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Thursday 1 February 2018

Indulge Me

The whys and wherefores of why we blog are as varied as we are ourselves.     No one is forced to read a blog and if they don't like what they read, they can just move on.     

Each and every blog I read has something different to offer, I like that.

I regard my own blogging as a leisure activity, time to have fun and indulge myself.    I'm not here to educate, upset, or offend but do remember that if you cannot say anything nice, then it is better not to say anything at all...ok?





Warning:    Self indulgent post about my old recipe books, my blog, my interests.



A Recipe for Jelly
from Hannah Miller's recipe book (1700)

To make Ribbon Jelly you may run one colour after another as fast as they harden, this is proper to Garnish other Jellies...
You may make some Red with Couchaneal, Yellow with Saffron, White with Milk and Green with the Juice of Spinnage, Blew with Syrrop of Violets.


I have no idea why anyone would want to make the next recipe, but here goes.

Snowballs
8 Oranges
2 egg whites
1lb castor or icing sugar


Peel oranges thinly, removing all pith, but taking care not to cut inner skin.   Run in some strong cotton, doubled through centre of each orange.    Put sugar through a fine sieve, whisk egg whites very stiffly, then add sugar and go on whisking for 10 or 15 minutes longer.     Hold oranges by thread and dip them in egg and sugar mixture, turning them about to coat all over.   then fasten them by threads to a thin stick and fix it in a very slow oven to dry the sugar gradually.    The oranges must hang quite free, without touching each other.




I have no idea why anyone would want to eat sparrows.     No mention is made of the number of sparrows required, nor how they should be prepared.   However, as I believe that woodcock is the only bird which doesn't have to be prepared as you would poultry,  small hands would be helpful in preparing these tiny birds. 

I won't revolt you with the details of how woodcock is eaten, though you may, of course, have already eaten them yourself anyway.


To Make a Sparrow Pudding (1806)
Make a pastry, take a lump of butter role in pepper and salt and put it in every sparrow.   Roll out your paste and put in your sparrows; tie it up in a cloth and boil it one hour and a half.   Pour melted butter over it and send it up.    You may make the paste of suet if you like instead of butter.





8 comments:

  1. I also blog just for fun, for the enjoyment of sharing my daily life with others and hoping that some of the things I talk about might of interest to them. I enjoy your blog even if I don't always leave a comment, there is always something interesting to read.
    Margaret P

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    1. Hello Margaret, That is very kind of you, thank you. Please don't ever feel that a comment is necessary, although of course it is lovely to hear from you! I do tend to treat the blog like a pin board, mere snippets and snaps of my life, but that is down to the time factor and family commitments...grandchildren who live just across the garden!

      (The post was directed at someone who persists in being deeply unpleasant, a troll in training.)

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  2. Oh mercy, it has been so long since I have enjoyed reading here! Silly me, I forgot to see if you were back to blogging. Just checked your blog site, from on top of your IG. Finally I did that! So very happy to be reading here again.

    Since you "went away" for summer, I have changed blogs. The link to my present one, will be with this comment.

    I blog for myself. Do not try to sell anything on my blog. Just post words/pictures, which I 'need' to put out into the Universe.

    I have enjoyed your blog before and will again.

    I always leave a comment here. :-)

    Happy seeing you again!!!!

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    Replies
    1. Hello wisps of words, Welcome back. I haven't time right now to visit your new blog, or to try to guess who you are, although I do have one name in mind! Don't worry, I really wasn't fishing for compliments or comments. I was foolishly reacting to an irritant. Lovely to see you again - and now I must dash. Real life awaits!

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  3. I enjoy reading blogs. Just tiny insights into lives. A bit of crafting, philosophy and recipes. What’s not to like? I stopped blogging myself a couple of years ago. I started to dread the obligation when I couldn’t find anything worthwhile to say. Every now and then I feel the urge but it passes. I’m probably just too lazy!
    I wonder if the orange snowballs were a Christmas sweet Meat? Do you have a date for that? A bit like crystallised orange and lemon slices that you get at Christmas.

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    Replies
    1. Hello Catherine, I think you could be right about the orange recipe. The book I took it from is relatively modern (1950/60's) a fundraiser for an Ipswich church to have some repairs. That isn't to say that the recipe is not much older and passed down the line, of course.
      I know what you mean about blogging - sometimes it is a good idea to take a bit of a break, gets us out of a rut and that feeling of obligation.

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  4. Always happy to read your posts!
    Sparrows. Yes, Ibelieve the poor critters are something shooters here will kill. They fry the poor little things with their little legs hanging out. NOT nice.

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    1. Hello Linda, Thank you! Fried sparrows, sounds...horrible. There can hardly be a morsel of meat on the poor little creatures. Still, each to their own, I daresay my mother (a big meat-eater) would have quite happily tucked into a dish of them!

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Lovely to hear from you.
I will try to answer comments in the next post.