Crepeyistmas Time, Camel Toe and Whine...

[MrsSchadenfreude]

Pandering to the uncouth...

Chestnut and apple stuffing is vegan.

Nut roast is actually very tasty. Well the recipe I had/have was - had it on the Christmas Day we were in France when 3 out of 6 of us were veggie IIRC.

We (with DC and PIL) are watching a very interesting film. Magic Mike the male stripper

Love magic Mike, BTM, got a big crush on Matthew McConaughey. Is your dmil enjoying it ?

Have had a lovely time at a couple of parties this weekend, mostly with parents from dc's old primary who we don't see any more. Lots of gossip about stroppy Y7 proto-teens... glad it's not just my lot whose moods swing like crazy. I am sort of ready for Christmas (apart from a lack of a few small gifts for dh - do I dare brave the Kings Rd tomorrow? Maybe all the Sloanes will have already gorn to the countreh) and have even done the jobs in the garden I wanted to do . Am longing for a full veg out on the sofa, but have wrapping to do over the next couple of nights. Still, work is closed over the next two weeks so I can put my out of office on tomorrow morning, which always feels good.

Crem - meant to say that is an impressive haul of life alterations for dd in one term! And the tattoo doesn't sound too bad. Good luck with vegan Xmas dinner, there are some lovely recipes here - I think the jerk sweet potatoe and black bean curry sounds delish. I had a brilliant show-stopping main course during my veggie days which was a savoury swiss roll, but I can't think how you could make it vegan as you need the eggs to get it fluffy.

Ow, my feet. I am too old to stand for hours. We have tree but still no decorations as we can't find the lights or, err, decorations. They must be somewhere nearby.

I have a nice recipe for nut roast, it's a bit like stuffing, as it has lots of herbs in it. But it is a bit worthy, I agree.

Thanks for that link, wilbur. Dd hasn't yet deigned to let me know what she would find acceptable as Xmas lunch. Crem, don't know if it helps, but dd likes feeling "special" as a vegetarian - it marks her out. Sounds like your dd has a bit of that going on?

Crem, I would have had a fit if Dd had come home with a tattoo, so I know how you feel. No doubt in other ways she will settle down soon.

Breast scan this morning and, hopefully, last dental appointment this afternoon and then I will no longer be singing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth".

I am feeling very fed up, though, as I have a cough and cold (I haven't had one for about three years). My Christmas colds are legendary in the family as DH reminded me earlier. I got up in the night for a comfort break and to fill up my glass of water and managed to drop the glass in the washbasin - that will teach me not to wander around in the dark.

Lalsy, I would like the recipe link, please. When I have time I will forward you the banana and peanut butter cake recipe.

lalsy - thanks for the link. looks really great. will send you couple of recipes if that ok

ps NU that sounds miserable, hope it passes soon

crem - dd got a tattoo on a holiday to crete with a group of friends. they jointly composed a text to mothers (specifically) designed to allay wrath. was v funny, once I'd got over the

Oh NU wish you better and all the best for your scan.

Beachy that dog is abusing you!!!! But I couldn't help sniggering at the possibility that the poo ended up somewhere it shouldn't. Sorry.

i love nut roast and onion gravy…as a person often forced in to the veggie option through hard wired religious nonsense, it's great honestly! Good luck with the shopping in Sloaneland Wilbur…I'm off to the countreh but I'm far from being a sloane!

I am shortly departing for Sussex with DD. I'm scared to phone DM until I'm on the road and well past Chessington. I am hoping this nagging headache will disappear as we leave the smoke behind.

See you on the other side Crepeys….exit stage left muttering 'I am not a freelance failure…I am an Expert

Ps monty definitely!!!

I'm going to do some work. This is not as grim as it sounds - in all honesty I'm still feeling quite rough (have to sleep propped up because of cough - that means backache gets worse) so I might as well bang keys. Also have date for DM's consultant meeting (wot joy) so must get ticket. DP will be in Amsterdam (yes! T'ai chi!) and DD2 started objecting to staying with friends that night (it's at 4pm). I may blow up at them all

Very best of luck today, NU.

Good luck NU.

And hope you get away OK Rose.

Wilbur, which one was he? I only recognised Channing Tatum!

Good luck today NU.

Cremo - she certainly packed a lot into term one! Whereas my niece who is in year two term one is still exactly the same as she was (don't think she dare risk the wrath of her mother)

We left at six (yawn) and I am in work .... counting the days down.

Much strength Rosebag and everyone else have a good run up to Christmas.....

I was the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Acquired over 20 years ago when I was living in the Far East and it was all H1's fault. I'm not a tattoo person, so although it is relatively large, it is somewhere I can't see it. Goes with my multiple piercings. In parenting, I follow the maxim that if you can't be a Good Example, you have to be a Horrible Warning.
My db and his entire family are vegetarian, so my dm has been cooking parallel Christmas lunches ever since db went to university 20-something years ago. His delightful kiddies have had to be schooled out of making ds cry during lunch by saying stuff like "Ugh, ds is eating an ANIMAL - that is sooooo cruel."

Good luck today with all your appointments, NU. Hope everything goes well

NU, hope it goes well today.
BD, am thinking of you. Hope these couple of days go smoothly and without incident.
Dd has had a massive and peculiar reaction to the antibiotics that the doc prescribed for her skin. She has been struck down with headaches so bad she can hardly see or stand up. Don't think this helped during her mocks last week, to put it mildly. Needless to say, once I finally made the connection yesterday, I told her to stop taking them and the GP says he will need to see her to check her eyes if it hasn't settled properly over the next 24 hours. Tiny chance it may have caused intra cranial pressure, apparently. Am v glad that, as usual, our Christmas is not very elaborate and involves no more travel than a 40 min drive to dm's on Christmas Day. And yes, 84 year old dm once again insisted on cooking dual Christmas lunch for nine of us. I suspect this may be the last year, though. db and I will have to come up with another solution next year, I reckon, though dm probably won't like it.

At this time of year, I wonder whether anyone in the world, over the age of about 13, does what they actually want to for Christmas. Especially me.

I'm in need of crepey recipe inspiration. Going to sis's house on Boxing Day, and she's asked me to bring a 'healthy dessert'. She's doing chocolate and cherry trifle, so something that compliments that, ideally. The only ideas I have so far is my mum's caramelised oranges, or pineapple and ginger. It needs to be easy to prepare, or possible in advance, as we'll be coming straight from DP's family.

Herbs, I shall leave the culinary advice to those with skillz in that department. Fruit salad with homemade meringues is about as elaborate as it gets round here and only the elderly rellies ever eat the fruit salad.
Gah, dh has, as usual forgotten to send a card to his only remaining close family (his brother). He hasn't even mentioned it.
On Friday evening during supper, ds assumed a very sorrowful expression and announced, "Something really sad happened today." Primed as we are for hideous Christmas catastrophes, dd and I stared at him in horror, both of us obviously thinking "Oh no, who died?"
"What happened?"
Answer: "The bell fell off my elf hat."
Said bell wasn't even lost and has now been reattached.

WTF is a 'healthy dessert'???

Nige Slater has some oranges baked in foil which looks quite easy.

People who want dessert to be healthy have missed the point.

There was a thread on MN once wanting Healthy Cake Recipes.

I think it's to accompany/follow two distinctly unhealthy versions. The sort of thing mother-in-laws will have to show how they're watching their weight.

Will investigate Nige and his offerings. I do believe I even have the appropriate book, now I come to think of it. And rustle up some meringues.

Why don't you take Exotic Fruit Salad, ie mangoes and papayas and pineapple (as much of this ready-chopped as poss) and squeeze over passionfruit? Nige recommends this too, I believe.

Can't they do what normal non-pudding eaters do and just not have any???

Throw in some pomegranate for a bit of seasonal colour.