JW said he would like to see my paperweights, and since I can’t post on the blogs, perhaps you could. It might give him a smile. Some of them are Scottish, from Caithness. What you see is about 2/3 of my collection.
I guess you know to click on the photos to enlarge them. They are brilliant!
:-)
Important postscript:
We've made some Pâté Sardinas de la Expat.
The first photo is a bit fuzzy.
(We are always a bit fuzzy when trying a new recipe for the first time). But you can see more if you click on the photo to enlarge.
And below is a photo of the finished sardine pâté, ready for munching whilst blogging. Thanks for the recipe, Expat!
23 comments:
Stunning collection, Expat, and beautifully blogged, CI !
Thanks, CI. Just want to hopefully make JW smile if he's reading the blogs. Thanks, too, Dolores. I love these things. Ive been collecting occasionally for 40 years now.
I've been having great fun clicking from one photo to another and admiring the way in which each paperweight has caught the light.
They remind me of my mother, who had a small collection of crystals and semi-precious stones. She and I spent some happy days together visiting caves and old mines in Arkansas, where we rummaged through piles of colourful stones in a hunt for some to add to her collection.
And just recently Kathy has decorated one of our plain black chandeliers with five strands of crystals. It is amazing how crystal catches the light and creates different colours.
Now I'm thinking that it is high time that I started a collection. But what should I collect? Hmmm...
:-)
Crikey - Kathy is gifted, isn't she.
CI, why not complement your world-renowned Sock collection with multitudinous and debonair sock-Suspenders...
Glad you're enjoying my little collection, CI.
Hmmm, crystals. I like that. Not sure they would work well on ceiling fans though. Could be dangerous.
Sock suspenders, D? Do they still make those? Or would one have to search the vintage clothing shops, I wonder. Actually, the CI we know and love would, in his youth, have porobably been more inclined to collect suspenders of the feminine variety!
Well, I really don't have any material collections. :-(
But I do have lots of tins of sardines. I keep a note of their expiry dates in a notebook that I carry with me on shopping expeditions. And would you believe it? Every now and then, just when I'm feeling really low, I find some sardine cans (usually a whole crate) with an expiry date that is in advance of any in my notebook.
That's when I pounce.
I've perfected a technique (patent pending) of disconnecting nine or ten supermarket trolleys with just one coin. Thus, should I find any crates of sardines stamped with previously unexceeded expiry dates, I am perfectly equipped with all the trolleys I need to bag the lot.
Please do not divulge to third parties. I love and trust you.
:-)
Don't know if they're still on the shelves, Expat, but if they're hard to find they'll be Even More treasured.
Can understand the appeal of sardines, CI - I hope your notebook is in a safe place...
We are very fond of sardines. I make a very simple (and freezable) pate from sardines in olive oil, softened butter, lemon juice and fresh chopped ,all whizzed together in the blender. With crackers and fruit, it makes for a nice light summer lunch...with wine of course.
However, I do restrict my purchasing to four cans at a time...
YUM Expat. Have noted this carefully (I'm a cook that needs notes).
BUT - "fresh chopped " What? Tomatoes, basil, brie, pickled onion...?
Yippee!
I was just now discussing the sardie pate recipe with Kathy, wondering what tthe "fresh chopped" ingredient was - and here you are Dolores!
We think its parsley. (Either that or Jack Daniels).
:-)
Oops! Parsley. But come to think of it, after whizzing the basic ingredients, you could add some texture with chopped celery, say, or spring onion. I'm going to experiment, now. Thanks for the idea!I just wouldn't freeze it with the "texture" added, though.
I make the same pate with kipper fillets (from a tin) instead of sardines. Regular Mrs. Beeton, me.
Here’s the basic recipe. This makes enough to freeze in small containers:
4 3.65 oz. cans of sardines (or kipper fillets) in olive oil
2 oz. butter, softened
I tbs. chopped fresh parley
A little freshly ground black pepper
A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Whizz it all up in a blender. This makes a smooth pate, though you could certainly just mash it all together and mix well for a more “country” texture, I would think.
Thank you loads, chefs of enormous talent! And we have everything to make this delight except the parsley. And the blender. (Still in post-move mess here - blender still in storage & herbs soon to be planted), but we have handy Co-op. Today there were merry youths packing our stuff & collecting for their drama group trip to London.
Their neat stacking was really impressive!
Anyway, Sardine Pate for tea!
Expat,
As you can see from the extra photos, we've just finished following your recipe for the sardine pate! Yummy!
:-)
Gosh! I hope you liked it!!
Now that all this munching of yummy USA delicacies is done, can we get down to the really important stuff?
You ladies mentioned suspenders...
:-)
Has anyone noticed my unique invention in one of the photographs?
:-)
The nose pad for the specs?
Expat, well spotted! You are the best!
You noticed my homemade made-to-measure nosepad! It was created by one of the most celebrated talents of improvisation the world has never seen. (Me).
I made it from the cork of a well-emptied Gran Reserva Rioja par excellance.
:-)
The IOW lays claim to be sunniest place in the UK!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/9188576/Shanklin-on-the-Isle-of-Wight-sunniest-place-in-the-UK.html
:-)
Wow, CI - your pate looks a lot more enticing than our pate! Could it be the way yu whizz your blender, or could it be what lurks within that 'Ultra Dele...' Tube, or simply the Knack?
(What is a Nosepad for specs? Yes I am enormously stupid, but what does it do? Does it stop these deep grooves appearing on one's nose... does it keep one's specs anchored to the desk so they don't fall off and get trodden on...?)
Interesting (if snarling) article on quite sunny Shanklin thankee CI. Beauteous sparkling sun today, water butt full from yesterday - perfect blend!
Imagine glorious constant sun on Canaries?
Tube? Wot tube? Ahh.. I see what you mean Dolores! That's Kathy's tube of 50 factor sun cream! Very handy in this climate, if a bit iffy in the kitchen (can be confused with a tube of tomato puree)...
And you are quite right, the nosepad for specs is an anti-deep-groove device. All my specs are old pairs of Kathy cast-offs, so they all fit very tightly around my relatively larger nose. The nosepad keeps my hooter out of harms way (but does make me look a bit weird).
Yes, weather here is great! We have Kathy's elder daughter, husband and two sons staying with us and I've just driven them up to Adeje town so that they can watch the annual open air Passion Play. Kathy and I are watching it on Canarian TV, so there is a great chance we will see them on TV when the procession starts winding its way up the hill to the town square.
I'm glad you are getting sorted after your house move!
:-)
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