It's the worst day of the year, but it might've been worserer

The boys say they were fed half an hour late*. The clocks say they were fed half an hour early.

They hates clockses, they does, precious. Also they undervalue me.


*They were quite vocal on the subject. For half an hour.

Review!

saare_snowqueen has insightful things to say about Being Small, if you'd like to click through and read them.

False quantities

This, people, this is why the US preference for measuring ingredients by volume irritates me so.

I am baking a pumpkin gingerbread cake. I have a recipe and everything; it gives measurements by cup and spoonful, as is trad hereabouts, and by gram for the weighty.

It wants one and a half cupsful of roasted pumpkin, or 680 grams.

I roasted a pumpkin. I have about three cupsful of pulp from that - and it weighs 500 grams.

I will be using one pumpkin's-worth of pulp, and be damned to the recipe. But I can never know whether I'm using twice as much as was called for, or only three quarters as much. Grrr...

Residual cottaging

Jeremy and Dawn are coming to dinner. So far today, I have shopped - twice - and boiled white beans with sage and garlic (for a curious crispy-bean snack thingy; we'll see; I remain agnostic, but if it's good, it could be very good); emptied, filled and run the dishwasher - twice - and baked a pumpkin gingerbread cake (well, it's still in the oven, but I am in hopes of a success); boiled rice and spread it out to dry for later frying. I have yet to consider what I'm doing for a main course, though it will involve lamb shoulder and turnips.

Meanwhile, for your leftover cottage pie needs (everyone has 'em): yes, of course you can just reheat it and eat it, and yum yum. But have you considered:

(a) the cottage hash cakes, which you could top with eggs if you desired?



or (b) the cottage knish, which is quite a lot like a Cornish pasty only, y'know, nicer?



You're welcome. (And my contributions to human civilisation are assured.)