The Year Round Nigel Slater discussion thread part 6

[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 on Mumsnet between November and February each year - the Christmas Chronicles being a book written by Nigel Slater full of winter recipes and anecdotes - It has been running for a few years, and the contributors 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 chair, grab a drink and relax.

A very hearty welcome to friends new and old

N.B. The Christmas Chronicles thread proper will start in late October, ready for the book beginning on 1st November (seems a long way off, but will be here before we know it!)

Morning all.

Gosh, it's a real pleasure to go to bed when it's so chilly and dark at night. Also lovely to wake up on a Sunday morning and still feel snuggly, but much harder to actually get up!

Replaced the blackberries in the freezer by having a good foraging session yesterday afternoon. This means I'll be able to have another blackberry and honey jam making session in a month or so, as I'd like to give this delicious offering for Christmas gifts.

Today's plan (after our usual market visit) is to make apple pie bars in order to use up some apples. They also freeze well apparently so that's even more of a winner. I'm also intending to make a (simplified) Sunday roast for myself as it feels like that sort of weather now. I feel like a pile of roast potatoes and lashings of gravy! Must also fit in watching Batman lego movie with DD and planning our last 9 days off in order to get the most out of the remaining time.

Right. Pot of tea and Fika calls I think. Heating going on briefly just to take the chill off (it's 8 degrees)

Happy Sunday, all.

By the way, I know some of you get the St Eval tealight advent calendar which was £50 last year. I have been using pintail candles for the past year or so and they are wonderful. They have just sent me a link to their advent calendar. £35 and looks lovely with a beautoful ceramic tealight holder included (so very like St Eval)

Hopefully the link works as its not supposed to go on general sale until the end of the month.

https://pintailcandles.co.uk/products/tealight-advent-calendar-dispatching-early-november?_kx=ryHjR73Rd8ESrlZ3CR940Zz5ZfxF2odNUlQf60NFzRCiltYH_XFHZ2vvwqEdVPjy.SLcvHz

I'd love them, but I have a dog, and a lot of essential oils aren't safe to burn around animals.

Morning all

Hello to @UnimaginableWindBird and @DimbleBingley

Lovely to hear that Nigel was nice @Cranberryhead

Thanks for the link @RainbowZebraWarrior - I might get that and hope for a tomato one as those are all sold out!

Gorgeous photos everyone.

Visited my nearest local cafe yesterday - only had coffee in the end but that was very decent. Had a nice walk round the park too with my friend who hadn't been over this part of the city for years.

It was definitely chilly last night. I've recently bought an electric rechargeable hot water bottle, which is excellent - keeps the heat for ages - but still had to put an extra layer on in the middle of the night.

Got another friend visiting for brunch today, and maybe another little wander.

My autumn sale tip is https://www.sundaizclothing.co.uk/collections/pants - if anyone needs any comfy trousers for the colder weather, these are really nice. The fleece ones are really warm! I'm just a bit sad the straight leg ones are far too long for me 🤣

Gorgeous piccies. I love the idea of honey and blackberry jam. Yum! My friend is over later and we are going berry picking along with a Pokemon stroll.

dh is back later and had a marvellous time at Harry Potter studios with Ds. I’ve had a lazy morning, if you count two lots of washing, making bread, cleaning the oak floor with a special product and dusting! Mustn’t use my spoons too early.

I have a jasmine candle burning and the soundtrack to when Harry met Sally playing. I’ve set a 20 min alarm and am not allowing myself off the sofa until it rings, despite what spider web offerings I might notice.

We too love the Lego Batman film @RainbowZebraWarrior it’s incredibly funny and a brilliant takedown of all those over-serious brooding Batman films over the years. In fact all the Lego films are incredible and I would put the first Lego film in my “top 5 films of all time” list (utter masterpiece).

I did get the duvet out and put it on the bed last night, it was only a fortnight ago we were sleeping with a fan on all night, was still warm enough with just a duvet cover but it was nice to have the weight of the duvet again and not be too hot. It’s 21 here now and hot in the sun (no breeze to speak of) but every now and then it clouds over and is quite cool.

I have ordered a Pott candle, after them deluging my socials for the last few weeks, you get a hand thrown clay pot and then refill candles, so you don’t have all the extra containers. I am starting with the tomato leaf scented one. Weirdly no sooner had I ordered one than they have vanished again from my socials, it is all very clever creepy isn’t it.

The Pott candles do look good @ElegantDress

Meanwhile I've gone local for my tomato scent https://theyorkshirecandleco.co.uk/product/homegrown-tomatoes-candle/ - also got their coffee one which I love for mornings, and the one that's meant to smell like my local park!

I'm getting lots of adverts for advent calendars at the moment...

Ooh they look fab and exactly the sort of thing I wear. Usually get them from H&M, but I was in yesterday and they have put certain colours up to £20 so I was on the lookout for something more bargainous. What height are you? I'm 5ft 4 and a half and might have the same problem

I'm 5ft 2 with short legs! The cuffed joggers are fine on me, just slightly puffier at the ankle than they would be on a taller person. The straight leg ones are 110cm length which would unfortunately wrap round my entire feet 🤣

Let me know about the Pott candles, @ElegantDress , as I am also inundated with their ads at the moment (also, lovely hotels in Albania and massive knickers, for some reason)
What are you reading, @Bimblesalong ?

I think those joggers will be perfect for (5'7") dd - thanks for the link! She is never warm enough in winter.

Just back from a tranquil afternoon at a 17th century water mill, deep off the beaten track and perfectly peaceful.

Dd found 2 sleeping bats and a dead barn owl in the loft , then she was bothered by a hornet by the pond. I avoided all this and stuck with the ducks.

I felt like doing some autumnal cooking today, so I I've made pork chops with apples, onions and cider, with celeriac and cannellini bean mash and a pan of roast veg.

Also having pork chops this evening. Which I have marinated in a paprika, dried parsley, garlic & onion rub thing.

have had a chilled day out today to some local woods which although leaves are starting to drop still pretty warm and glad of the shade the trees provided. A coffee cart has been installed there so think we will be going there more often.

Followed by lunch at a local cafe at some water gardens.

Hello all. I have been AWOL for a few months now and I was so excited to find the thread again and catch up.
We have had a busy summer, lots of DIY and general home maintenance. I did lose my mojo for cooking, crafting and reading for a while, but as summer comes to an end I seem to have found myself again

It's feeling more autumnal here, too! I had to put my slippers on to go to the kitchen this morning, first time in months I've needed something on my feet because the floor tiles have been chilly!

We also had pork chops for dinner. I cooked them in the oven with a topping of sage and onion stuffing, with roast potatoes (made with new potatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic granules and rosemary from our garden), broccoli and corn on the cob as "sides".

After all the St Eval tea light chat last year, I bought one of the 2025 advent calendars when it was in the sale and been keeping it safely down the side of my wardrobe since January! Every so often a gentle waft of Scent comes off it, so I'm hoping there is still some smell left for December! The Pintail one sounds gorgeous, so I will see if the budget can stretch to one of those as well...

Love all the chat about cooking and cakes. I can't wait to actually join in with the Christmas Chronicles cooking this year!

I did pork steaks last night, a proper retro Nigel recipe (from the 30 minute cook) with a topping of mushrooms, Gruyère and Marsala. It was delicious.

Hi all (shudders in horror at dead creatures in the loft!)
@Celiathebanshee Im reading Boyd’s trilogy part one, “Gabriel’s moon”. Ill
probably finish it tonight / tomorrow morning. Part two is arriving tomorrow! I’ll have to wait for part three, published in the autumn. Love a bit of Boyd!

I’ve had the nicest day, involving tea and cake from a canal boat (full hygiene stickers on display). The boat next to it was preparing to serve pizza to the evening crowd.

Lovely to see people floating back in on the slightly cooler breeze.

I saw some geese (I think) arriving in formation when I was walking by the river yesterday but wasn't quick enough to snap a pic.

Pork chops with a crust of sage and onion stuffing!?!?!? Well that's a revelation which is going on my meal plan!

I love the pizza boat. We have a floating sweet shop which cruise the local canals selling home made fudge, coconut ice and retro sweets.

Next weekend is the summer food festival in my nearest city. It's fab but 100,000 visitors in a city of 30,000 (with rather overwhelmed infrastructure as it is) is something of a challenge! We tend to visit late in the day when things have calmed down. We always find something nice to nibble on and I always look forward to the Turkish delight stall and I may break my abstinence for a tot of honey gin.

Thank you for the welcome all.

I’ve had a lovely weekend. Went to see a show with family last night which was better than expected.
And had a lovely walk alongside the river today ending with a delicious pub lunch.

The weather has warmed up here again. The river was about six feet lower than it has been in places which was quite shocking to see.
We do have rain predicted for the rest of the week though.

The apple pie bars sound intriguing @RainbowZebraWarrior

I've found you all! I somehow managed to get lost at the end of the last thread.

So many people having a tough time at the moment, so I'm sending hugs to you all. Also I'm waving at returning people and newcomers.

I'm just begining to gear up for the next antique fair I run, which will be next week end. I've been buying new stock and tomorrow I'm off out and about to put up advertising signs for it. I always enjoy this because we stop off at a lovely cafe for coffee and a cheese scone when it's done. They have a lovely little courtyard to sit out in. The tables have big umbrellas, it's protected on all 4 sides and a gnarled tropical tree overhangs a large part of it, so even if it's raining you stay dry.

Beautiful sky at 6am this morning. Autumnal chill in the air too, although i think it's climbing to 25C later.

I resurrected an old favourite for dessert last night - baked nectarines with crushed amaretti biscuits. So lovely and there are leftovers which I will have for breakfast with greek yogurt. Such a simple pairing but so tasty.

I am in the last week of my garden leave so I am determined to get into some sort of routine this week, so that next week isn't such a shock (hence the 5.30 wake up so ai could be at the gym at 6!)

I've just started this book which I think some of you might appreciate:

Apple pie bars recipe:

https://pastryandbeyond.com/apple-pie-bars-recipe/