Does anybody remember Nordy Bars? They used to be served in the Nordstrom cafe and were something of a cult classic back in the eighties. I don’t believe they make them anymore. I recently stumbled upon the original recipe (courtesy of The Oregonian’s Food Day from way back when ) and in a fit of nostalgia decided to make them. The only problem with the bars — and it’s a big one really — is that the butterscotch chips taste unbearably fake. So I decided to retool them and use a combination of butter and brown sugar to get the…
Pudding&Mess Posts
~The Ocean At The End Of The Lane Neil Gaiman The beautiful, magical story of a seven year old (unnamed) boy who, unable to process the traumatic events of an adult world, turns all he sees into a kingdom of monsters and hunger birds, of worms coming out of his foot, little girls who might be eleven years old or a billion and a body of water which might be an ocean or a pond. It’s a lyrical and haunting embodiment of childhood fears and the struggle to comprehend the cruelties of a child’s landscape, fraught with loneliness and insecurities.…
~Harlots A show that fully embraces its inner sluttiness and flings it out into the world in full technicolour glory. The overarching storyline is a turf war between two rival brothel owners in late 1700’s London, who happen to share a very complicated past. Margaret Wells is unapologetic about her roots, views prostitution as a way (the only way) for women to gain financial independence and is not beneath auctioning off her daughter’s virginity to the highest bidder. Across town, Lydia Quigley, runs a much classier establishment with girls who dress elegantly, play the piano and speak French. Margaret and Lydia…
A whimsical English cottage of fairytale dreams. The Golden Globes returned for 2023. A brief history of its controversies. And talking of awards shows — I know that the women’s dresses get all the love, but can we please talk about how much fun the men are now having with their own clothes. So great to see. A brief interview with Nate of Ted Lasso. An 88-year old British mystery captivating modern readers. Amidst the uproar of a Prince’s memoir, 20 headlines comparing Kate and Meghan. Twenty-five of the best British movies of the last decade. And in recently released…
Christmas(ish) because, well, these films are a bit of a motley crew. A couple aren’t Christmas movies and a couple are but shouldn’t be. ~The Man Who Invented Christmas Shortly before Christmas in 1843, Charles Dickens finds himself short of money after a rather unfortunate series of flops. He lands upon the idea of a Christmas ghost story, inspired by his teenage housemaid, but then struggles to write it. He wanders the foggy streets of London finding inspiration in the places and people he meets, using snippets from here and there to create his own characters. When he settles upon…
Millionaire’s shortbread is so called because it’s, well, rich and luxurious. Although due to recent inflation issues I believe it should now be known as billionaire’s shortbread. It’s a layer of crumbly shortbread topped with creamy caramel and then smooth chocolate which makes for the perfect combination of taste and texture. It also makes it what amounts to a homemade Twix bar. Millionaire’s Shortbread seems to have originated in the seventies, somewhere in the vicinity of Scotland and when I was a kid, it would generally make its appearance in December, which is probably why I always associate it with…
It’s been a solid nine months since the last season of Bridgerton dropped and likely several more before season three is released. If you’re a big fan, it’s possible you are now suffering withdrawals from all of that sartorial splendor, for while it’s a show which revels in scandals and manners set against a lush backdrop of houses and balls, it is the exquisiteness of the clothing which truly commands centre stage. And particularly fun is the elegant, icy pale tailoring of the Bridgertons facing off against the candy colored finery of the Featheringtons, which leans ever so gently into…
Could there possibly be a sexier couple than egg and bacon? They’re the duo with chemistry so sizzling hot that they could teach a masterclass on relationships. Just the slightest whisper of egg and bacon conjures up delightful images of lazy weekend mornings and delicious breakfasts spent with a good book and endless cups of tea. And while this lovely twosome frequently forms the backbone of a good old Full English, today it is being baked into a delicious puff pastry pie and combined with potatoes for a nice, solid slice of cold weather heft. But first you’ll have to…
Now that the shorter days and cooler weather are well and truly upon us, it’s time to curl up in a comfortable corner with a book. I know that summer/beach reading gets all the love, but it’s the fall and winter seasons that are my favorites. To be hunkered down with a good book, a warm drink, and the glow of a fire is my idea of bliss. And I’m going to make an assumption here that most avid readers have some sort of a comfort category. That one genre that pulls you back time and time again when what…
The Victorian era is a strangely fascinating one. The lower classes endured rampant poverty and appalling work conditions which led to epidemic levels of crime, disease and cheap gin consumption. The wealthy, meanwhile, were free to indulge their morbid curiosity in all things macabre, creating a resurgence in seances, mysticism and gothic literature — not to mention stuffed animals. All of this was curiously juxtaposed with an explosion of technological and scientific advances, increasingly liberal views and real social change. For a brief moment in time, both worlds co-existed in a swirling vortex worthy of a good Dr. Who episode. It may have…