Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all)’s Comments (group member since Sep 20, 2013)

Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all)’s comments from the Net Work Book Club group.

One of my own invention: "You appear to be labouring under the erroneous impression that I care."

I'll tell you what annoys the tar out of me. More and more on certain comment spaces on websites (GoComics springs to mind, but not just there) I observe certain confrontational, obnoxious commenters who go out of their way to belittle others. Then when someone calls them on it, they say "Oh well you see I've got Aspergers" as if that somehow excuses it. Besides which, of course, it may or may not be true; online we only know about them what they choose to say. And the more I see this defense, the less inclined I am to believe it.

Not that I don't accept that some people have Aspergers, but it looks like being the fashionable excuse for trolling.

Have a nice holiday. Wish we could go too, though The Mrs might have something to say about that!! LOL

Stinky old DH didn't like the latest scones. Sod it. I'm done with baking till the weather cools down.

I am increasingly wary of cosy mysteries. These days it seems to mean "find a catchy phrase to use as a title and then spin a weak tale around the phrase."

I made those cream-flour-sodapop scones this afternoon. Man they are good, especially fresh out of the oven! My technique is lacking, even for the "slap and whack" scones. I made em too vulgar big, and I should have used two baking sheets instead of crowding em all on one. They basically made a big ol heap. I added a cup of dessicated coconut. Yumbles!

Oh, now THAT himself will love!!
I see on YT that the NZ contingent don't bother with cutting pretty rounds or wedges. They just slap the dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper, roll it into a rectangle and whack it into squares. In the words of Annabell White, "Life's too short, darl. If your friend complains, hey you gave her a bigger scone, just say Take another, dear!"

Groovy wrote: "Scone recipe #2, Orinoco:

BROWN SUGAR-PECAN SCONES

2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/3 Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup chilled butter cut in 1/2 inch cubes
1 Cup whippin..."

Groovy, a little tip I learned: Freeze your butter and then grate it into the flour. Give it a stir and you're ready to add your liquid. Saves time and effort and you don't warm up the mixture by handling it with your fingers.

MMmmmmm! Scones!

I wasn't brought up on Marmite but as I say, I love miso and soysauce and stuff like that (love love love umeboshi!) I've always preferred salty and sour to sweet. As a kid I used to buy dried umeboshi in the Asian shop and suck on them...only this year did I learn they're meant to be rehydrated!

I'll have to wait until it cools down to make scones with fruit in them, in our heat they just spoil unless they get eaten right away.

Mr Books, I'monna ask a delicate question: how do you feel about Marmite? It's a food that divides families. I got a jar last week and finally opened it. What a treat, just a tiny bit on buttered toast. But then I like miso and soysauce.

Groovy wrote: "I have a collection of scone recipes. I'm definitely going to try this. I think 1 can of soda is about 16oz, and that measures out to 2 cups. So, that would be 2 cups of whipping cream. Thanks for ..."

Oooh, email your best fail-safe scone recipe out of your collection please miss!

330 ml is 11 oz, according to Google, so that's what? a cup and a half in measuring cups.

We were discussing what to have for supper since it's so hot. I said in English, "Maybe I'll just make a nice salad."
He stared at me in amazement: "What's a mechanised salad?"

Laugh? Oh how I needed that!

I gotta share this recipe even though I haven't tried it yet. I've been learning to make scones, and this is all the rage in Australia. Just 3 ingredients, though you could add dried fruit like craisins or dates if you like. Don't use fresh fruit unless you know they're going to be eaten in one sitting, like for a potluck or a party.

3 ingredient Scones
1 can of Sprite or similar lemon-lime soda
The same amount (don't know what it is in American, here it's 330 ml) thick cream (whipping cream)
4 cups self-raising flour

Chill your soda and cream well; you can even chill the flour in the freezer if you have room. The cold ingredients in a hot oven make them rise better.
Preheat your oven to 400ºF, if you have a fan oven use that setting.

Sift your flour into a large bowl, pour in the cream and soda, and mix **with a spoon or table knife, not your hands!** You don't want to touch the mixture much because you'll warm it up. When the dough comes together, turn it out onto a floured surface and just barely give it a couple of turns on the surface, don't "knead" it.
Flatten it out to about 2 inches thick and cut with a floured glass or scone cutter. Place the scones on a greased baking sheet so they are just touching and bake for 15 min.

Serve with butter, jam, whipped cream, cream cheese and/or fresh fruit.
You can see several recipes on Youtube, they call them "lemonade scones" because to them, what we call Sprite or 7Up is "fizzy lemonade." And yes, you can measure out of a big bottle if you usually have it in the house.

Aw shucks, twern't nothin...;)

A GR friend caught me using the word "elucubrations" in a review of an essay I dislike. It means cogitations, navel-gazing, deep thought, etc. Not a word I would use in English when speaking, though it exists in Spanish and is used orally, though usually not in a complimentary way. People who talk about "elucubrations" are usually referring to pseudophilosophical gunge like the essay I was slating.

No, my dad was born there, and transferred his life to Iowa. I think about the house he built...with the breezeway over the stairs down to the basement...it's true what they say about the cobbler's kids. All his life he worked in plumbing etc with construction and did beautiful work, for other people. Our house was put together out of bits. None of the windows fit properly, etc. No wonder our neighbours avoided us, we were not in the right area of town for all that.

Groovy wrote: "You indeed have not lost it, Ori--LOL! That's a good one!"

My father might have said, "I could wash those windows, did I have the time," but he certainly never would have found the time!

He was one of those Arkansas crackers who was always bringing home bits of broken machinery he wasgunna fix for us to use, and never did. We had a milkshake maker and Coke dispenser (the kind for glasses) in the basement for years and years. Only thing missing was a broken washing machine on the front porch!!

And BTW, Groovy, thanks for responding. I am in another group with a chat board and when I make a comment it goes ignored, though the other users trip over themselves to respond to each other. But then, I'm always on the edge of a gathering, too. Except here. :-*

Simple minds, simple pleasures--I'm like that, myself. Give me some icecream, or a good book, and I'm happy for hours.

Yup, depression is well-called "the black dog." And that dog, she is a female!

"I might could wash them winders, if'n I had the time!"
:P

I lauged at myself because it's been a good 40 years since I said I "did ought" to do something.