The blethering goes on...thread 2

[ElephantOfRisk]

Still plenty to chat about. Remember this isn't fight club. Nice chatting required.....

There’s always something new and doom laden in the news, @ssd. Depressing.

I absolutely love baklava - please never mention it again as I will need to source some and I must not eat it!

I’m a purist with a mince pie. No chocolate or fannying about.

Well I'd none of that handy

But dh had them with custard and liked them

I seen a survey somewhere saying morrisons had the best mince pies this year?

But i agree @WouldBeGood. None of the whacky flavours please.

I had a Morrison’s croissant yesterday, after a weird croissant craving, and it was great

Im not near a morrisons and never go there. Ds did his s4 work experience in one and they were lovely to him.

@ssd

Sorry for mentioning covid here *@ElephantOfRisk*

Wont do it again.

Don't worry about it @ssd, you were just trying to be eco friendly and have one post instead of two :)

I don't like shop bought mince pies but do like my own mince pies (and those that my mum used to make )

These are the last batch I made, at the end of December last year

I'll be starting to make some soon - I've promised a batch to the women's rugby team

The secret that my mum passed on to me is slightly more than half fat (itself a mix of lard/cookeen and butter) to plain flour for the pastry

Those look lovely. I've deliberately avoided learning to bake, it would only add to my already unsatisfactory girth.

@prettybird Cookeen! That’s a blast from the past! My mum and my granny used it. Fortunately I can’t bake or I’d be even fatter.

Talking of retro tastes, DP made a fruit loaf thing yesterday which tastes like the cat’s whiskers cake my granny would buy me from a baker in Stirling

I have to say WouldBeGood that a croissant craving is never weird.

Those mince pies look amazing prettybird.

I don't like mince pies but I can appreciate the quality of that baking pb.

DS1 and I have signed up for an evening class in baking at the college in the new year. I cook a fair bit but don't bake.

I wonder if that baker still exists @wouldbegood. As kids we'd get sent into Gorgie in Edinburgh on the bus to go to a baker there (ross's?) to get little pies and all sorts of stuff.

I think it was just a chain bakery @ElephantOfRisk- Oliver’s??

She would also buy me doughnuts in Fine Fare where they fried them instore!

Baking class sounds good. I was thinking I should take up a hobby to stop me being so antsy. Maybe something arty

What about learning a language @WouldBeGood?

It's not that we had a particular desire to bake, I just looked at what they had (which wasn't a lot to be honest by the time I eliminated all the advanced stuff) and this seemed the best bet.

It was just to get DS and I off computers etc and doing something.

I have no baking equipment at home apart from some muffin trays that I make Yorkshire puddings in. So I'm hoping there is no homework

You should have a look and see if there is anything with spaces nearby.

Oh, I’d just thought of doing it at home, but I might actually take a look at the college and see!

I think if I did it at home I'd just keep making excuses and not finding the time.

That sounds like such a lovely thing to do with your son, Elephant.

We've now got a Red weather warning because of the wind (hooray) so I'm trying to get all the outside stuff sorted before the weather arrives properly.

@WouldBeGood : I use Cookeen (rather than lard) when vegetarians might be having some or when I used to make them for the Primary School Winter Fair, where there were many Muslims and Hindus.

Where do you buy it @prettybird? I could never find it when doing my old aunt’s shopping?

(Not that I’m contemplating trying pastry 😳)

@WouldBeGood

Where do you buy it *@prettybird*? I could never find it when doing my old aunt’s shopping?

(Not that I’m contemplating trying pastry 😳)

Can't remember - I think that I had to get it in the big Sainsbury's or Tesco's.

🎶give it a lift, ooh ooh, with cookeen🎶. showing my age now! 😂

Yes! @ElephantOfRisk 🤣🤣

DH bought the ingredients to make mince pies today and I've only a stone to go to target weight.....och well, need to be January now.

question for any teachers or secondary parents in the thread (can't be arsed starting a new thread)

DD is in S3, she says options will be in January which seems a bit earlier than usual. They have 8 subjects this year and need to drop 2 next year (is that normal?). They can also switch a subject and she says she wants to change from Geography to History.

I'm worried that if she starts history in S4, how prepared will she be for the S4 exam if she's only done it for a year?

I want a prettybird mince pie now