Semi-Wordless Wednesday

I was surprised recently to be asked to give a reference for a girl who used to work with me many years ago; I didn't mind in the least of course but it turned out that the person asking for the reference was an old friend of mine; he hadn’t realised it was the same Helen he’d had shots with in Curlers or the same Helen he had sang duets with at Hogmanay in Tennents Bar or the same Helen....let's leave it there.   I gladly sent a reference and it read like this:

Katie McGill killed my dog.   She hid my shoes and sold my clothes.   But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.   She shot my brother, my best friend and my cat.   She burned my flat down.   She even put the H1N1 virus in my tea.   She downloaded offensive material onto my computer that resulted in me being sacked from my job.  I’ve not been able to find employment since.   She put a banana in the exhaust pipe of my car, the subsequent crash leaving me unable to wear high heels ever again.   Just as well really, as I have no shoes.   Ever since then, she’s  kept me locked up in this house, unable to leave and brings me out only to cook dinner for her and her evil friends who tell me my cooking stinks or to write her blowhard blog.   However as far as operation management goes, she’s talented, reliable, professional, timely and great value for money.   I wouldn’t hesitate recommending her for the job.

I signed it with my maiden name and emailed it.

Twenty minutes later I got a phone call and was rather relieved to hear a loud, hearty laugh; apparently the whole office was amused but aghast until the man in charge realised who had sent it.

She got the job.  

 

Shona's very tasty Sticky McGintys

 

For Colin

 

Pancakes in a back to front jumper

 

Uh...where's MY pancakes??

 

Aww.

 

Nooooowwwww!

 

Friday's table roses have opened out

White rose by my fireplace

Happy New Year!

Lang May Yer Lum Reek

The absolutely terrible...but only...picture we took on Hogmanay

We had a very traditional Hogmanay; the day was spent sweeping out the old, i.e. ensuring the house was spotless before the bells...'out with the old, in with the new' and 'start as you mean to go on' the old adages I remember hearing ever since I was but a wee lass.

Steak pie is the meal of choice on this night or the next; we prefer to have it on the 1st as a good start to the year soakin' up the hangover food more like and had a light supper before heading over to our friends Val and Ian's for a party and a late dinner. We brought shortbread as it has became the new year equivalent to 'black bun', the traditional offering...along with whisky or wine of course.

Having settled in really quite comfortably, we reluctantly had to shift ourselves to do a few rounds of houses before settling at another friend's house for the bells and to see in the new year. Every house we went to, kilts were in full flow and it was lovely to see the Englishmen who were visiting also donning the tartan and loving every minute of it.

The host Ken had to go and wait outside just before the bells so that he could 'first foot' ; first footing is the first foot in the house after midnight. To ensure good luck, the first foot should be a tall, dark (and preferably handsome) man. A blonde man meant trouble; in the days of the Vikings, a blond stranger arriving on your doorstep was no good thing! The first foot should bring a lump of coal or shortbread, salt, black bun and whisky or one of these things.

A hearty rendition of Auld Lang Syne was sung and haggis, neeps and tatties were put on for the late night snackers.

The kids were in their element, being allowed to stay up so late but by 12.30 I could see Fraser struggling to stay awake and so we bundled them up to walk home in the freezing weather; the streets were paved with ice and it was treacherous but also quite good fun with people calling out "Happy New Year!" as we passed them.

I had promised the kids anything they wanted for breakfast and when Brian tried to offer them a paltry bowl of cereal this morning, they retaliated; my morning was spent making pancakes with various fillings including chocolate chips, marshmallows, raisins and scooty cream! We always go for a big walk on New Years Day (Ne'er Day) and when our friends called about the trip to Mugdock, we just couldn't bring ourselves to hike in -7 degree weather so for the first time in a long time, we're staying in.

I hope you all have a wonderful new year and I wish you the very best to come.

Pancakes with Chocolate Buttons

Pancakes are a child's dream; they can be made quickly, they cost next to nothing and you can have whatever filling you like...everyone can! I've tried them all: chocolate chips, peanut butter, lemon juice and sugar, jam, bananas, buttermilk...you name it, I've made it. The best of all though, according to my children, is chocolate buttons and Nutella. I couldn't disagree.

Pancake mixes vary and I won't give you my wide variety of mixes as it is basically flour, sugar, milk and eggs of varying amounts, but mostly made up in my head...you can never really go wrong though if you stick to the following:
4oz of every ingredient, i.e.
Basic Pancake Mix
4oz flour
4oz sugar
4oz milk
1 egg
Mix everything together using a whisk. Add more liquid if you prefer. Simply double the amount for double the quantity. One quantity will give you approx. 8 pancakes.
Here are some tips:-
1. Always pour melted butter (1-2 tablespoons)into your batter just before cooking pancakes and stir.
2. When putting butter in the pan before cooking pancakes, heat up and then wipe with a kitchen towel.
3. Leave the pan to heat up for a good minute or two on medium. Always regard your first pancake as a trial so put in less batter for that one. Only turn up heat if really necessary and only a little at a time.
4. Wait a few seconds before adding chocolate buttons and raisins or any other filling.
5. Always cook the flipped side for half the time of the first.

I sometimes make a pile of pancakes by sandwiching them all together with Nutella. This is a request I usually get for birthday breakfasts and is just like a tasty cake.

Crepes are slightly different but just as straightforward; I shall be making them this weekend whilst in St. Abbs with friends so watch this space!

I rounded up a batch of kids today and threw them into the park. They were not all mine but no-one seemed to mind. A few of them managed to stowaway in the car and stayed for tea. The kids are having a really chilled out, great summer so far and sometimes it's the little things, like having friends over to play or sleeping in late ( a HUGE thing to me!) and watching cartoons past bedtime. I'm enjoying it too...so far. But, as the lovely Jo pointed out, it really is time for a pint, for the sake of sanity, so I shall combine my evening walk to coincide with the Burnbrae and accidently stumble upon a double gin and tonic. The kids are going to grandmas. Woohoo.