A Parlour for a Plague

Amazing to read about all this flour and sugar!

It’s funny, I almost never eat anything with either. They’re just not part of my world

Mind you, I watched a show made by an indigenous woman.

She was out bush visiting her family and she and her nana made damper. I was craving for damper hot from the fire so badly! Must be decades since I had it.

<waving>

Feeling fine and silly. Found a floral headbAnd that goes with disposable mask. With giant sunglasses I look like a big bug in the fleurs.

ok what is a damper??

Ha!

I just now saw this too, and looked it up.

It's a soda bread.

Lol! I can picture you amongst the fleurs.

I don’t know what soda bread is.

It’s self raising flour, a bit of salt and water. Kneaded and cooked over an open fire. Sometimes wrapped in foil, sometimes in a pan.

Don’t know if that’s the same as soda bread

Contrary to all the food posting recently, I typically eat very little of both, too. Lots of fresh veggies and protein, though I had/ have a sweet tooth, which I *usually keep under control. Certainly better for the waistline and energy levels! Good bread is a double edged sword, because I like it, but too many days of it is a no go.

You've got ready access to fresh potatoes which is a dream! A few weeks back a relative planted a bag of old sprouted potatoes for a lark, but they all took, so I might get my hands on a few this year too. Potatoes is another one of those things that I don't regularly eat. And corn! One or two feasts of fresh corn every summer for sure.

Re damper and soda bread, I had to look up both. Never had or heard of either one (soda bread niggles something in my memory maybe). Craving food from days gone by is familiar though. The fire, the sense of family or friends and belonging. Hot piping bread to boot? Ambrosia. Now I want damper too.

And now, as another aside, I've never cooked or baked with buttermilk which I see is an ingredient in soda bread. I wonder what I'm missing.

I finally cooked nice fluffy rice instead of the library paste I usually get.

Why the **** didn’t anybody tell me that rice should be washed before cooking.

Maybe my 20 lb. sack of plague emergency rice will get eaten after all.

Oh no you poor bugger.
What finally clued you in?

soda breads have some sugar in em as well. Irish soda bread is almost a dessert cake.

In the US and Canada, campfire baking is done with a cast iron lidded "dudtch oven"pot which is lined with parchment. Its baked NER the fire or just hanging over it and coals are dumped on the lid so its uniformly heated all about. We would , before removing the bred, use a blowpipe to air jet the ashes off the lid and sides.

Last night we had our evening mal all veggies. We picked a nice batch of sugar pod peas from the garden and she made em in a savory chicken broth. I cooked some asparagus (also from aforementioned garden) and we served em cold with a sweet bacon dressing.

Does it say ARROZ on the bag?? Theres your problem, its imported. Get you some LUUSIANA BROWN (not a street name)

Oh for the days before healthy eating weirdos infiltrated the neighborhood and a good bread could be found on every corner...

..or was that a bar?

Always liked Irish soda bread. Maybe too much as I ate the entire thing rather quickly (under 24 hours)

Say what you like about starbucks, they make a great Earl Gray Tea

Oh dear. And the stuff they put on rice to keep the grains separate in the pack isn’t good for you, either.

Now I’m craving brown basmati rice! AND I made a curry chicken and veg last night!

We have had a few sunny days. I might have to water the garden! Especially the new plantings.

My air conditioner, which is also my heating, has stopped working. Luckily if there’s any sun at all in winter the house warms up. Need to try new batteries in the remote before I get someone in.

But it’s coooooold right now!

It’s hot as blazes here.

That’s one good thing about remaining indoors.

Is it early to be so hot? Oh...just remembered NYC in May can be a bit hot. Or not

This is Central Texas baby.

I take it that means it’s normal to be hot already

What are your temperatures like?