An elephant never forgets and neither does a Yorkshire Pudding. Last week, two or three of my esteemed visitors requested a picture of me with my new haircut - now that I have lost my coronavirus mophead look. Like an obsequious waiter, seeking a fat tip, I have duly delivered. See the top picture. The little dots are not a facial ant colony but my shaven whiskers.
Another request concerned "Bosh!" cake mixes. I had bought a box of the "Bangin Brownie Mix" from Waitrose. Excited visitors, breathlessly asked me to post a picture of the resulting brownie cake after baking.
It took me less than five minutes to prepare the mixture - with the addition of some water and vegetable oil. Then I slammed it in the oven for twenty minutes and Bosh! it was done. I let it cool for ten minutes and then lifted the brownie with its baking parchment from the baking tray. Here it is:-
I let it cool for a further five minutes before slicing it into portions. Then Shirley and I tried it and do you know, considering that it has no eggs or milk in it, it was a hit! It had a light but slightly gooey texture and a true chocolately flavour. However, I must say that I have always liked crushed walnuts within brownies so next time I make this I will be adding a big spoonful.
In other news from The Empire of the Yorkshire Pudding, our son Ian is currently on holiday with a young lady in Ibiza and our pregnant princess Frances is almost certain to move back to Sheffield in the next couple of months with her beloved prince. She can just as easily work from home up here as down in the capital city. Last evening, Shirley and I went to look at a possible rental on their behalf. Marvellous panoramic views from the upstairs windows. It may be the one. They are planning to rent their flat out to London friends.
In further news - and this is possibly why I am hyperventilating this morning - I have at last got a dental appointment this afternoon. About six weeks into The Great Lockdown, a filling fell out of one of my molars, leaving a big hole. Fortunately, I have hardly been troubled by tooth pain but under normal circumstance I would have sought to get it fixed immediately. I fear that I may lose the tooth. Bloody coronavirus!
I'm definitely getting one of those cake mixes, going to Waitrose later today and hope my branch has them.
ReplyDeleteWe both need the dentist badly but can't get an appointment at the moment.
I hope you manage to keep the tooth.
Love the cartoon you, lol
Briony
x
In our big Waitrose - rather unfortunately - the "Bosh!" cake mixes were displayed on a bottom shelf. I think that companies may pay a premium to get eye level display.
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DeleteGosh, you look so handsome in that lifelike picture YP.
ReplyDeleteI guess you have gone weak at the knees. It's understandable. Have a sit down dear.
DeleteI read about the ant colony flying over Blighty and Ireland this week. Are you related to Desperate Dan? I am only joking. You are a talented characuture artist YP.
ReplyDeleteYes I am related to Desperate Dan. I can eat a whole cow pie any time.
DeleteDo you shave with a blowtorch? I have just been reading about the demise of The Dandy. I can't believe it is no more. "A cowpie a day keeps the hunger away"
DeleteWhat? Oh no! You are right for once! "The Dandy" is no more. Why wasn't it announced on the BBC News as the lead item? That was back in 2012. I am eight years behind the times.
DeleteP.S. I shave with a wire brush and use turps as my aftershave.
I think you will keep the tooth for a bit longer.
ReplyDeleteIt will be good to have Frances and the coming little one closer. Things are going well for the Pudding family
Maybe too well? That God fellow has a habit of pulling the rug from under one's feet every so often.
DeleteEnjoy it for now!
DeleteHope the dentist appointment went well. I don't know how people managed before dentists, no teeth I'm guessing.
ReplyDeleteThe brownie looks good but I'll stick with my own recipe. I put pecans in mine.
We'll have to take your word for it that the drawing is a good representation. We have no comparisons.
That will be lovely to have your daughter and her husband close by, and the baby to be.
It is still ninety minutes till the dental appointment Lily. I am sweating and shaking like a condemned felon.
DeleteWhy would you put pelicans in a brownie mix? Weird!
You'll need to get your eyes checked as well you daft bugger:)
DeleteI wrote pecans.
I love chocolate brownies, I put beetroot in mine. Hope all goes well with the dentist. I shudder whenever I utter the word - dentist.
ReplyDeleteI'm a dentophobic. I clench my fists so hard that my wife has to prise them open with a big screwdriver when I get home.
DeleteI’m sure that’s an excellent likeness.
ReplyDeleteIt’s lovely that your daughter is going to move home. I’m sure wife is over the moon.
Maybe you’ll get to keep your tooth. I hope so!
It is a good likeness - like looking in a mirror.
Delete"Over the moon"? Isn't that what Glen's ex-girlfriends used to say?
Good luck with the tooth. I've had a few that have had fillings, root canals, and crowns to save them....false teeth would have almost certainly been cheaper. WHY must dental work be so expensive?!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad your grandchild will be born in Sheffield and you and Shirley will get to spend as much time as you like with him/her. How wonderful for everyone!
Thank you for your kind thoughts Jennifer.
DeleteDental work costs a lot so that dentists can buy nice cars and live in nice houses. Of course in Britain the major portion of one's dental bill is covered by our National Health Service.
Damn. Once again, I'm jealous of your NHS.
DeleteThe last crown I got, AFTER my dental insurance paid for a portion (and this doesn't include a root canal or anything else extra) cost me over $1000 out of pocket. Had the tooth needed a root canal, that would have been another $1000. It's no wonder so many people around here have less-than-stellar dental health.
No Hollywood smiles in downtown Florence?
DeleteSorry to correct you, YP. Only the most basic of dental work is covered by the NHS and even then you have to pay a fee. And few dentists now will accept NHS clients. I do work in research and am sometimes given outlandish briefs to find out something. What do the homeless do when, say for sake of argument and to make it as painful as possible, an abscess strikes? Don't ask.
DeleteInhabitants of my own mouth (teeth) are works of art. Bought at thousands of pounds over the years - not least two gold crowns at the back. English dentists faint with admiration at the engineering when I open my mouth wide. By which I do not mean the "perfect" American gleam.
Of interest to me why anyone would want to become a dentist apart from being able to charge astronomical fees. Who wants to stare at cavities all working day long? And be feared? No one looks forward seeing you. And you need a steady hand.
What I particularly love about going to the dentist when they are interesting and have plenty to say. A somewhat one sided conversation. Arrgh.
To close on a happy note: Once upon a time I did have a not-run-of-the-mill-hygienist. In England (Wimborne, Dorset). He was male. I only mention his gender because most hygienists are female. I called him "The Butcher". He'd take my mouth apart before putting it back together again. German. Thorough. Vorsprung durch Technik.
Your post's amalgamation of cake mix and teeth admirable, nay ironic.
U
Thank you for your entertaining and indeed erudite contribution Ursula.
DeleteWhat Ursula said made me laugh and wince at the same time, no mean feat. We all agree that NHS dentistry was never the same after Virginia Bottomley as Health Secretary kicked dentists in the teeth; many went private, leaving millions without a dentist, something Clem Atlee's great 1945 government had
Deletesecured (we thought) for future generations.
Owing to lockdown I am still waiting on the tooth-root of a premolar to be removed. Unlike Ursula's my NHS dentist is a gentle young woman who told me to rinse with salty hot water five times a day. This I have been doing all these months. It's a wonder I'm not back on the hot toddy with lemon and cloves which I used to enjoy in Dublin pubs at dusk. They served it in a thick ribbed glass with a long spoon and you could get a black coffee with it too.
I bet they just patched it with a temporary filling which will fall out again within a couple of weeks.
ReplyDeleteHa-ha! You are a visionary Guru Dunham! Just got back and that is what happened.
DeleteNot a visionary. It's exactly what happened to Mrs D. Not all pessimistic though - only half of it fell out.
DeleteThat's a relief! Now I don't have to worship you nor visit your temple in Goole.
DeleteExciting developments for Ian, Frances and Stew! (And you too.) Is Stew's family also in Sheffield? I can't remember.
ReplyDeleteRe. the tooth, I see that you got a temporary filling -- here's hoping whatever permanent fix you eventually get saves the tooth. Sounds like that's likely.
Stew's father was the vicar in this Sheffield parish until his retirement and then he and his wife upped sticks and moved to Bristol.
DeleteI hope your dental appointment went well. I understand your concern as I am always nervous about such appointments. A wonderful likeness you have shown us! The new haircut looks great. Those Bosh Brownies look pretty good too.
ReplyDeleteI have no argument with anything you have said Bonnie. Thank you ma'am.
DeleteYou're a great baker. Good luck in finding an apartment (flat I think)
ReplyDeleteIf they wanted, they could always live with us for a few weeks but they have two good rental options at the moment. They just have to say "yes".
DeleteI watched a Bosh film of making sticky toffee pudding the other day. It looked delicious but my teeth ached at the thought of all that sweetness.
ReplyDeleteYou are probably too sweet already Thelma!
DeleteGreat drawing! I wonder whether I could employ you to illustrate the book I am planning to make for my sister as a Christmas or birthday present.
ReplyDeleteToo bad about the tooth. So far, I've been lucky that, in spite of having crooked and horse-like teeth, they are strong and largely hole-free. I had my first filling when I was in my mid-thirties, and almost 20 years later, I have two.
Adding walnuts to the brownie mix will make it even perfecter than perfect.
You are lucky to have such strong teeth Meike. Regarding illustrations, I would be happy to help if I know how many we are talking about. Once another teacher asked me to illustrate her foreign languages workbook series and I ended up spending countless hours on it. It wasn't what I thought I had signed up for.
DeleteI can't believe that you, a big strapping Yorkshireman, are dentophobic. I am a wee stripling of a Lancastrian and I actually went to sleep whilst having a root canal treatment. The dentist, a good acquaintance whose wife worked with me (totally irrelevant but true), had to wake me up because I wouldn't keep my mouth open. Quite the reverse from when I'm awake!
ReplyDeleteNone of us are perfect Graham and even I have my failings though I know that may be hard to believe.
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