A new 'tougher' thread... and so it continues

manchestermargo

Mardartha

I think I have just pressed the report icon by mistake!! Apologies. Do I need to do anything to rectify this.

margo

fuddle

I don't think so manchestermargo. Nothing will happen to Mardatha, if a report was submitted whoever looks at it will realise it was a mistake. Don't worry

bonnie_bumpkins

manchestermargo I've done that too by mistake and I never heard anything about it so as fuddle says don't worry

I've found a current link for a sample of the miracle skin perfecter BB cream we were talking about a couple of days ago: have a little look here Hope this is of use to someone.

SDG I'm so sorry to hear of your terrible experience :eek: do take care as things settle down :A

GreyQueen I'm glad you and your sofa are so happy in your new partnership :smileyhea may I wish you many contented comfy years together

Hope everyone enjoys the sunny weather at the weekend!

lizzyb1812

Fuddle - a new plug will see your iron right as rain in no time. The moulded plugs are used now for safety and the cord wrapping the same so the iron doesn't accidentally brush the plastic underneath and melt it but is just a basic plug otherwise.

Have to walk pup very early and late now - he's black with long fur and a walking heat magnet. Comes home sounding like a steam train but nothing wrong with him, just lots of panting to cool down.

The watering can is calling - already fried my leek seedlings so I need to take better care of everything else.

fuddle

He's brought a work appliance plug in which will cover the cord like the old one so I am so thrilled it'll be fixed as good as new. Still, now I know I don't have to buy a new one... he can take his time fixing it

Softstuff

I was just going to post about that Fuddle, glad you've sorted it now.

Powdered milk is always better (even for baking) if you make it up in advance and refrigerate it, it's much more like real milk then IMO. There's a lot of indian sweets that use it straight powdered though if anyone fancies experimenting.

My husband has been raving about my experimentation in Japanese cooking. I made these for him the other day and he's still talking about them, even though the astute among you will notice they're pretty similar to non-Japanese cooking!

Korokke (croquettes)

3 medium potatoes, peeled and boiled
A small handful of mince browned and cooled, no oil
Panko - Japanese breadcrumbs (has to be these, this is the key to it tasting really great)
1 egg
a handful of self raising flour
soybean oil or other oil for frying which is tasteless (check the cheapest it's usually good)

Drain your potatoes whilst hot, allow them to cool in the sieve and dry out a bit. Drain the mince of all juice and pop this in a bowl with the potatoes. Crush the potato mince mix (I used the bottom of a ladle). Using your hands form small inch and a half balls and flatten them somewhat. You have to work the mix a bit in your hands to get it to come together, it should be very dry. Pop the discs in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Coat the discs in flour, then egg, then panko, pop back in the fridge until you're ready to fry them.

Now at this stage ideally you'd deep fry them. I couldn't, so I shallow fried them which was hard! You deep fry them until they're a pale cream, take them out and let the oil heat back up, then fry them again until a rich golden brown.

These are good hot (I served them for him with rice and a pumpkin dish), but apparently the Japanese like to have them cold the next day in a sandwich with shredded cabbage and Japanese Mayo.

I reckon they'd be fine with any mince at all, traditional recipes include satueed onion in the mix (I don't use onion now). The only stipulation is to use Japanese breadcrumbs (should be available in Asian foodstores, they are in supermarkets here) as these make them much lighter and crunchier than standard breadcrumbs.

Cheap too. Enjoy!

I have other Japanese recipes I've been trying and adapting, so let me know if you want some (I realise the ingredients in some are not easy to come by).

SDG31000

Good morning all

Sorry for not adding more thanks for each person in this post, but I'm trying to get to grips with the new ipad. DH decided to go shopping yesterday and it was brought as a partial replacement for my old laptop. It works out cheaper by miles to buy the iPad for the touch screen and a cheap laptop than it is to buy a new touch screen laptop.
Things are getting back to normal here slowly. Lots of the replacement things have arrived which helps a lot. I still need to make calls for the lesser bits of plastic like my clubcard, but I'm getting there.
Emotionally I'm still a bit wobbly and want to burst into tears at random times. Everyone else is fine thank goodness.
I need to go through the freezers today as they are crammed full of stuff and I need to use some of it up rather than adding to Mr T's profits. I seem to be taking one thing out, cooking it and then putting back a bigger pot of stuff than I took out to start with. It's rather confusing to be honest lol.
Ok DH has surfaced so I had better go and get dressed and start my day.

Take care everyone xxx

jpscloud

Sorry to hear about the burglary SDG, hope you can forget about it soon. My thoughts to all who are suffering one way or another, too.

Well, times may be harder than ever around Cloudy Acres but it's the most perfect day I can remember in about 10 years, I've had a leisurely morning so far and intend to do equally leisurely gardening all day.

The best things in life truly are free - I shall be enjoying them in full today, including popping in here to have a little break every so often.

smileyt_2

Aw SDG I hope you get over the shock soon. For most of us our homes are our safe space so to have it violated will be a terrible shock even if no-one suffered any direct violence.

Well, I had another park incident yesterday. Sigh. I was walking down a shady path through the trees with my dogs when I noticed a young guy loitering. My instincts twanged as he was trying to catch my eye. Anyway, I ignored him and walked past. I had gone a little further down the path when I heard a shout, so naturally I turned round. There he was, trousers down ..... I just turned my back on him and ambled on at my previous pace as I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of any reaction. As soon as I was out of sight I phoned the police, and to give them their due, they did come pretty quickly. I wasn't scared but other women might have been. If I'd not had the dogs with me I might have felt a bit intimidated.

And yes, I have had all the jokes about cocktail sausages and worms ....

However, I realise I have segued gracelessly into middle-age when I caught myself saying to the emergency operator, " A young man has just exposed himself to me." (Imagine offended tone, not unlike Hyacinth Bucket!). I am now officially no longer part of the younger generation!

Anyway, I went back there this morning with the aim of getting a photograph (of his FACE!) to give to the police, but he wasn't there. I shall be looking out for him and will not hesitate to lash out with a large stick .... that should put an end to his flashing.

What amazes me is the number of people who said, "Ooh you lucky girl," as if it was normal for a woman to want to see a man's genitals waggling in front of her uninvited. Erm, I THINK NOT!!

Oh well. It's a lovely, sunny day here and I am finally going to lick the yarden into shape. I hope everyone else is enjoying the sunshine and topping up their vitamin D supply! xx

GreyQueen

Morning all. It's another glorious day and I feel like I've been smiling for days. Truly amazing what a mood-enhancer warm and sunny weather can be.

I'm easing gently into the day as I was out on the razz last night and have a teeny bit of a hangover. Nothing grevious and I was in my bed by 11 pm, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself catching up with pals.

One thing which did astonish me was the empty space in this large city centre bar where we usually meet up. Every time I've been there before straight after work on a Friday it's been absolutely HEAVING. I'm talking people three-deep at the bar, nowhere to sit and standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Last night? My twenty-strong party and the barmen were the only ones in there. I asked a barman and he said it's been like that for a while, lunchtimes have picked up a bit this week because of the weather. Not good, not good at all.

SDG hope you are continuing to rally after the burglary. Please be gentle with yourselves and don't feel bad about being distressed for a while.

Bobbykins doesn't it make you want to spit, how leniently criminals are treated? My parents lost a neighbour of 30+ years' standing after she was burgled - she couldn't stand to be in the house. The Plod told her they recognised the m.o. (unusual to say the least) and that if she stood at her window she'd be able to see the burglar's own house. They were subsequently convicted and sentenced for other burglaries, and went to prison. Mum and Dad felt terrible as they'd heard nothing. Neighbour was away on holiday and they came into the back garden and levered out the glass from the double-glazing and climbed in that way. She couldn't settle in her own home after that and eventually sold up and moved across town.:(

Well, I suppose I ought to do something towards getting washed and dressed, maybe a bit of h*usw*rk and look to head to the lottie after luncheon.

But I'll have to have another cuppa and browse around some of my fave web places first. Enjoy the sun, peeps.

ETA smileyt you and that park, eh?! One of my lottie neighbours who is a lady in her late sixties had a bloke expose himself to her from the footpath and she just drawled; "I'd put that away if I were you, it isn't very impressive." He zipped and fled, utterly crushed. She was scornful that he'd think someone of her age, a married woman and an ex-nurse, would have forty-fits at the mere sight of the appendage. Joking aside, it is often the start of a career of more serious sex crimes, so should always be reported.

ETA 2.0 There'a a bloke outside yelling at another bloke calling him an effing d-head and that he's going to tell all his neighbours that he's a dogger. Gosh. Worryingly, I do know what a dogger is, becuase I read about it in The Observer one time. If only they'd come into my field of vision so I could see which neighbour is the accused..........it's life, Jim, but not as we know it.