Tea room the 5th - welcome to the yurt

[UniS]

Welcome to the tea room. A warm welcome to everyone, whether you have one child, none, or ten. This is a tea-and-muffin or booze-and-sofasorcanapees sanctuary for all. But certain standards of behaviour continue to apply - anyone engaging in fisticuffs will be ejected by George Clooney, ably assisted by Mellors the Gardener.

You have found us- did you like teh slide/ bridge over teh HaHa. Teh priest hole is still available, its just over there.

Mellors and I have erected the yurt, strewn rugs around and good a good fire going in the wood burner. The place is feeling toasty and warm with not a draft to be felt.The kettle is now singing away on the hob. selection of teas for all taste on the shelf along with the hand made by potters mugs. Mellors very ably fitted teh yurt window with a window sill onto which can be placed a selection of pot plants and george.

Can someone sort out RP ( who I think came over with the sofa) and plump up the hay pile for donk.

A Previous incarnation of Tea room may be found here

I'm afraid we chose Mistledog partly on the basis of the size of dog that we would be able to carry (we got her from a rescue centre, and went round with a big list in our heads that we'd agreed - she fitted all requirements!)

MB - it was only like that occasionally - that was two evenings out of 10 years! We did often get woken up by passing drunken students though...

'Catch the pigeon... catch the pigeon.... !'

And don't forget that there is a Penelope Pitstop/Tea Room link, in the shape of Dastardly and Muttley.

Madbad I used to love Juliet Bravo! I thought she was SO smart that I wanted to be policewoman when I grew up (it didn't last; although Cagney and Lacey had a similar effect, but without the uniforms).

Mistle I have and can get my hands on marge or butter, refined sugar, brown sugar, icing sugar, white and wholemeal flower, oats and chocolate drops.

I have fairycake cases that I brought from the UK and a mixer. Also cake tins (UK again).
I usually whip up versions of tealoaves and banana/carrot cake, plus shortbread and scones. All other biscuit recipes I posses call for syrup and the tin I brought in the UK has run out.

Have to admit to being a bit of fan of baking (as is my DH; in the sense that he eats the stuff I produce) but must limit my own intake. Still, I make a wicked no fat tea soaked fruit cake with Splenda, wholemeal flour and extra bran to reduce the gylcemic load [diabetic nerd alert: fibre reduces the amount of sugar you ingest and makes you assimilate it more slowly. This is why wholemeal is the way to go if you want to lose weight]

I shall of course be trying it with Stevia once I have worked out where to buy it here.

Catch the pigeon!

Catita - Can you get dessicated coconut? Beacuse - apart from the coconut - you've just listed the ingredients for Annabel Karnel's coconut kisses. Or you could jettison the coconut and just make them as oat and choccy biscuits.

(Whispers) I used to want to join the Sweeney. I wanted to drive an unmarked Cortina and shout "you're nicked".

No dessicated coconut; no can do. I can do real live coconut though.... perhaps if I grated it???

Ah! That is the cultural gulf between the UK and Mexico! Our coconut comes (mostly) in plastic bags and yours comes in, duh, a nut!

Honey?

Just want a fairly complete picture before I start rummaging!

Oh yes, honey is not a problem. I have no experience of cooking with honey though ... don't know why I think I'll blame my mother; that's usually the best reason I can come up with.

Ok, will start doing some delving - don't promise for tonight though....

I found this version of the recipe online. I can't see any instructions, but I just whizz everything together in the Magimix (I use block chocolate so the chopping is quite helpful) then roll little blobs of mixture and squish them onto a baking sheet.

As you can tell, I am a baking goddess!

Thanks Madbad: I'm assuming a Magimix is food blender? I think a mixer will probably do the job if I use chocolate drops instead of blocks.

And thanks Mistle too. I await with baited breath... specially if you can find a recipe for some kind of ginger biscuit

Yes, it's a blender. And - tada! - the the MN biscuit recipe page. I see thumbwitch has posted a recipe here - shall we make some for the yurt?

I think so, Madbad, they look rather good.
I hadn't realised that MN had a recipe page; it just shows how much notice I take!
I am going to browse for more ideas for DS too!

Borrowed one of MJ's books - recipe calls for golden or maple syrup, but I've definitely made it with honey when run out of syrup - get the honey flavour too!:

350g plain flour
2tsp ground ginger
1tsp bicarbinate of soda
100g butter or marg
175g soft light brown sugar
1 egg
4 tsp golden syrup (or honey)

rub in, add egg, mix into a dough, kneed a bit, roll out to 1/4inch thick, cut out, cook 12 - 15 mins at 190degrees C 375 degrees F or Gas mark 5.

I think that we probably do them a bit thinner....

We will no doubt have moved by the time I get back again. Leave a trail, as per usual, please.

RacingPig, it's up to you to organise the animals.

Catita, would love your high fibre / Splenda cake recipe. Could in return send you a wonderful Nigella banana, walnut and raisin cake, but unfortunately it is probably not for you personally.

Sympathise with the stress and uncertainty, but don't start to believe that it means anything. I remember one day my DH saying to me, "You have got to relax. You can't just go on surviving one day at a time like this." Little did he know that I was at the time surviving one hour at a time. ("We've got to lunch time safely, please God let us get to bed time.") I kept thinking I was having premonitions and knew something was wrong. I wasn't and it wasn't.

I too loved Juliet Bravo.

A few houses ago, we inhabited a rather unsavoury area of Cardiff, and the police were very frequent visitors to the estate behind us. Now we just get the jet fighters whizzing overhead, plus the odd Chinook.

As I've said MadBad, you can always come and sort my garden visit to enjoy the country air. Until the spring onion harvest starts, and the whole area is rather rendolent. I noted today that the asparagus season is just about to start here, so will be eating myself into oblivion.

Catita - would you like JMs recipe for almond muffins ? They are super simple, low fat and very tasty

Asparagus....

Mm, biscuits. DD's school had a tea party (PTA fundraising thing) after school today, Reception parents were asked to contribute the cakes. Mine came from the Co-Op as I'm all baked/decorated out what with the Birthday. Plus I had to go and drink wine and watch Rebecca and gossip with my bookgroup.

Anyway, I suspect this will be my last visit to the Yurt, I must go to bed and expect it will be no more when I return - DH is getting up at Unspeakable O'Clock tomorrow morning to fly to the US for a week and DD has been coughing up a lung all week, so no official Saturday lie-in for me, and I suspect no fortuitous one either.

Good night!

Looks around the room - but can't see anyone.... . Has Mellors whisked you all off to a ball???

T42 writes a note in chalk on the blackboard behind the counter...

Hello ladies - just a flying visit to say that Milk is 'in' at the bilingual school. Thanks for the tearoom chat on the subject all that time ago. It helped me sort things out in my mind perfectly!

Big hugs, hand shakes, pats on the back or acknowledging nod of the head (depending on your preference) from Teafortwo

hello T42 - nice to see you, glad milk got in to her school!

As fast as I pack the china - you lot unpack it for more tea! How on earth are we going to br ready to move to the new tea room?

I am relieved that it looks as thought the spa will be an add on to the main Tea room - after all, tea is the universal panacea, as any fule do know! (to quote Molesworth)

Did someone mention Bolly?

Not the glassware too?

Hi thumbwitch - I am having awful problems keeping up with the tearoom lately - I sometimes wish you'd all type a bit slower!!!!