Don't Kill Snails with Salt ... Creme Eggs & Toasted Teacakes ... Biscuits & Bench Stories, Life, the Universe, & Everything! Showing 951-1,000 of 9,227

[Martin]

Our current house is a small three bedroom terrace with no garden, just a postage stamp sized brick and concrete back yard. I don't miss having lawn and hedges to tend through the year or flowers and bushes but I do miss not having any birds to watch and listen to. Pigeons, magpies and crows share the street with us humans, such rowdy and noisy neighbours they make too. Very occasionally early mornings I catch a glimpse of a sparrow or three on the roof outside our bedroom window, their optimistic hopping around and happy chirping is a welcome addition to the day.

[suzysunshine7]

Fingers crossed it works!!! ;o>

I think my Mum will probably go to our nearest Hardware or DIY Store for ours - but I will check out some prices for them online first.

[suzysunshine7]

I'm making Chicken, Prawn & Chorizo Paella for Tea tonight ;o>

Martin, does it really matter if you have a Lawn or a Yard? I've known quite a lot of folk that had Bird Feeders set up in their tiny Yards and they seemed to get lots of Birdie visitors.

And maybe using the Hanging Basket idea that I provided a Link to would also work out well where you are? - as it would keep the much larger Birds from taking over and getting to all of the food that you put out to encourage more LBJs to come visit you ;o>

[suzysunshine7]

Just beware of the Bears! ... Hee, Hee, Hee!!! ;o> ...

[[deleted user]]

That's just me replenishing the food for the birds :)

I caused mayhem in our garden yesterday by chucking out a load of grapes that had gone very soft - there were Blackbirds attacking Starlings, Starlings attacking Jackdaws and Sparrows running off with the grapes whilst the others were distracted!

As for our dinner, I seared some chicken thighs then added them to a tin of chopped tomatoes, pureed pineapple (yes, pineapple again - it needed to be used as it was going slightly bitter), carrots, diced potato, sweet potato, celery, onion, chestnut mushrooms and an OXO cube. This was left in the oven on a low heat for about three hours. The chicken just fell apart as soon as you touched it and overall the whole thing was a touch on the sweet side for my liking, so I need to find a way of taking the edge off that sweetness :)

[Lez]

My sister has a paved yard but has lots of baskets and containers as well as a trellis between her and next door. She usually has blackbirds nesting precariously above the back door and spadgers in the roses on the trellis. She has assorted other small birds visiting the 2 baths. She also has the bonus of lots of red kites over the allotments at the back!
Have put 2 photos on my profile.

[suzysunshine7]

I'm all for treating the Birds but - in case you haven't tried this? - a bunch of over-soft and slightly wrinkly Grapes can be easily be beautifully restored to being edible and delicious again by simply giving them a wash and dry and then putting them to set into a freshly-made Jelly ... they plump up again and taste yummy ;o>

[suzysunshine7]

Lez wrote: "My sister has a paved yard but has lots of baskets and containers as well as a trellis between her and next door. She usually has blackbirds nesting precariously above the back door and spadgers in..."

The pictures look fabulous, Lez Lee - I love seeing tiny spaces turned into such special places ;o>

[Lez]

suzysunshine7 wrote: "Lez wrote: "My sister has a paved yard but has lots of baskets and containers as well as a trellis between her and next door. She usually has blackbirds nesting precariously above the back door and..."

Quite hard to get a good angle for photos when there’s not much room. One year she won the silver medal in her local show for container gardens. Our mum was a great gardener but I didn’t inherit the green gene!

[suzysunshine7]

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/foodanddrink...



These statistics have not been updated for 2 years? - I demand a recount! ;o>

[Val]

Looks about right to me but I's move the Bourbons down to 5th place. Can someone tell me the difference between a choc digestive and a choc hobnob?

[suzysunshine7]

Well, it's been quite a while since I had any Biscuits ... but a Choc Digestive is wheaty and a slighter harder Biscuit - and a Hobnob is oaty and a slightly crumblier Biscuit ;o>

I'm rather surprised that there are Bourbon Biscuits over Custard Creams which I would definitely have expected to see in the Top Five.

[Val]

Thanks Suzy - now I know.

I've recently started eating gluten-free Weet-bix (Weetabix to you) and it is pretty much like chewing cardboard!

I consulted Wiki to get the correct spelling and
was surprised to find that we wuz first : "Weetabix is the British version of the original Australian Weet-Bix. Both Weet-Bix and Weetabix were invented by Bennison Osborne, an Australian." But somewhere along the way the companies split up and ours is now made by Sanitarium which is owned by the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Seems a fairly productive venture for a religious organisation!

[Derek]

Val wrote: "Looks about right to me but I's move the Bourbons down to 5th place. Can someone tell me the difference between a choc digestive and a choc hobnob?"

Val, a chocolate digestive is a delicious biscuit, especially a dark chocolate one. A chocolate hobnob is a piece of chipboard with chocolate on and is inedible:-)

[suzysunshine7]

Oooh? - I never knew that Weetabix was originally an Aussie creation. I've always thought of it as just being so typically British somehow.

Lez Lee eats hers dry and with Butter on - and I've never managed to get my Head around that! I got Weetabix and the Butter out once and thought that I'd give it a try? ... but I simply just couldn't bring myself to do it - HA HA HA!!! ;o>

[suzysunshine7]

Derek wrote: "Val wrote: "A chocolate hobnob is a piece of chipboard with chocolate on and is inedible:-)"

I enjoy a Digestive as much as the next person, Derek, but Oat Biscuits are definitely more delicious and so incredibly more'ish too. The only thing that I don't like is things that are too sweet and I do find Hobnobs as a brand to be a bit too sweet for me.

[Helen The Melon]

Val, a chocolate digestive is a delicious biscuit, especially a dark chocolate one. A chocolate hobnob is a piece of chipboard with chocolate on and is inedible:-)

Yes, there's an echo in here. I was just thinking the same as Derek. I have never ever understood the appeal of Hobnobs, naked ones or chocolate ones.

[Craig White]

load e' shight! whaurs the shoartbreid?

[suzysunshine7]

Interesting point, tech - I love Shortbread! ;o>

[suzysunshine7]

(*sigh*) ... I SO want a Biscuit (or three!) right now ;o<

[Lez]

Bahlsen Choco Leibniz (Dark) are the only bikkies I eat now. I allow myself 2 a day.

https://www.ocado.com/webshop/product...

[suzysunshine7]

I wish I had that kind of will power and self control, Lez Lee ;o>

[Helen The Melon]

Lez wrote: "Bahlsen Choco Leibniz (Dark) are the only bikkies I eat now. I allow myself 2 a....."

Mmm, I like those too!

I will probably be sent back to England for saying this..... but.....I don't care much for shortbread. Especially Walkers shortbread fingers.

[suzysunshine7]

I'm holding tech back while you run for the Border, Helen!!! ;o>

[Craig White]

helen,
go
back
to
*ngl*nd

[Helen The Melon]

Tech wrote: "helen,
go
back
to
*ngl*nd"

Boo hoo, you meanie. Thought you were my friend 😢

[Val]

Seems the jury's in favour of (dark) choc digestives so far but I've been distracted by Walker's shortbread fingers, or Paterson's shortbread or the delicious South African variety, named too well

[Craig White]

if it was up to me, helen, you'd be fine, but ye didnae salute the shoartie! the shoartbreid stasi will be with you shoartly!

[Val]

My younger daughter used to live on "truckie's scones" - weet-bix spread with strawberry jam and topped with that horrible fake cream that comes out of a pressurised can.

[suzysunshine7]

I prefer Milk Chocolate - as I think that Dark Chocolate coated Biscuits taste terrible when dunked in, and eaten with, a Mug of Tea. They go so much better with Coffee and I'm far more of a Tea drinker.

[Lez]

I’ve never understood people dunking choccy bikkies. Surely the choc melts immediately and the crunchy biscuit softens, thus negating the usp of each? :-(

[suzysunshine7]

Val wrote: "My younger daughter used to live on "truckie's scones" - weet-bix spread with strawberry jam and topped with that horrible fake cream that comes out of a pressurised can."

Where did she get the idea to put that combination together, Val? ...

[suzysunshine7]

Lez wrote: "I’ve never understood people dunking choccy bikkies. Surely the choc melts immediately and the crunchy biscuit softens, thus negating the usp of each? :-("

That's exactly why, Lez Lee ... a yummy gooey blissful sensation in the mouth ;o>

[Val]

suzysunshine7 wrote: "Where did she get the idea to put that combination together, Val? ...."

There used to be a series of TV ads about different ways to eat Weet-Bix - with Vegemite, or topped with baked beans, etc. The jam and cream one appealed to her right away. The thought of dry Weet-Bix does nothing for me at all.

We also have a strong competitor here called Vita Brits and most families are either a Weet-Bix family or a Vita Brits family. They are rarely mixed.

[Lez]

But hasn’t the choc just melted into the tea?

[Val]

My favourite dunkers, but always with coffee. I'm a great tea drinker but I don't think the taste of anything is improved by dunking it in tea, nor is the tea's flavour improved either.

[suzysunshine7]

Lez wrote: "But hasn’t the choc just melted into the tea?"

That's where the skill of the Dunk comes in, Lez Lee ;o>

It has to be timed just right to prevent it from becoming a melting gooey mess!

[suzysunshine7]

[Derek]

Fig Rolls are the best biscuit, closely followed by Ginger Nuts, the best dunking biscuit.

[suzysunshine7]

Oooh? - Fig Biscuits? - Yummy! ;o>

[Craig White]

fig off! gadz! dunking is also repulsive! floaters, people, floaters! boak!

[suzysunshine7]

Scottish sour Grapes? ;o> ...

"Brit, Simon Berry, Snatches The Bungee Biscuit Dunk Guinness World Record!" ;o>

Suspended from a towering Crane in Berkshire in the UK, the 24-year-old British daredevil dove 240 feet 10 inches (73.41 metres) before successfully dunking a McVitie’s Hobnob into a Mug of Tea ...

[P]

Bikkies are all about personal choice, but certainly don't agree with the supposed top biscuits. Bourbons? Gah!

I love to dunk (sorry Tech), so delighted to see Rich Tea at no 1. However, Malted Milks then should be well up there as well. Nice are nice as well. Guess what is good about bikkies IS the choice, though.

[Martin]

I seem to recall a biscuit theme from some time back on 'Zon I think and lemon puffs were on the menu. Garabaldi, Nice, Fox's do a nice line in crinkle crunch or crunch creams which I quite like, jammy dodgers, cookies (and srawberry milk shake), Simmers Abernethy, the list goes on and on. When it comes to biscuits I'll basically eat what's going.
Weetabix are almost as bad as Shredded Wheat or Malted Shreddies, closely followed by Special K, although I liked the mini weetabix with honey and nuts, which seem to have been discontinued, soaked in milk till they go soggy. Nowadays it's fruit alpen or oats so simple golden syrup with an extra dollop of syrup when I fancy a cereal for breakfast. Biscuits have been replaced with fresh fruit recently, bananas grapes, melon, satsumas, plums. As I don't drink tea or coffee these days dunking is a past pleasure I no longer indulge in.

[suzysunshine7]

Martin wrote: "As I don't drink tea or coffee these days dunking is a past pleasure I no longer indulge in"

So? - how's the two Bottles of Vodka, one Bottle of Bourbon, and half a Barrel of Beer a day working out for you, Martin? ... (*giggles*)

[Martin]

Abso-glugging-lutely perfect Suzy!

[suzysunshine7]

Cheers! - Bottoms Up! ;o>

Ohhh, you are already face first under the Kitchen Table! - LOL!!!

[Martin]

Thank God! I thought it was the ceiling!

[[deleted user]]

Dad used to bring home loads of packets of broken biscuits, unfortunately most of them being Custard Creams or Bourbons - I'm not a fan of these type of biscuits.
As far as favourites go, I can't choose between Shortbread Fingers and Dark Chocolate Hobnobs. Fig Rolls definitely occupy third place.
No biscuit gets dunked in my cuppa - not due to the effect it has on the biscuit, but for what it does to the taste of a cuppa that has sugar (sweetener these days) in it; totally ruins it.

Update on the Jackdaws - they have worked out how to get round the inverted hanging basket over the top of the suet ball feeder.
Initially, they just landed on the basket and tried to reach through the gaps to the feeder, with limited success. Now, they work as a team to get at the suet balls - one of them lands on the bottom edge of the basket, skewing it to one side. This leaves a larger gap to the other side which allows a second Jackdaw to approach from underneath and land directly on the feeder, where it proceeds to hack great lumps out of the suet balls that fall to the remaining Jackdaws waiting on the ground below. Smart buggers :)



Jammie Dodgers!! - how could I forget about Jammie Dodgers?

[suzysunshine7]

Martin wrote: "Thank God! I thought it was the ceiling!"

HA HA HA HA HA!!! ;o>