Cornflower

A day in the kitchen

     It's only 10.20am but I've already spent time in the kitchen this morning starting tonight's supper. I'm making Annie Bell's "Seven-hour pot-roast lamb" (from the March edition of Waitrose Food Illustrated) and that calls for an early start. The first stage requires a bit of stock-making, so into a large casserole have gone an onion studded with cloves, a couple of bay leaves, some salt and bunches of thyme and flat-leaf parsley. That's all simmering away just now.

    More on this dish later as I move on to the next step - it's 'live' cooking on Cornflower today (!), but I hope to have some books to talk about too.

Anticipation

     Almost two years ago I took a cutting from a pelargonium which I think was "Lord Bute".

It has done well in my kitchen window and is now about to flower for the first time.

I await these deep purple blooms with great anticipation!

Cherry ripe

     My modest purchase at K1 Yarns this morning was: a skein of Fyberspates 'Scrumptious DK' in Cherry.

This is 55% Bluefaced Leicester Wool and 45% Silk, so both the sheen and the softness are wonderful.

I've got 220m here and fancied some more Cranford Mitts, but there will be a reasonable yardage left over - enough for a shortish scarf perhaps. Any pattern ideas would be most welcome.

Yarn by the bucketful

     A visit to a local yarn shop today! K1 Yarns opened their Edinburgh branch recently and it's home to many lovely things.

Temptation lay in every corner,

as you can see here.

I did buy a little something which I'll show you later on.

Prize book

     For anyone who wanted to know what the prize in our recent book draw was, you can see it among the flowers and birthday celebrations over on Kelly's blog!

Friday flowers and more

     It's a dreich morning here in grey old Edinburgh, so I'm adding a bit of brightness with a few good things. These off-white lilies with their subtle scent have already been flowering for a fortnight and show no signs of giving up yet.

     On my desk to be picked up as often as possible today is a novel by this good friend.  I'm deep in the world of ballet with Hester's Story, the only one of Adele's adult novels I hadn't read, and as she's just a natural storyteller you can't help but keep on turning the pages - definitely a book to curl up with!

     Of course there has to be a little sustenance too, and this morning it's the last of the current batch of these wonderful things. This time I toasted the oats before adding them, which I think makes them even better.   

Hospital food

     Out to lunch today at this recently-opened cafe. Peter's Yard has been built on the site of Edinburgh's old Royal Infirmary, parts of which remain (see below) and are being redeveloped as offices and apartments.

     The food we had was a far cry from what would have been served in the great complex of hospital buildings, for instance, wouldn't my open sandwich of crayfish, egg and chilli mayonnaise have perked up a patient?

Or this one - two cheeses with fig and apple chutney.

To tempt the appetite, how about this lovely parsnip and orange cake?

     The hospital has moved to a new site on the edge of the city, while its old premises are becoming home to a very different community.

What would the old tea ladies, doing their ward rounds with an urn on a trolley,

make of the range of specialist teas and coffees available here, I wonder?

I'll be paying a return visit to Peter's Yard soon and feel it my duty to try out some more of their excellent baking just to report back to Cornflower readers - after all, cake is practically a health food!

Back to Cranford

     My first pair of Cranford Mitts was such a pleasure to make that I'm repeating the process, and reversing the colours, of course.

You'll find the details of the yarn and the pattern here.

(I still haven't read the book....)

Hands across the sea

 

     Book 1 of the "reading Daphne backwards" project has been a lot better than I feared it might be. Mixed reviews of Rule Britannia led me to wonder if it would spoil my discovery of Daphne du Maurier's books, but despite its many flaws, I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next one.

    First published in 1972 when Daphne was in her mid-sixties, the book envisages a Britain which has formed an "alliance" with the United States. A new combined country, USUK, comes into being overnight and American forces arrive in Cornwall. Whether this is union, annexation or occupation is not quite clear as the residents of a small village struggle to adjust to road-blocks, security passes and even rationing, and in these desperate times, a new moral code obtains.

     The unsettling events are seen through the eyes of an unusual household: Mad, nearly eighty, actress of great fame, now eccentric and imperious grande dame of the village, her granddaughter Emma, the voice of reason, and Mad's six adopted sons, boys ranging in age from three to nearly adult.

     The book looks at nationalism, fanaticism, cultural identity and the contrast between the old and the young, but it also has a strong sense of place - as you might expect - and despite the attempts at satire, the poking fun, the implausible plot and what occasionally felt like slapdash writing, I liked it.

    Coming up next will be The House on the Strand, said to be one of Daphne's best books, but that may have to wait for a week or two.

Can you help?

     Susan, in her comment on last week's soda bread post, asks if I have a good recipe for Barm Brack. The answer is, unfortunately, no, but a quick search on the web has provided this version (on a site relating to Jane Austen !), while this one looks good, though it doesn't use tea to soak the dried fruit, and then there's this from an Irish blog.

     But can Cornflower readers come up with something even better? If you can provide a tried and tested recipe - or a link or reference to one - please let us know, then I'll have a go at making it too and post the results.

    (By the way, Susan, I tried to reply to your comment directly by email but my response was bounced back).

Lime and coconut cake

     How often does a main course inspire something sweet? We had this excellent dish the other night, and I thought I'd use two of its main flavours in a cake.

             

There was a lime and a half left over from the fish dish so I balanced their juice and zest with one and a half sachets of creamed coconut (about 75g. in total).

 

I folded the zest into the sponge mixture, and crumbled in the coconut for added texture,

            

then baked the cake until golden before piercing it with a skewer and drenching it with the lime juice syrup.

Volume 6

     Having so far visited North America and Great Britain through the pages of our Book Group books, we're off to Australia with our next title. Patrick White's epic novel Voss, first published in 1957, is the story of a journey across that vast country and of the relationship which develops between the eponymous explorer and a young woman, Laura Trevelyan, niece of the expedition's patron. Penelope Mortimer wrote of it "In size, intention and achievement, Voss is the work of a man for whom Tolstoy is the only fitting rival". It's a mark of his stature that Patrick White won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1973.

    I've borrowed my father's copy (pictured here), but the book is in print and according to the checks I've made should be easily available no matter where you live, (even libraries ought to have it, DP!!). I've heard great things of "Voss" so I hope we'll get a good turnout for our discussion about it which will begin on Saturday, 17th. May. Who's willing to give this one a go? Please join us.

Books to talk about

     An article by A.N. Wilson in today's Telegraph links neatly with our comments on "Speaking of Love" (see below). "Part of the pleasure of reading is being able to discuss it...", Wilson says, making the point that that's not always possible with family or friends so a book group is the ideal place to talk about what we've read. This is of particular relevance to "Speaking of Love" as it was shortlisted for the World Book Day Books to Talk About Award, and quite rightly so as there is just so much in that novel to talk about. We were even more fortunate than most readers in that we had the author here to be quizzed on her book which just added to the experience - and my special thanks to Angela for such full responses to all the points raised.

    I began to think about how we read following Elaine's most interesting post over at Random Jottings : do we read analytically or impressionistically, and what, if anything, do we miss by either method? I'd sum up my instinctive approach as, initially, an impressionistic one which then moves into the analytical. For instance, I have an A5 page of notes on "Speaking of Love" which includes a few quotations but is mostly just brief reminders of what has struck me about the book as I've read it. But then comes the thinking part, and knowing that I have to write an introduction to our discussion - or as is often the case - a succinct review, I analyse and 'criticise' and work up to a comprehensive way of presenting a book.

     Reading "casually", i.e. for our own pleasure with no prospect of discussing the book subsequently, may (and I stress the "may") result in a less deep appreciation of it - I'd say that can be true for me. Knowing I'm going to be writing or talking about a book really makes me think about it in a much more profound way, and I'm delighted that the Cornflower Book Group is there to facilitate that for whoever cares to take part.

    So, do you feel you get more from a book when you talk about it? Are you an "impressionist" or an "analyst" in your reading? Does it not matter? Whatever the answers, come back later today to find out what our next Book Group title is to be!

Speaking of Love

 

     Angela Young's Speaking of Love: A Novel is our latest Book Group book, and an excellent one. Angela was brave in tackling a difficult subject - schizophrenia - for this her first novel, but her approach to it is ingenious and the result uplifting and refreshingly positive.

     Set over four days in July 1996, the book covers a far longer period by the clever use of flashbacks and memory sequences. We meet Iris, now recovering from mental illness, her estranged daughter Vivie and their close friend  Matthew, and it is their multiple voices which recount a family breakdown and the consequences of wearing hearts far from sleeves.

     The mosaic-like pattern of the story has been put together with great skill and it works beautifully, I think. Emotionally, the feel of the book is very exposed and 'aware', like ungloved hands on a bitter day, and as Iris's illness takes hold and affects all around her, the reader feels - in sympathy with the other characters - as if they are walking on shifting shingle: what is real, what is sound, what can be relied upon?

    As counterpoint to the delusional, hallucinatory episodes Iris suffers, self-contained stories and dreams have been woven into the narrative, while the theme of the explanatory and redemptive power of the told tale is used throughout, culminating in Iris's own storytelling performance. For those who have yet to read the book I shan't reveal the ending, suffice to say I found it perfect.

   Angela will be delighted to answer any questions about her book or respond to points raised, so please all have your say on "Speaking of Love" in the comments here.

Doing the dishes

    My tale of dishwasher woe the other day led me to think a bit about doing the washing up. I agree with Barbara M's comment about the shared stories and confidences which can develop over a basin of dishes as one person washes and another dries, as Mr. C. and I had said the very same thing as we stood companionably at the sink doing that chore. And my thanks to Barbara D for her comment re. the ukwhitegoods website (see here).

     Even with a machine to do the bulk of the work there is always handwashing to be done, and whether you're doing a little or a lot, method comes into it. My mother taught me to use a plastic basin in the sink, and most importantly, to rinse as you go - when something has been washed it is immediately run under very hot water to rinse it of suds before being put in the drying rack. Crucially, the first time Mr. C. came to my house for dinner he helped with the dishes and revealed he is a natural rinser - I decided he was worth keeping.

     Kay Smallshaw, writing in 1949, says in How to Run Your Home Without Help "...with the coming of the liquid soap substitute one can luxuriate in nice sudsy water. Providing the latter is hot, and you are armed with a good mop, dish-cloth, bottle brush, saucepan brush, and fine steel wool for obstinate cases, you can sail right ahead." Having given precise dishwashing instructions she then goes on to say: "Bedmaking, breakfast dishes and tidying the kitchen; dusting and sweeping the sitting-rooms, bedrooms, stairs, passage and porch; riddling the boiler and cleaning out the fire; putting to rights the lavatory and bathroom - there in greater or less detail, is the inescapable morning routine. It may take anything from an hour in a small flat, to two or more in a house." N.B. the cleaning proper comes later. Have you done yours yet?