Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Two

[jpalbny]

Just put two and two together... Sophia is on board Silver Spirit with duct tape and Wellseasoned. Hope they meet up and have a drink!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Thanks for the update S and the Royal Male! Hope you get your well deserved R & R, S! Awesome looking fish but his eyes seem to follow me around. Not sure he was really up for the meal. :)

 

 

Yes .... haunted by those eyes. He certainly has his eye on the audience ... shame they don't give him a piano and he could play a tuna ...... :D

 

I don't think Flavio has done his rounds yet because it does look a bit shambolic don't it. Those plates and trays need straightening up ..... and all that clutter. And that tablecloth needs straightening. Very small details but still important if you want to give a nice impression.

 

Still the two carrots say it all .... ( "V" ) and that fish portion is big!

 

Jeff

[UKCruiseJeff]

Just put two and two together... Sophia is on board Silver Spirit with duct tape and Wellseasoned. Hope they meet up and have a drink!

 

 

I haven't posted piccies of her in her rollers and housecoat and ciggies dropping ash everywhere .... as she is traveling icognito ... just a butler and maid ... and trying to keep herself away from her adoring fans.

 

;)

 

Jeff

[UKCruiseJeff]

We are ok with leftovers with dinner...actually we prefer that! They become an easy lunch in two days.

 

 

I'm afraid we should but don't. I know it's wrong .... but the only "leftovers" I do is to use chicken and turkey breast after a roast for a later meal with chips and pickles or sandwiches! I also make chicken soup with the carcasse ... :)

 

Today I have just stuffed a shoulder of lamb with sage and onion stuffing and all the veg is ready to go ....... lovely smells as the lamb is roasting. She is out shopping so it has allowed me to get on with men's work in the kitchen ...

 

 

Jeff

 

 

[jpalbny]

Yum! That's a nice-looking roast. And an impressive vegetable steamer - you have 4 baskets? That sounds way too healthy.

 

The only way I can manage to save leftovers is to take about 1/3 of what I cook directly from the pot or pan, and put it away as soon as I've finished cooking. We do this before serving the food onto plates. Otherwise, if I just serve part of what I've cooked, and leave the rest to deal with later, we'll end up going back and eating the rest before it gets put away...

 

I also find that sipping wine, and thinking about wine/food pairings, slows down the meal and actually makes us eat less. Without wine, I tend to shovel the food in too fast and want to eat more. The problem is that wine has calories too, so if you eat less food but make up for it with more wine calories, you haven't accomplished much!

[UKCruiseJeff]

I am afraid all is not what it seams with the steamer JP because some of it will remain steamed and healthy (carrots, runner beans and lovely fresh crisp sprouts ....) ..... but we have some lovely fresh dug Welsh potatos which will be steamed and then stove buttered ....:)

 

You know how you learn food when you travel, and I was struck at how high steamers are stacked in dim sum land and so I simply have three sets of steamers ie 9 steamers .... and stack them in one stack as high as I need with many as I need. It means you can add each veg just at the right timing point. You can of course hold veg in a steamer without further cooking, so it makes sense. I really love steamed fresh vegetables al dente and without that water log that boiling does. Apart from frozen veg, steaming is most of what I do with veg with finishing on the stove top or buttered as appropriate.

 

Jeff

Edited October 9, 2015 by UKCruiseJeff

[spinnaker2]

Morning all.

Or good day.

 

Off to tackle garage room.

 

Enjoyed the fish tales.

Hope our intrepid and incognito traveler is relaxing.

 

Just made tarragon chicken Salad for DH to take for lunch. Secret ingredient is of course, ta dahhhh, peas.

 

Bit of knowledge I learned today.

Plane boarding pass should be shredded after use. Has all sorts of info easy to decode for savvy person and frequent flyer info, as well as TASA codes.

So I won't throw those away without shredding.

 

After watching news, I can't help thinking about when we were in Russia this summer on a walk around the gardens of Catharines palace. We were seemingly alone and our guide told us she was very afraid of the future, with particular respect to the Ukraine, but also as to motives behind the two super powers who seemed on a collision course.

The collision seems to lurk on many fronts.

Edited October 9, 2015 by spinnaker2
Spell check interference...or someone out there is watching...

[mysty]

J..That meal looks awesome! I would gladly have your leftovers! :)

 

JP...You are very disciplined! Putting portions aside is a great idea! And I agree that wine with the meal slows the pace. :)

 

Spinnaker2....Good luck with your garage room. My basement is screaming at me. I am ignoring it for now. And the world is spinning way too far out of orbit with recent happenings. I am struggling to ignore that as well. Head in the sand is keeping me sane.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Hi Spins,

 

Soapy is having a great time. She has friends aboard and is a better and more travelled person than all of us. And she looks extraordinarily contented in the pictures she sent. :)

 

With respect to your comments about Russia, these issues are extremely complex but put far too simply by it seems all commentary.

 

If you were a person like you or I in a village somewhere in Syria with your family, you would simply wish to tend your fields, go to the shops, your kids walk safely through the streets and go safely to and from their school and for you all to eat peacefully at your table each night. And to sleep peacefully without fearing tommorow.

 

Currently that family is being attacked by it's own government, many warring oppostion factions not just opposed to the government but each other as well ... all seeking power and not just one government oppostion as you might believe reading the press or listening to politicians ... all using your village as the war zone. You might be also being attacked by ISIS, US war planes, UK drones, Russian planes, Russian cruise missiles and a whole heap of other countries not hitherto mentioned who also want to join in and make your day terrible. On any given day it seems that to many people are trying to kill you and your family or rape your women or bomb you from the skies or the next village.

 

NATO and the rest of us may have emboldened Putin and we all may have varying degrees of concern about him, but to me this seems to be a rerun of Iraq. There we took out a despotic leader for "other reasons" more associated IMHO with the Bush family and Kuwait. But in the end we left the vacuum of warring factions who were now well armed and now we have 9/11 amd Al Qaeda and ISIS. All of which we invented.

 

We are being fed trite statements and "black or white" conclusions. You are asked to be on one side or the other. But let us be on the side of that family in the village. There is no simple answer. The least worst of all options seems to me to be the line that Russia is taking. Reinstal central government and try to remove not just oppostion but the oppostions that are all fighting with each other as well as the governmkent. Support them in removing ISIS. However bad it is, minimise the worst things that they (the government) then do, and then once it is stabilised if it can be try to find some form of democracy. You can't start with an election.

 

Having that village family being bombed by everyone who is nasty and has an agenda or an opinion doesn't sound to me lilke a plan that is going to end well for anyone but just be a rerun of Iraq ... but worst because we have now created ISIS who are being fertilised and grown by what we are doing. Who exactly is focussing on that family. And the millions of people that are in the same situation. No one it seems. We do not appear capable of learning from mistakes and so we will make them even worst than they are now however bleak it seems even now.

 

Jeff

Edited October 9, 2015 by UKCruiseJeff

[UKCruiseJeff]

J..That meal looks awesome! I would gladly have your leftovers! :)

 

 

:)

 

Simple meal. I like to cook well shoulder of lamb and then hack it thinly as I can and make a nice gravy sauce ..... in this case a Rosso mint gravy. As you know I don't do plate art so it is just bunged on a plate.

 

Jeff

 

 

[mysty]

"Bunged" be damned! I care not at all for presentation. My focus is flavour and that dish oozes flavour! Yummmmmmy!

[spinnaker2]

Lovely food.

 

Jeff. As to situation in Syria and other places, I don't believe 7/8 of what I read. And a little paranoia is a healthy thing.

Those in power hold the cards.

I always think of that movie wag the dog.

 

I also saw first hand how the press is suppressed and manipulated.

 

I am not trivializing the situation.

At some point, one must put some faith in one's fellow man or woman. I could get really radical but I won't because talk is cheap.

 

Every once in awhile I just need to speak. Even if only in a quiet soft voice.

 

Back to my dungeon.

[UKCruiseJeff]

I agree Spins.

 

The problem is that we are programmed to believe that our enemy's enemy is our friend. We are not programmed to believe that sometimes our enemy's enemy is worst than our enemey.

 

We all need to keep speaking and also listening Spins. So don't stop. Sadly many of the those things I have learned in life is from people I don't like much. We aren't programmed to listen to those we don't like or disagree with or hold different opinions than our own. But Listening to them is the only way to learn. I prefer to learn from someone I don't like than not learn. We are all students in life or we a lost.

 

Anyway .... pizza tonight I think.

 

 

Jeff

[TLCOhio]

Bit of knowledge I learned today. Plane boarding pass should be shredded after use. Has all sorts of info easy to decode for savvy person and frequent flyer info, as well as TASA codes. So I won't throw those away without shredding. After watching news, I can't help thinking about when we were in Russia this summer on a walk around the gardens of Catharines palace. We were seemingly alone and our guide told us she was very afraid of the future, with particular respect to the Ukraine, but also as to motives behind the two super powers who seemed on a collision course. The collision seems to lurk on many fronts.

 

Appreciate the great food pictures from Jeff and the excellent boarding pass shredding tip from Candy. Also, agree that things are getting more and more "tense" with Russia, China, etc. Nothing is immediate!! But, long-term, the major challenges are there. Nothing is being "solved". Just a delaying of the inevitable questions/clashes. It is more "subtle" today than in the old Cold War days.

 

Have been busy with various work projects AND finalizing more South Africa and Botswana safari details, bookings, etc. When you going to a part of the world that is both unique and different, there is a more serious "learning curve" to find out more. PLUS, make smart choices!! Things are going well. Getting more and more excited.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 123,339 views for this posting.

[jpalbny]

Yum, Jeff. Lamb looks tasty. I don't cook it at home because Chris is not fond of it. A small price to pay!

 

Made French onion soup for dinner tonight. Had some very dark, homemade chicken broth from a roasted chicken last weekend. Sliced a bunch of onions and caramelized them slowly with salt and a touch of sugar. Then added the broth and some spices... A little toast with shredded Gruyere to finish!

 

Great dinner. With some Riesling as the pre-dinner cooking wine, and Pinot Noir for matching with the soup. :D

 

 

Time for bed. We are visiting Chris' Dad on Sunday but thinking about an overnight in NYC tomorrow, on the way. Hotel rooms are ridiculous so that decision will be deferred until tomorrow morning. Hopefully one of the many hotels with empty rooms will come to their senses and drop their rates!

[MrsWaldo]

Me and my best friend tonight ..me

 

So I spent a few hours crushing spices and making naan

[UKCruiseJeff]

Morning coolers ...... lovely food JP and Mrs W.

 

A bang on the door from a neighbour in a state of panic yesterday afternoon - disturbing the peace - requested my presence to find plumbing pipes and electric cables in a neighbour's house who was having renovations. The meter couldn't find them and they weren't shown precisely on the plans. Went over fully armed with my two bent coat hangers and found them all in around 60 seconds. Wanted to get back, but the unasked for fee involved bottles being opened. Over the last year I've found several deep water paths in fields which became remote water supplies.

 

I know it is extensively used in Ozland to find water, and totally accepted. I cannot fathom how divining works and I don't "believe" in it - but it works and I find it terribly confusing.:confused:

 

:)

 

Jeff

 

My very scientific and precision manufactured divinng rods.

 

Edited October 10, 2015 by UKCruiseJeff

[lincslady]

I can confirm that the divining rods work, Jeff. My DH has had some for many years, and they work for him though not for me. It may seem like mumbo-jumbo to many people, but for some reason some people have a touch of 'magic' which enables them to use them. Has your wifey tried to use them, with or without success?

 

Lola

[UKCruiseJeff]

I can confirm that the divining rods work, Jeff. My DH has had some for many years, and they work for him though not for me. It may seem like mumbo-jumbo to many people, but for some reason some people have a touch of 'magic' which enables them to use them. Has your wifey tried to use them, with or without success?

 

Lola

 

 

Good morning Lola, no they don't work for her.

 

What shook me absolutely rigid was that we played around with them a year or so ago in what would be called by others a "magic" environment with rather perplexing and really shocking results.

 

I am a very sceptical and logical person and need to anylise and explain things and have trouble with things I can't explain and this is the one thing in life that has made me rethink "magic".

 

Jeff

[mysty]

Can't argue with success, no matter how illogical it seems. :)

[Mark_K]

I can confirm that the divining rods work, Jeff. My DH has had some for many years, and they work for him though not for me. It may seem like mumbo-jumbo to many people, but for some reason some people have a touch of 'magic' which enables them to use them. Has your wifey tried to use them, with or without success?

 

Lola

 

 

I had an uncle whose divining abilities were well known in the area. He was also a well digger by profession. I'm not sure which came first the divining or the digging.

 

The 4th of July was fun around his place too as his job gave him license to purchase and use explosives.

[Mark_K]

Looking in the fridge I see some left over baked beans. Maybe I should have an English breakfast today.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Looking in the fridge I see some left over baked beans. Maybe I should have an English breakfast today.

 

 

Mark,

 

You need to be careful about making such implications ... as you know FULL WELL, where this will lead ......:eek:

 

It will be taken as you have made such a comment on the Silversea forum that this is a negative comment about English Breakfast on Silversea. This is negativity. Because you have implied that English Breakfast on Silverseas consists of baked beans, and is therefore deficient from a breakfast perspective, and has influenced how you now view English Breakfasts, your parentage will be questioned. You will be ascribed someone who hasn't ever travelled on Silversea and also be a part of a dark Satanic group who intends Silversea harm. You will be an enemy Of The State. Your card, Mark, will be Marked.

 

A new thread will be started. "Why I actually quite like English Breakfasts on Silversea". It will be a clarion call to swear unquestioning Allegiance to The Flag. If you don't Swear Allegiance, it will be noted in The Book.

 

The person starting the thread will be ascribed a position of heroism through their braveness through starting such a thread against such resistance. You will be told rather rudely that it would be discourteous for you to contribute because you are a "naysayer". Get back Satan. It will be hinted that you do not qualify to make such a comment because you are not currently on a Silverseas cruise. Indeed you never have done. Evidently however, if you said the English Breakfast on Silversea is wonderful, the very best in the whole wide world and you have never ever experienced anything better, this is fine whoever you are. You qualify to make the comment.

 

So Mark ....... tread carefully unless The Force not be with you .....

 

 

:D:D

 

Jeff

 

ps Beans do not an English Breakfast maketh .......

 

:)

[lincslady]

Looking in the fridge I see some left over baked beans. Maybe I should have an English breakfast today.

 

I do get the point of Jeff's comments, but not for me to enter this discussion not having been a Silversea lover or hater, nor currently or likely to be a passenger.

 

However, this beans for breakfast is something I really do not like. To my mind, they only started being offered for a cooked breakfast not that long ago when truckers and other chaps who needed an enormous breakfast began to get them on motorway stops etc. They played no part at all in the traditional ingredients, which included as well as the bacon, eggs, et al, things like kedgeree and kippers. Not to put too fine a point on it, I find them a touch 'common' at breakfast time. They are offered I think on pretty much every cruise line, but I don't see them being taken by many passengers on our favourite line.

 

No doubt Jeff will have full knowledge of when, how and why they came to be included in an English breakfast.

 

P.S. I love them on toast for an everyday lunch sometimes.

 

Lola

[UKCruiseJeff]

Lola,

 

I'm a long-term lover of Silversea ... and merely suggested the food looked like it could and should be better! Mea Culpa. :D

 

I have never had an English Breakfast with baked beans .... although rather bizarrely I will admit to sometimes having tinned spaghetti.

 

I suspect your history of English Breakfast is right. For truckers it may be taken not just at breakfast but all day, but perhaps more so on their first pit stop after an early start to take advantage of clear roads. If they have been driving all night, then breakfast time isn't breakfast time. So I think often taken as their main meal or elevenses if you like and keep them going to after their deliveries and collections. So a meal to last them all day ... not just a breakfast.

 

I have certainly been on SS and seen many times some loading up plates not only with full English breakfast stuff, but also waffles, syrup, fruit, croisants, pastires, etc all on one plate until the point they could bearly walk carrying the considerable weight back to the table.

 

Today's Lunch. Pasta La Vista ....

 

 

Edited October 10, 2015 by UKCruiseJeff