Kell

Much respect to Mr Obama - if he continues like this he could go down in history as the most compassionate, forward-thinking President the USA has ever had - hurrah for him! *cue much applause from Kell!) I was shocked to read this - he was the same age as me! It terrifies me to think he just died for no apparent reason! I've never been a Boyzone fan, but this is tragic and I feel for his family, friends and fans.

Definitely Something Rotten. And if you haven't read the previous 3 books in the series, I'd recommend getting hold of those too - et voila, there's your 4 new books sorted - LOL!

Let me know how they turn out! I would LOVE the recipes to those to try. How about posting them here in the thread (I'm about to post the recipe I used for the cheese scones myself) then we can ALL try them out?! Again, let me know how they turn out - I'd love to hear that someone else enjoyed them! Ooh, please do post the recipe! I've only really used packet mixes too (with varied results) so we can bolster each other in our from-scratch bakery attempts! Me too! Anyway, without firther ado, here's the recipe for the cheese scones I made yesterday: Cheesy Cheese Scones Ingredients (makes 6 scones): 225g / 8oz self raising flour Pinch of salt 55g / 2 oz butter 55g / 2oz finely grated strong cheddar 150ml / 5fl oz milk Directions: 1. Preheat oven (or in my case, combi-oven) to 220C / 425F / GM 7 2. Lightly grease baking sheet 3. Mix together flour and salt, then rub in butter 4. Add the cheese and then gradually stir in milk with a metal knife (I used my Grom

Well, I actually used all my flour making my little batch of half a dozen cheese scones, so I'll be getting some more next week when we go grocery shopping again because I am DEFINITELY making them again! I have now resolved to try baking something every weekend to see how I get on...

Wicci - I'd LOVE to have that recipe, thank you! And the verdict on the cheese scones is... SCRUMPTIOUS! I just had to share half of mine with Xander who wanted quite a bit of it himself! Even Dale pronounced it yummy. I am SO proud of myself - hurrah! Am now looking forward to trying my hand at baking other things too.

Well, I personally wouldn't becaue I'm useless at baking - usually! We have a "What's for dinner?" thread, but I thought I'd open a baking thread as I'm currently making my first ever attempt at baking cheese scones. I used to "help" my Grom bake when I was a kid - I had cold hands so I used to help make the pastry (my hands are considerably warmer these days though!), but since I grew up, I've never been much cop at baking anything (and my pastry tastes like cardboard - LOL!). So I concentrated on things I knew I COULD cook - soups, stews, chillis, Sunday roasts, curries etc. However, I've recently started trying to turn myself into a Domestic Goddess and that includes baking, so today is my first experiment in that direction. I shall let you know the verdict when they're out and cooled...

Not at all - I actually typed up my answer to this and the other questions a couple of weeks ago when I finished reading the book. I'm really enjoying getting other perspectives on this - it's very interesting.

I think it could be taken in one of two ways

Time for another question from the back of the book: The relationship between Hanna and Michael begins with an act of kindness on her part but we later learn of her involvement in the concentration camps. Does Hanna engage your sympathy at any point after you found out she was a guard?

HAve a look in our Reading Circle Fast Finder - a list of all the books we've read in the Reading Circle here at BCF.Cclick on any of the titles and you will be taken straight to that discussion thread which begins with a synopsis of the book in question. Hopefully you should be able to find something there that fits the bill and has plenty of discussion points.

I'm making a turkey curry - it's already in the crock pot so it'll be ready for dinner time. Going to have it with saffron and almond rice.

As ths one is already being answered, I'll post my own answer to this question just now.

Time for the next question from the back of the book (although I think this has been partially, if not fully, answered already by some folks!): How would you describe the tone and style of Bernhard Schlink

I use the little Post-it sticky flags - they're smaller than post it notes and generally stay sticky for longer than Post-it notes so if I read quite quickly, I can use a single flag for several books. Ther added bonus is that you can stick them to the page exactly where you left off so you never have to re-read till you find your spot.

Made meatballs in gravy with veg for dinner tonight - followed by traitional rice pudding. Yummy!

We always called this Mish-Mash cooking. One of my favourites is pasta with smoked sausage and pepperoni, in with whatever veg I have (usually mushrooms, peppers, courgettes and onions) lightly sauteed and then either pour over tomato sauce or stir in some Philadelphia (the basil one or the garlic and herb one are particularly lovely). I also dreamt up a recipe of one of my favourite soups this way - I used a tomato base, threw in whatever herbs and spices I fancy (usually basil, oregano and a little touch of chili), add some sauteed onions, a can of chickpeas (drained) and some diced chorizo. Mmmm - delicious! I often clear out the veg in my fridge making vegetable chilli in my crockpot. I just chuck in whatever veg I have with some kidney beans and a tomato sauce with loads of chilli power and Robert's your mother's brother. Leave it simmering in the crockpot for several hours on medium-high and the flat smells delicious. I do the same with curry - leftover meat from the Sunday roast (chicken, turkey, beef, whatever) with loads of veg and a curry sauce. Whack it in the crock pot and away you go. Today I made pumpkin soup to a recipe I discovered by accident - an entire pumpkin, roasted and scooped out into a pan, a leek (finely sliced) some stock (veg, chicken, whatever), nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, salt, pepper and a touch of chilli powder, and then the secret ingredient - a generous dollop of smooth peanut butter to add richness and bite. Simmer then whizz with a hand blender till smooth. I made a HUGE pan of this today and my flat smelled divine. I even froze some for future enjoyment.

Ooh, where did you get the map and how do you go about adding the colour to the bits you've covered?!

It's October, so I'm making a HUGE pot of pumpkin soup - delicious! It's already on the hob just now so that it'll all be ready for lunch time (just to reheat) and any moment now the rich and wonderfully warm aroma of spices will begin to emanate from my humble kitchen. I love this time of year!

I didn't end up making the rice pudding today after all, but I definitely will tomorrow - as well as my pumpkin soup!