Lemon Meringue Pie

berrydainesLeave a comment

Not actually a pie, there’s no pastry.

I mixed a packet of lemon pie filling (mostly potato flour, cornflour etc) with half a pint of water but left out the egg yolk that the instructions suggested.

There was a jar of water left over from a can of chickpeas. I whisked the water with half a teaspoon of cream of tartar. I added caster sugar and continued to whisk.

The meringue spread nicely over the cooled lemon pie. Should it be baked or grilled? Various recipes suggested various methods and temperatures. Into the oven for a while. As there had been too much meringue I’d put spoonfuls of the mixture onto some baking parchment.

These were baked for a shorter time. They looked nice but were still wet inside… A minute of microwaving improved the texture.

The meringue on top of the pie was also watery inside. Grilling it didn’t help. Neither did microwaving, it exploded! I gathered the broken pieces and microwaved them. Lemon pie with chickpea meringue garnish?

Democracy

berrydainesLeave a comment

Democracy – a system of government in which the sovereign power is vested in the people as a whole exercising power directly or by elected officials.

Democracy should mean power to the people, but somehow we have all chosen to give power to the wrong people. We are governed by a small group of people who are out of touch with our distant problems.
Our elected members have done very little to improve life in Pembrokeshire. They have consistently voted in line with their party policy rather than for the best interests of their constituents. Their actions have caused further cuts to our health board and they have helped to slowly eradicate any local educational opportunities.

Previously prorogued parliaments have been followed by military rule after beheading the monarch – the green party might disapprove of royalty but we’re not savages.

We need to save our environment, which is more important than any petty political shenanigans. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but Green Party policy is to look for a positive solution and for everyone to take practical action. Everyone has a skill to offer. Pembrokeshire has a great many worthy projects that are run by volunteers, when they should be properly funded.

There will be distractions such as tribal concerns or the media’s divide and rule tactics, it’s too late to bother with those. You can disagree with someone’s outlook but still achieve some level of common ground.

Do we need to be governed by impractical people that we would never seek advice from? No.

Let our elders and betters shut themselves down. Ideally parliament in its current form would never resume and we could save a vast amount of money and resources.

Swans

berrydainesLeave a comment

I saw a group of swans chasing each other on the Mill Pond near Pembroke castle. One rescued another from the violent attentions of a third swan. Third swan floated away looking reasonably dignified. Then the first two stroked their necks together and caressed in a heart shape.

From my scruffy sketches and some blurry photos I cut a lino block. I wasn’t pleased with it, put it aside and didn’t see it again for about five years.

Made some test prints, it’s not that bad really.

Clay

berrydainesLeave a comment

This clay has been waiting for a while. It had dried too much so I put it into a plastic box and watered it. Emptying the box this morning, I spotted a little snail that had been lurking with some friends under the outside edge. It peered over the edge of the box, clearly planning to wander into the pile of clay. I took the snail outside so it could eat some weeds. Then I quickly scraped all of the remaining clay onto hessian and put the empty box out in the rain.

Kneading clay is similar to preparing dough, but at the moment it’s much squelchier.

Mothering Sunday

berrydainesLeave a comment

Mothering Sunday is when people from little village churches gather together in the mother church of the area, usually a cathedral.

Also a day to celebrate mothers. You don’t need a special day for that, do you? When I was a child I liked a story about Peachling, who was found inside a fruit. The peach was floating along in a stream. An elderly couple were walking nearby. They were very contented but often wished they had been able to share their happiness with some children.

They retrieved the beautiful peach from the water and took it home to eat. When they cut it in half they were shocked to discover a tiny human inside. They named him Peachling and cared for him as if they had given birth to him. The old woman sewed clothing for him, the old man made his shoes. They taught him everything they knew. Nobody questioned where the peach tree he’d fallen from might be.

My father laughed when telling this story: “Peachling must have been a spoilt brat!”.

Peachling grew up, eventually it was time for him to go and find his future. I was surprised that he could just leave with a bag tied to the end of a stick, the story didn’t describe his plans or tell where he was going. The old couple were very sad but pleased they’d had the opportunity to help him grow.

Both of my parents were wistful when they said that nobody appreciates their parents until much later…