Simple request for 'gender critical' activists

[NoShortKing]

I'm registered after an awful incident a few days ago, but I'm glad that it forced me to wait before posting as it's enabled me to be more circumspect about things. I'm trans (booo!) and started transitioning 17 years ago. I'm just a guy in the world, few know I'm trans, nobody cares, as it should be.

The other day I had a health appointment, unrelated to being trans or anything that could be relevant, yet the worker obviously had looked into my medical history, misgendered me (I'm a bald bloke with a beard ffs), asked me clearly inappropriate questions which was obviously from 'gender critical' rhetoric. I ended up leaving and now I have all the palaver of having to go through the practice manager to make a complaint.

Here's a really simple solution, if you're a 'gender critical' activist then realise that it's clearly inappropriate for you to work with trans people and ask for someone else to see them. If I had a problem with the existence of, I don't know, black people, tall people, I don't know, people with tattoos or something, then I would just ask someone else to see them. If in my job I was asked to see someone who was openly 'gender critical' I would just tell my lead that I would not be the best person to see them and she would have no problem with that.

I've talked with loads of people about this and nobody thinks this is unreasonable..and certainly in terms of the NHS something that is completely doable with a group that makes up 0.5% of the population.

Obviously, given that I'm in the hornet's nest, I won't be responding, just will leave that request to think about this if you're in a public facing job.

that looks uncanny like my MiL's recipe. The demerara edge is the bomb.

That does look good - though I have to translate every 'wheat' to spelt' because for some reason one triggers my asthma and inflammation and the other doesn't.

The Archer's thread had a similar biscuity theme recently. I was prompted to do some baking, and solved the problem of how to avoid eating them all by taking them to my craft group meeting - couple of dozen women, couple of dozen biscuits, no problem. My next effort will be the all-butter hobnobs I read about on xtwitter.

Isn't it just? Who knew that simple addition could increase crunch, and therefore sheer pleasure, in such an easy way. I'm baking Highlanders tonight.

PS has anyone tried adding lemon zest to their shortbread? In there any reason not to?

Oooh that sounds yum. Try it!

Oh FFS. Just as I was starting to be good and lose my holiday weight gain. I eat coffee flavoured anything but this is a revelation (a Waitrose is just along the road).

Well, you know your mission, should you choose to accept it.

Obviously, given that I'm in the hornet's nest, I won't be responding, just will leave that request to think about this if you're in a public facing job.

Obviously this is an odd statement if you posted this thread in order to get other people responding.

It is difficult to anyway, in my opinion, without knowing more details which obviously there is no point in asking you for.

Someone has mentioned millionaires shortbread, the aspirational cousin of shortbread, so I’m just going to pop this here - a recipe for ‘chocolate caramel squares’ from the County Durham Federation of Women’s Institutes, circa 1964. It’s the best caramel square I’ve ever tasted, something about the caramel which has really good chewiness. Must be the condensed milk, nectar of the Gods:

Ingredients:
Base:
4 oz margarine
5 oz plain flour
2 oz caster sugar
1 level teaspoon baking powder

Caramel:
4 oz margarine
2 tablespoons syrup
4 oz granulated sugar
1 small tin condensed milk

cooking chocolate

Method:
cream margarine and sugar, add flour and baking powder and mix well. Line a greased swiss roll tin with mixture. Bake in oven (325 degrees) until golden brown.

Melt margarine, syrup, sugar and condensed milk and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 mins until it turns brown, stirring well. Cool slightly and pour over base and leave to cool. When cold cover with melted chocolate (approximately 4 to 6 oz depending on desired taste and thickness). Cut into squares.

Delicious as it is, I must stress that the base should not be considered a ‘stand alone’ shortbread, so do proceed with caution in that respect.

Some great smells coming out of the hornet's nest today!

Shortbread is crunchy, and melts in the mouth; but may I recommend Spanish polverones de almendras? They are so delicate you can hardly pick them up, and they absolutely melt.
Polvorones de almendra caseros. Fáciles y riquísimos

OP mis-specied us. Fgs MN101 we're vipers. Although hornets does work as it's only the females that can sting 🤔

My mum used to do something similar, @CocoapuffPuff - the base of a Millionaire's shortbread, but with a tangy lemon fudge topping - it was gorgeous! I am currently transcribing all her recipes - she kept a file of ones she had handwritten and some she had typed, and when she passed away, I took it, and I'm copying it all so the family can have copies - and I am hoping the lemon fudge recipe is in there.

I love the idea of the crunchy demerara edging to shortbread biscuits - I am going to try that the next time I make them!

As a tangent - has anyone else made Nigella's parmesan shortbreads? I can highly recommend them!

Matthew, ch23. " You snakes, you nest of vipers. How can you escape the judgement of Gehenna?"

We had this quote in church on Sunday. I thought of you all. 😁

We stopped being allowed to talk about recipes, as it was derailing, or disrespectful, or not giving the OP a chance to get a word in. Or something.

You gotta hand it to transactactivism newbies positively telling HQ that they will not be responding, they don't want to get any more words in, and that's the end of it. Thank you and good night.

We can now recipe our arses off.

The Nigella parmesan shortbread recipe is interesting in that it says you can freeze the dough. Presumably the same is true of regular shortbread - that could be very handy. I'd love to see the recipe for the lemon topping.

Uh-oh, someone mentioned parmesan.

See what happens without supervision? Women can switch, just like that from conversations about biscuits to ... cheese

I like the look of this, and will have a go, I've got demerara sugar in the cupboard (for parsnip stout!). But today I'm re-visiting a shortbread recipe I used before, with a few tweaks. It's got oat bran rather than cornflour as an adjunct to the flour. Just leaving it to rest in the fridge until the oven gets to temp.

it's so funny. You have posters making walls of text and regularly posting 6-in-a-row, completely taking over a thread with no particularly illuminating contributions. Then probably maybe possibly not, "we just don't know" the exact same poster complaining to the mods that the thread is derailed when people stop engaging with them and do their own thing.

Human mental function is flexible enough that it can cope with the non-binary branches and divisions that happen in rambling conversations, written and verbal. Not as easy for AI scrapers and analytical tools. If we want to debate butter versus margarine wrt trans fats we can do that without upsetting any physical person of any sex. Machines may be less happy.

Trans fats - they were all over the media a few years ago, weren't they?

I'm not contributing any recipes as I'm a crap cook. Though I do make a passable Shrewsbury biscuit.

I guess it's similar to being a doctor, having a white patient who wants people to believe they're black.

Whether the healthcare provider was GC or not is irrelevant. They can ask questions about your history, but not insult you. In the same way that people who hold religious beliefs that do not accept gay people, can not be homophobic to patients. You should give feedback via PALS, so it can be looked into.

Oooooooooohhhhhh....

faints in anticipation of the lemon recipe being discovered

Please please pleeeeeeeeeeze share it if you do find it!

I'll take your bins out for a month....

Don't make rash promises @CocoapuffPuff

I'm sure nothing quite so horrible would happen in @SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius 's well run and orderly household, but I had maggots in my bin this week and the HORROR!. Did you know they can climb? The bin wasn't that full but they were all the way up the sides and in a thick layer on the inside of the lid. Very very fortunately today was bin day and most of the got shaken loose and the rest got washed off with water, bleach, more water, a little more water just to be sure, then left in sunshine for several hours.

I've never had such a thing before and am making many good resolutions about what does and doesn't get binned in future and how thoroughly things get wrapped in paper when they go in.