Are you thick or what?

I was reminded today of an expression that I hadn't used for a long time. One of those expressions that turns the normal meaning of a word upside down and encapsulates perfectly a feeling or concept. One that is full of subtleties. One where the meaning has just seeped into you over the years.

We were talking about two friends who are 'very thick'. And no...we didn't mean that they are a little dim or unintelligent. We meant that they are very good and close friends. Mates who are almost inseparable, have good times together, stick up for one another. It's often difficult for other friends to penetrate that 'thickness'.

I could go on but that's defeating the meaning of the word. When my friend said 'they are very thick', I knew what she meant and no more was said.

One letter to go

What do you think about 'thank you' letters? I was brought up big on thank yous whether in person or on the page. And so now I insist on my children writing them. My children could spell 'thank you' from a very early age! Of course if they see someone and can say thank you face-to-face that's great but otherwise it's letters.

I have a theory that in this day of social media, texts, mobiles and emails that we have less meaningful communication. So many ways to keep in touch and yet sometimes we just forget to talk or say thank you. My Mum in her elderly people's home loves letters and yet she receives so few. We are all so busy it's sometimes nice to slow down and take stock.

I have a vague notion that by making the children write letters they will appreciate their gifts and the thoughts behind them all the more. Goodness knows that they receive enough and so I believe it's a way of slowing down and giving a little back instead of getting, getting, getting. I also think it makes them remember who bought them things. I'm sentimental that way.

There is also a practical aspect when presents are sent through the post that you acknowledge they have arrived!

Of course, there is a danger that they will forever resent writing the damn letters but we do it very slowly after birthdays and Christmas, doing one a day or not so I think it worth the risk. They do moan and rant a little but I'm old fashioned so won't be moved on the subject.

One letter to go!

Mr Kipling sprinkled with icing sugar

When is a biscuit not a biscuit? I have a cook book out of the library about biscuits and in it there is a recipe for Viennese Whirls. These are my very absolute favourites from childhood. I would have them at my Auntie Ivy's and they were delectable, luxurious, wondrous objects which melted in the mouth. Dusted with icing sugar, Mr Kipling was very clever. Is that Mr K sprinkled with sugar or the whirls? But are they biscuits or small cakes? I think they are small cakes, purely on the basis that they are found in the cake aisle at the supermarket.

Confession: actually the whole point of this blog is to show off my homemade Viennese Whirls. Tasteablog really does need to be invented.

Biscuit nostalgia

Did you see Nigel Slater's documentary on the 'Great British Biscuit' over the holidays? I caught up with it last night and oh what a joy. I really didn't realise how much or how many biscuits make up my history. My Mum was a great home baker and I didn't think I had been exposed to the shop-bought biscuit that much. But I was wrong when I think about my own great British biscuits. Garibaldis, digestives, pink wafers, iced gems, rich tea, fig rolls, Pppppenguins, Clubs, Tunnocks, Jacob's cream crackers. The list is endless.

I associate Penguins with starting school. My Mum gave me one every day to take to school. Which colour would I get? Think the green wrappers were my favourite. Then she thought they became too expensive and I was bereft of my Penguin.

I associate Party Rings with..well...parties. The colours were just splendid. It was beyond my experience to see these colours on something you could actually eat.

I associate iced gems with little miracles of colour too and a treat. Lovely tiny little kisses of colour. Do you pop it whole in the mouth or bite the top off?

I associate Clubs with visits to my Auntie Ivy's. And in those days the chocolate was laden so thickly on them that I agree with Nigel Slater: you really could carefully bite off all the chocolate and be left with the biscuit within untouched. You'd find it difficult today.

Pink wafers....well they were pink and had a sweet, almost perfumed smell and taste.

I associate Tunnock bars with walking in my teens. My Mum suddenly started buying them from Morrisons and introduced me. We would have them on picnics.

I associate custard creams with taking them apart and scraping off the cream with my two front teeth.

Garibaldis were the moreish biscuit for me. Have one and you are done for. You have to break off the whole row and start on the next.

Bourbon biscuits were always disappointing. Chocolate biscuits but not quite chocolate somehow. Bit malty? They had a strange almost stale taste that to me didn't go with how they looked. Bourbons would definitely be my last biscuit remaining in the tin.

At tea times in my Mum's elderly people's home, the care staff bring round a biscuit tray of pink wafers, fig rolls, custard creams, digestives and a few others. Pink wafers are definitely the most popular. It's somehow very comforting, civilised and reassuring to see that tray.

I'm off to the supermarket. I may linger in the biscuit aisle.

Rubber band ball update 4

The rubber band ball continues to grow. Got a friend collecting them now and she collected twenty bands on one walk the other day - shocking!

Big boots found in charity shops

I read a newspaper article last week suggesting that charity shops were getting too greedy and charging too much for their goods. I think this was based on charity shops in the heart of London as I have to say it hasn't been my experience on the whole in the north of England.

The first charity shop harvest of my year

I love charity shops. I am a little addicted but I am not prepared to pay silly money for second hand clothes (nor for first hand either for that matter). I guess charity shop managers have to strike a balance between raising as much money as possible and charging a market value for their area for old clothes and bric-a-brac.

Thinking about it I can't actually say with any conviction what I am prepared to pay. Am I willing to pay a quarter of what I think the original price was? I don't know. It's more a feeling in my water as to what I think is reasonable for a label or object. It would take a lot for me to pay over £10 for anything. It would have to be a second hand gem. I go into a charity shop with the anticipation that I just might find a bargain not to break the bank.

Mary Portas did a programme a year or two ago where she transformed a charity shop into a boutique charity shop and by doing so I think lost the plot a little. I don't want to go into a charity shop and smell damp and old clothes but neither do I want to go into one that is emulating a boutique or up-market goods shop. Charity shops are a breed on their own.

I think Oxfam has got it just right. I know some think they are expensive but I think they strike the right balance between raising the maximum money from the stock they have and charging reasonable rates, depending on the label.

I like the décor of the Oxfam shop. I recognise them still as charity shops which are clean but with a certain untidiness to the shelves, especially in the bric-a-brac sections. Their new goods such as cards and gifts are also in designated sections and are of good quality. I think some charity shops that sell their 'own label' products make the mistake of mixing them up with the second hand goods and quite frankly are of such tatty and cheap quality that I have to really examine to ascertain whether they are new or old.

I also don't really want really slick people behind the sales counter. I don't mind (as long as I am not in a rush) some volunteer who gets in a muddle with the till and has to call the manager. It's a bit of an escape from corporate customer care.

Anyway I just hope that the charity shops that I frequent don't get too big for their boots.

I thought that for my own amusement I would keep a record of my charity bargains for 2014. So here goes:

M & S Autograph top £3.99 (Barnardo's)
Boden child's pyjamas £2.99 (Oxfam)
Striped scarf £2.99 (Oxfam)

Something fishy

I rather like cooking. I am not a very instinctive cook. I can't really conjure up cordon bleu fare from just a handful of ingredients and no recipe. I really need some guidance and have come to the conclusion that the recipe books I love most are written by cooks that give me some leeway, that give me just a little wriggle room to improvise and make slight amendments. The writers who start me off and then let me roam the fridge and store cupboard are the best 'in my recipe books'.

One of my family's favourites is a coconut fish soup or chowder to which I can add whatever I like or have in the cupboard or freezer. The idea came from a Rachel Allen recipe which I have run with for quite a few years and to which I occasionally return to to set me back on the straight and narrow if I run too far from the tasty path.

The base is a stock of finely cut onions - actually who can or indeed has the patience to cut onions really finely? The base is a stock of onions whichever way you want to cut them (sometimes I don't even add the onions), garlic, a bit of ginger if you have it, a bit of lemon grass if you have it, a tin of coconut milk, some stock and then add whatever you have. We had it yesterday with prawns, scallops, spring onions, mangetout but you can add a tin of tuna or crabmeat or broccoli or green beans or pak choi. Add some noodles and a splash of fish sauce - actually it's just occurred to me that yesterday I forgot the noodles. Every time it's slightly different but every time fab. Then when it's in your bowl add a splash of sweet chilli sauce if you like. And on the table in less than 20 minutes.