Lucky Charms

[ampersand]

Make sure you fry finely chopped celery and carrot with your onion before starting with the minced beef and tomato, and add some garlic and a bit of red wine.

[sifi]

carrot, celery and wine? i thought you were all about the italian stuff? keep it simple i thought was the motto. mince, tomato, onions and basil is all that goes in mine. and seasoning obviously. and maybe some oregano. carrots can f**k off!

[ampersand]

I am on about the Italian stuff. Chopped celery and carrots dissolved into the sauce is the cornerstone of ragu. Because it gets dissolved, it just adds to the flavour. Try it - it's the proper to way to do it, and tastes so much nicer than your missing ingredients version. I'd also have a bit of pancetta in there too. That's they way my Mum taught me to make it, and she learned that off her Grandmother, so we are going back about a hundred odd years at least. Which should make it authentic, no?

[sifi]

hmm, maybe i'll give it a go next time. you talking super wafer thin carrots and celery then?

[Snufflebutt]

also, why does scotland feel the need to put the word SCOTTISH on everything?!

Scotmid, "we sell co-op products but wont accept co-op cards, cause we're scottish"

Scottish Ambulance, in case you're too drunk to remember you're in an ambulance in SCOTLAND

Scottish Transit, in case you forgot your on a bus in SCOTLAND

[rachbon]

I hate overly proud Scottish folk who should be embarrased about where they're from. Scotland's shit!

[philipsteak]

You get a lot of that sort of thing here too. Sticking the word 'kiwi' in front of something just try try and take ownership of it. Its quite funny but a bit sad.

[sifi]

why should we be embarrassed? i wouldn't say i'm proud of scotland, but i do love scotland and wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

maribou stalk nightmares was ok but it's probably my least favourite irvine welsh book. trainspotting is pretty far down the list aswell, i don't think it's one of his best but i might read it again soon. i think i've read all of irvine welsh's books apart from his most recent one and glue is by far the best.

Edited September 3, 2010 by sifimaster

[rachbon]

Funny, isn't it - I didn't really like Glue all that much myself. Or Porno. The Bedroom secrets one I quite enjoyed and Filth.

I guess you don't have to read the first few chapeters out loud to get your eye in?

[ampersand]

naw i don't have to read it out loud, but some of the edinburgh words were new to me.

[rachbon]

i struggle reading the broons and oor wullie

[Snufflebutt]

i struggle reading the broons and oor wullie

[sifi]

i didn't expect to like bedroom secrets but i really enjoyed it. filth was great but pretty disguisting in parts so i don't think i could read it again.

have you read crime? it's totally different to the rest of his books but really good.

Edited September 3, 2010 by sifimaster

[rachbon]

Another one of my pet hates- the Scots 'language'. Its not a bloody language, its just a transcription of the words people say!

[rachbon]

I haven't read crime yet, it's on the list. I thought it had some of the same characters as filth?

Bedroom secrets really suprised me too. Probably his funniest book. Well, as funny as he gets.

Edited September 3, 2010 by _rachelbon

[sifi]

aye the main character from filth, it's his pal and one of the other police men (ray lennox) who is the main character in crime, and other characters get a mention.

i love how the same characters appear in loads of different books.

Edited September 3, 2010 by sifimaster

[ampersand]

i've no read them in ages.. some of the words are a bit old fashioned, i think you'd need to be really old to know all of the words.

[rachbon]

it's great, isn't it - or brothers of characters in other books. It gives you an idea of their background / angle without having to go into a huge amount of detail.

[Snufflebutt]

surely every country has slang words though?

[rachbon]

it's great, isn't it - or brothers of characters in other books. It gives you an idea of their background / angle without having to go into a huge amount of detail.

I guess part of the reason I like Stalk Nightmares so much is because of the way the words fly all over the page. I'm a sucker for books like that. There is another one about a bloke being haunted by a shark, but I can't remember what it's called.

House of Leaves is the daddy for that kind of book though.

[ampersand]

My point exactly. It's not a language.

Its just a further way that people like to imply Scotland is fundamentally different from England when, really, when the chips are down, its not.

[Pogues Mcgogues]

it's just a variation of english. like you have a scots dictionary with hundreds, probably thousands of words not in the oxford dictionary. identity, innit?

[sifi]

i just found that book a bit boring, couldn't really get into it. i liked the style it was written in, just wasn't really into the story.

the trick is to keep breathing by janice galloway is quite similar, it has text falling of the page and sentences just stopping in the middle.. loads of flashbacks and it's all a bit of a mess. it really should be hard to read but the story grabbed me straight away, i love that book.

[saratink]

I hate overly proud Scottish folk who should be embarrased about where they're from. Scotland's shit!

[loscfestivals]

Back to American goodies...

If anybody is in Manchester there is a place not too far out in Ashton Under Lyne

http://www.americansoda.co.uk/uk/American-Soda/Home/default.aspx

The guy who runs it is a real all things American nut and they have a huge collection of American foods that you can buy online or at the warehouse.

Nothing is cheap though unsuprisingly