Monday 11 November 2019

Friends

I have had friends staying which has resulted in a couple of days without posting.   Sorry about that; having friends to stay these days is hard, but I don't want to stop because I enjoy company too much.   And it is good for me to get tired from doing something rather than sitting about.   I made Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Soup - I shalln't bother doing so again.   It said add a 'good dash of Tabasco' and really, if I hadn't done so I think it would have tasted of nothing.   And I did follow the recipe to the letter.   Much more successful was a salad of leaves, toasted walnuts and crumbled cheese with a nice sharp vinegar (cider) dressing.

Today has been memorable for the arrival of my two new Ercol settees - now I shall be super comfortable when watching television in the evenings. 

It is a damp, sharply chilly day here and on my two walks round with Tess I have been very well wrapped up against the cold, damp wind.   We must spare thoughts for all those people in South Yorkshire whose homes are flooded - and Christmas looming.

13 comments:

Gwil W said...

Folks drying out in Yorkshire, two million displaced by floods in India and Bangladesh, and a dozen perished in fires raging in Sydney. Weather is weather, whether we like it or not. I was following the North Pole of the magnetic field a few years ago and it was moving at an unprecedented rate. And I sometimes wondered about that and the rapid climate change. Many factors coming together. Many factors, known and unknown, beyond our control.

Terra said...

People displaced by flooding in Yorkshire and by forest fires in California, and a drought in Zimbabwe causing suffering in people and death by thirst of elephants, heart breaking news. Samaritans Purse is a group that sends people to help worldwide and I support them. I can't fix the world but I can do a little bit.

Anonymous said...

No, let's calm down a little bit, folks.
In UK, we have always had odd extreme weather events. I am old enough to remember the 1953 North Sea storm surge, that caused many deaths. I remember to this day going out as a three year old child in Southend and seeing the flooding.
A lot of the problems in the 2007 West Midlands flooding, and probably now in South Yorkshire are caused by lack of respect for our rivers and their necessary flood plains. In the old days, people knew the lie of the land and you can still see that the older houses and farmsteads in flood plains sit above the flood levels, maybe only by a few feet, but enough.
Planners work on maps, not local knowledge.
That being so, I am still concerned about the retreat of the Polar ice cap.

Salty Pumpkin Studio said...

I am sorry to read the soup didn't go well. This time of year new soup recipies are welcome. I make a red pepper and lentil soup with shredded carrot and red onion sauted in corn oil. Season to taste. Its a nice base for leftover meat.

Bovey Belle said...

What a shame about the soup, but at least you know not to use that recipe again without a major re-write!

I feel very sorry for the people who have been suffering from the floods (or fires, or droughts, depending where they are). Weather is one thing we are at the mercy of.

Heather said...

Floods here and terrible fires in America and Australia. I realise how fortunate I am not to be affected by either.
What a shame the soup was disappointing, especially as you made it for visitors. Sometimes I add one of those little chicken stock pots if mine seems bland. It gives a gentle lift to the flavour.
We started our married life with Ercol furniture. It is so well made. We had dining table, chairs and a dresser, but didn't run to a sofa.

Tom Stephenson said...

I like to think of you cosy and warm, Weave.

Joanne Noragon said...

The cold is settling in here. I can feel it on my skin.

Cro Magnon said...

My soups at the moment contain lots of Orange Pumpkin and Green split Peas. The addition of a lump of smoked Hock or Bacon adds all the flavour it needs. Seeing those flood pictures is awful.

thelma said...

I am not sure what the answer is for the wretched flooding happening in parts of Yorkshire. Homeowners blame the river board, today people are getting cross at Johnson for not making it a major emergency - North versus South. But it must be very miserable for people forced out of their homes. Calamitous weather happenings all over the world, people just have to cope.

Librarian said...

The soup sounded good when you mentioned it in your previous post; I really like sweet potato but it certainly needs good spicing; I guess I would have added ground ginger and nutmeg as well as freshly chopped parsley, or maybe chives.
Anyway, the salad sounds lovely, I often put bits of cheese and nuts on my leafy salads and enjoy an entire bowl for my tea.

Librarian said...

PS: Good news about the settees! Will you show us what your room looks like with them now?

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks everyone for the soup suggestions.
Librarian - I am having trouble with photographs at the moment - I will certainly try but I put photos into my computer and then can't find them - then weeks after I come across them by accident.