Baldur

I printed out the recipe and on my next baking day I'll try it.
Thank you Qsilv, for going to all that effort for me.

Qsilv

Truly not a problem.. I enjoyed it.

Any interest in aebleskiver?

Baldur

I don't have an abelskiver pan

Qsilv

They're available... not too pricey... but if you ever do indulge, get the kind with deeeeep holes, full half-spheres... and learn how to make 'em hollow, NOT solid! *twinkly grin

Baldur

Welcome back once again to Radio Baldur; 'All Baldur, All the Time'.

Tonight's cooking segment features a request from a longtime listener for a recipe for 'Welsh Rarebit'.
This recipe is wonderful comfort food, and a standard pub item across the UK, though oddly it is rarely served in the United States where Baldur's lair is located.
I had the privilege of being the chef at a very nice, very old retirement home in Providence, RI where this was a very popular supper.

One part of the recipe has changed for me in the intervening years which you may care to restore in your own version. Worcestershire sauce is traditionally used as a flavoring, a couple of good manly shakes of the bottle adds a nice note to the finished dish. Being a vegetarian has caused me to skip that one ingredient (the vegetarian Worcestershire analog isn't worth using in my opinion). In lieu of this I tend to add a small pinch of ground cloves to the dish.
Enjoy!

Welsh Rarebit

In a saucepan with a heavy bottom melt:
2 Tablespoons of butter

Stir in:
2 Tablespoons of flour
1 Tablespoon of dry English mustard
a good shake of cayenne pepper
With a wooden spoon stir the mixture over medium low heat until it
is well cooked and has a rather toasted and nutty aroma.

Now switch over to using a wire whisk and carefully whisk
6oz of ale *
into the flour butter mixture. This will result in a rather thick sauce.

Into this sauce fold in:
1 pound of English Cheddar, shredded (I prefer a rather sharp one)

Stir until the cheese is melted and the Rarebit is quite smooth,
add a couple grinds of:
Black pepper

At this point the Rarebit is normally poured into a shallow
container and chilled. When ready to serve you broil slices of good
bread on one side, flip them over, smear a good amount of cold
Rarebit on top and return them to the broiler until browned and
bubbly. There is nothing wrong however with using it immediately
and hot on top of the same broiled bread.
The final broiling gives it a browned skin that makes it magical.

*(a dark beer such as Guinness is traditional here, but I go with a medium amber ale, actually you can think outside the box and use a dry cider
if you prefer, it will be delicious though scandalous)

Baldur

What a great week this has been, yesterday being the first day of planting outside in the vegetable garden. The snow is barely gone but I can see the chives and Egyptian onions poking through the soil.
No sign of the asparagus yet but it will soon be up.
The task at hand yesterday was to plant peas, in this case Snow Peas. After cutting a shallow furrow into the loam the peas were thrown in rather heavily. Most seed packets recommend a spacing of 6" between peas, I generally space them a tight 2" apart.
This type of pea will have vines that reach 24" high, so some type of support is necessary. What works best for me is to save a pile of branches and saplings that are cleared out of the garden in the late fall and winter. They get trimmed to about 36" and stuck into the ground in a neat line a couple inches away from the row of peas. This 'hedge' is actually a very ancient way of handling them, old English texts refer to it as a 'pease hedge'.
In the next few days I hope to start the turnips, the lettuce and the bok choi. The warm climate vegetables will need another 6 to 8 weeks before our weather is stable enough for them to prosper.

That was Radio Baldur for this evening, and to all a good night.

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Thanks for the Welsh rarebit recipe, Baldur. I've printed it off and will report back when I've sampled it.

Baldur

Welcome to Radio Baldur, 'All Baldur, All the Time'

For today's gardening segment we'll discuss making your own seed tape.
I have a very difficult time spacing tiny seeds and the pre-spaced seed tape sold in the garden center only comes in a limited number of varieties.
So here is how to make your own customized tape.

take 2 ply toilet tissue,( get the very flimsy stuff, not the extra durable, cushioned and quilted variety, you want it to decompose quickly)

tear off a 6' length
fold it over on itself about 6 times
with scissors cut it so it forms 3 long strips
separate the layers so you have 6 single ply strips

get a glue stick, I'm using the kind that goes on purple but dries clear because it's easier to see.
take your tiny garden seeds and figure out the spacing you want
put dabs of glue that distance apart along the edge of a strip of the paper

pour the seeds into a shallow saucer
put a dab of glue on the eraser end of a pencil
using the pencil as a stylus pick up the seeds one at a time and place each on a glue spot on the paper
fold the paper over onto itself as you go, sealing the seeds between two very thin layers

I just made a huge strip of this seed tape using a whole packet of bok choi seed in only a couple minutes

now it is quite simple to plant a whole row with perfect spacing

have fun.

matthew

I found that your used thongs can be used for this as well...

Baldur

matthew, I prefer to keep toxic things out of my soil

Baldur

Radio Baldur is signing out for the night.
Remember: "A day without Baldur is like a day without intestinal distress"

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I'll remember that, Baldur, and I'll look in everyday.
Lawks-a-lummy, don't want bad tummy.

Dragon

A cook, a gardener, writer, artist. You are a renaissance man Baldur!

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Please Mr Balder, will you stop stealing other people's identity and get on with the show.

Baldur

lol Baldur is an international art thief, ThinkDrawers beware

matthew

All of Baldur's drawings are his own original ideas... Others have just stolen HIS pics prior to him turning his unique thoughts into the wonderful Think Draw masterpices...

matthew

That last comment was at Rasselbear's request...

Baldur

you and my posse are homies now?

matthew

We have always been very close...

Triste

Wow....if you knew how red my eyes are just trying to read this whole scenario in the space of ten minutes.....I don't think I've ever experienced the like....

I think I'm going to go stick my head in the microwave now....
...hot pocket.....