! My garden is bonkers after the neglect - it must have been very dry here and although a friend popped in to do some watering it is all definitely in need of some tlc. Apples look good and I have a surfeit of enormous courgettes that I will have to come up with some use for; the figs went to the wasps (traditionally every year they wait until we are away to ripen). Cheese and marmite scones sound great and I might do them today. We ate really well on holiday but I am ready for some non-Greek food now!

Oh Crete is fabulous @SheherazadesSpringNonsense how lovely. I'm just sitting looking out at the rain wishing I was there!

Waiting for conservatory roof quote appointments and thought I'd try one of these with a cuppa before they arrive. Wow they are lemony! Has anyone ever had them before? They are little Portuguese lemon cakes.

Chilled one here today.. or as chilled as can be in this weather.

went for a 5 mile walk yesterday with some relations I don’t see very often. Then went to see Scouting for Girls last night who were excellent

That sounds great. Love the Scouting for girls lads. I used to chat to them on MySpace when I was on my gap year in 2006. Then they were signed in 2007 and they totally took off. I still have a free promo CD from them back then. Ahh I miss MySpace (and travelling!)

Hot one here. We took the doggy on farmland earlier and are now sheltering indoors. Just uploaded our big butterfly count numbers from other day. We now need to make a list of priorities for the final 3 weeks of summer hols.

I saw Scouting For Girls at a private event about 8 years ago! They were great.

Everyone’s flowers are beautiful- we have a small garden so bushes, mini fruit trees and things the children plant are the extent of it. I think in the future we will go for a larger outdoor space, if we have enough time and money

I know it’s important to enjoy and savour all the seasons but I hate this heat! I am desperately wishing summer away. Where I am, it was over 30° today until 7pm, and the temperature will stay in the high 20s for another week

Still absolutely boiling hot here. We spent a very enjoyable couple of hours exploring Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye, somewhere I’ve been meaning to visit for ages. There something very Nigelesque about it’s clean lines, and understated beauty of the design with the light and shadow play shown off to stunning effect in the bright sunlight. There was also more than a hint of autumn in the trees (if not the temperature 🥵) as we walked back down the drive. Unfortunately the Nigel vibes ended as we tried to find somewhere for lunch in the town of Poissy - I don’t think I’ve ever seen a poorer selection of lunch establishments anywhere in France (and not even a decent boulangerie to pick up a sandwich). I was kicking myself for not packing a picnic we could have eaten in the grounds, but wasn’t sure if this would have been permitted (I think it would have been fine). We live and learn!

Some of the stories / photographs of the South of France and elsewhere that's hot and beautiful in Europe right now remind me of the series of books by Carol Drinkwater. (The Olive Farm series) which I've read over and over during the past 10? 20? years.

I still dream of retiring to a gîte or smallholding and picking a lemon directly off a tree in my garden for an evening's G&T. Completely appreciate that owning an olive farm comes with so many downsides, but I do love to romanticise about it.

<toddles off to put the lottery on>

Hi everyone, I’m new here. I have just discovered the Christmas Chronicles readalong threads - I can’t believe I never came across them before. I adore Nigel’s writing and the simplicity of his recipes. I’m not surprised he has such a following. I have the CC as an audio book and have listened to it religiously every Christmas for the last few years. His voice is so soothing and it just gives the book another dimension. I have finally decided to buy the hard copy as well. Has anyone noticed that the book was re-published with a silver cover…do you know if there is a difference between the new edition and the previous ones? Particularly the size of it. I have to say I prefer the gold/bronze colouring so I might have to get it second hand.

I’m so glad to be here and I will now go back and start reading from thread 1! 😀

Hello and a very big welcome to you @Piletka Hope you enjoy catching up. The year seems to go by so quickly, and as much as I'm looking forward to the CC, I'm trying to appreciate the last of these long summer days (I'm usually awful for skipping too quickly into Autumn and Winter mode)

I've not noticed a newer / different version of CC, but off to search...

ETA: Ah, I think that the images sometimes look more silver than bronze.

Thank you! Great to be here! I am indeed jumping into autumn mode now and I need to slow down and enjoy this amazing summer we are having in London.

Hello @Piletka !

we are on our way back north from sunny Sussex (where it rained on Wednesday …). We had a delicious time Bloomsburying around, also having a marvellous time at the Eastbourne airshow.

I am hoping that ds1 has kept up with watering the dahlias …

Hi I'm new here too. I've just been going through my Nigel collection (mostly bought from Vinted!)and was thinking about the Christmas Chronicles so finding this thread is good timing!

Hello and welcome! 😊

There's a very good condition copy of Nigel's CC on ebay right now for £3.59 with free postage if you still need one (seller is greener books London)

Very much an animal related few days here in Somerset. Yesterday I went to the Dunster show and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the show animals. Pity they didn't have any pigs though - I love them! It's such an idyllic setting for a country show, so I've included a photograph of the.mixed champion bull class. Then this morning as we were driving over to the antique shop where I have a cabinet, there was a young hare lolloping along the lane. No photograph of it sadly. They used to be a frequent sight, but have got much rarer over the years.

That’s such a lovely country’s scene @Confusedmeanderingswith Dunster Castle in the background.

not sure I have ever seen a hare before.

Funny weather here today, so making the most of it by carrying on painting the lounge. Fed up of seeing a half painted wall behind the tv. Either been too busy or glorious weather to justify getting the painting stuff out.

That is a fabulous photo @Confusedmeanderings I used to go to the Northumberland County show every year, but haven't been for a couple of years. You're definitely right about hares becoming rarer. I'd see them a lot as a child. Possibly partly because I spend my life in fields. My next door neighbour used to get them playing on his back lawn (only separated from farmland by a hedgerow)

Dull here so we are catching up with more candle making as it's been too hot recently. It's a month today until our Scarecrow Festival. I'm going to catch up on a bit more paperwork for our EHCP appeal whilst I wait for them to set. Next week we are planning on attempting some candle painting which I've been meaning to do since last winter.

In other news it is Mr Darcy's birthday. He is 9.

Currently watching wor Nige on the food network. What’s everyone else doing?
Welcome to our newcomers. You’ll love it here!

'Wor Nige' has just broken my thoughts here. We use 'wor' a lot in the NE of England, and when I was walking through the recently harvested wheat fields with DD I bored her silly with the origin and meaning of the saying 'sort the wheat from the chaff' It then got me thinking about old fashioned words and sayings that aren't used much anymore. Me and my Dad still use the term 'over yonder' (or Owa Yonda as we would pronounce it) We still refer to certain areas as 'Yon side of the village' (whilst usually pointing to which side we are referring to)

I'm just pondering the quote I received this morning for my new conservatory roof. It's a couple of grand more than I expected, but the company are a family firm with a great reputation so I'm going for it.

I chucked some chicken, onions and maysan Chinese curry sauce in my slow cooker at midday. I don't know if anyone is familiar with maysan as it's made by a company local to me, but it's essentially a Chinese curry paste that you mix with boiling water. It's too hot to eat right now, but maybe in an hour or so..

All of the candles came out well today. We are at almost our expected stock level for the Scarecrow Festival. Mr Darcy has spent his birthday mostly sleeping in his preferred 'hot spots' and says hello to you all.

Chill Saturday night here! Admiring newly painted wall trying to spot any patchy bits. Dp isn’t due home till Christmas soooo crappy Netflix films which I can’t really watch in his presence with cocktails and Tryells / a bit posh crisps it is.