Hi Everyone
Below is the long awaited March Blog from Mrs P and her blog crew. This month the blog is all the work of Priyesh Mistry and Alex Holdcroft from 8P who have done a commendable amount of research about Easter and also have come up with a quiz for you to have a go at. Submit your answers when you return to school and have the chance to win some chocolate....

Hi everyone!

This is P.Mistry & A.Holdcroft – you may remember us from before Xmas – Mrs P’s blog team!

The theme this week is Easter and food. We have done some research into: Traditions across the world, Traditional foods, the history of different celebrations, and recipes.

There are even some really cheesy jokes but should give you a laugh. Then there is a multiple choice quiz with an Easter egg for the prize. Hand it in before Easter. Following the quick quiz, Mrs Phillips has another competition for you – a bit harder and worthy of a housepoint and some chocolate.

For Christians the egg is a symbol of Jesus' resurrection, as when they are cracked open they stand for the empty tomb. No-one actually knows when eggs were first used as symbols at festival times but it was long before Jesus' time. Eggs were always thought to be special because although they do not seem alive, they have life within them especially at springtime when chicks hatch out. Long ago people gave gifts of eggs carved from wood or precious stones. The first sweet eggs that were eaten were made in the last 100 years from sugar or marzipan. Since then chocolate eggs have become popular and these are given on Easter Sunday. After eating one, you’d better get some eggs-ercise!

Easter eggs are special eggs that are often given to celebrate Easter or springtime. Easter eggs are common during Eastertide as they symbolize the empty tomb of Jesus. Though an egg appears to be like the stone of a tomb, a bird hatches from it with life; similarly, the Easter egg, for Christians, is a reminder that Jesus rose from the grave, and that those who believe will also experience eternal life.

HistoryThe custom of the Easter egg originated amongst the early Christians of Mesopotamia, who stained eggs red in memory of the blood of Christ, shed at his crucifixion. The Christian Church officially adopted the custom, regarding the eggs as a symbol of the resurrection; in A.D. 1610, Pope Paul V proclaimed the following prayer:

“Bless, O Lord! we beseech thee, this thy creature of eggs, that it may become a wholesome sustenance to thy faithful servants, eating it in thankfulness to thee on account of the resurrection of the Lord.”
Although the tradition is to use dyed or painted chicken eggs, a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as jelly beans. These eggs can be hidden for children to find on Easter morning, which may be left by the Easter Bunny. They may also be put in a basket filled with real or artificial straw to resemble a bird's nest.

Easter Egg Traditions

An egg hunt is a game during which decorated eggs, real hard-boiled ones or artificial ones filled with, or made of chocolate candies, of various sizes, are hidden for children to find, both indoors and outdoors. When the hunt is over, prizes may be given for the largest number of eggs collected, or for the largest or the smallest egg. Real eggs may further be used in egg tapping contests. Egg rolling is also a traditional Easter egg game played with eggs at Easter. In the United Kingdom, Germany, and other countries children traditionally rolled eggs down hillsides at Easter.[9] This tradition was taken to the New World by European settlers, and continues to this day each Easter on the White House lawn. Egg dance is a traditional Easter game in which eggs are laid on the ground or floor and the goal is to dance among them without damaging any eggs[11] which originated in Germany. In the UK the dance is called the hop-egg.

Easter eggs for the visually impaired

Beeping Easter eggs are Easter eggs that emit various clicks and noises so that the visually impaired children can easily hunt for Easter eggs.
Some beeping Easter eggs make a single, high-pitched sound, while other types of beeping Easter eggs play a melody.
Since 2008, the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators (IABTI) have sponsored a nationwide charity campaign in the U.S., building beeping Easter eggs every year for visually impaired children.

Legends

Christian traditions

While the origin of Easter eggs can be explained in the symbolic terms described above, a sacred tradition among followers of Eastern Christianity says that Mary Magdalene was bringing cooked eggs to share with the other women at the tomb of Jesus, and the eggs in her basket miraculously turned brilliant red when she saw the risen Christ.The egg represents the boulder of the tomb of Jesus.
A different, but not necessarily conflicting legend concerns Mary Magdalene's efforts to spread the Gospel. According to this tradition, after the Ascension of Jesus, Mary went to the Emperor of Rome and greeted him with "Christ has risen," whereupon he pointed to an egg on his table and stated, "Christ has no more risen than that egg is red." After making this statement it is said the egg immediately turned blood red.

Parallels in other faiths

The egg is widely used as a symbol of the start of new life, just as new life emerges from an egg when the chick hatches out.
The ancient Zoroastrians painted eggs for Nowruz, their New Year celebration, which falls on the Spring equinox. The Nowruz tradition has existed for at least 2,500 years. The sculptures on the walls of Persepolis show people carrying eggs for Nowruz to the king.
There are good grounds for the association between hares (later termed Easter bunnies) and eggs, through folklore confusion between hares' forms (where they raise their young) and plovers' nests.
There are also parallels (though no direct connection) between the easter egg tradition and the celebration of Passover in Judaism, notable because in Christian tradition, Christ was celebrating Passover with his disciples on the evening before Good Friday. An egg is one of the components of a traditional Seder plate, a traditional centerpiece of the Passover meal. The tradition of hiding easter eggs for children to find is also similar to another Passover tradition, whereby the head of the household hides a piece of matza (the "afikomen") during the meal. After the meal, the children search the home for the afikomen, and are rewarded once it is found.

Egg-citing Simnel Cake!

Simnel cake is a light fruit cake with two layers of almond paste or marzipan, one in the middle and one on top, that is toasted, and eaten during the Easter period in the United Kingdom, Ireland and some other countries. It was originally made for the middle Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday; also known as Refreshment Sunday, Mothering Sunday, Sunday of the Five Loaves, and Simnel Sunday - after the cake. The meaning of the word "simnel" is unclear: there is a 1226 reference to "bread made into a simnel", which is understood to mean the finest white bread, from the Latin simila - "fine flour", though John de Garlande felt that the word was equivalent to placenta cake, a cake that was intended to please.

Conventionally eleven, or occasionally twelve, marzipan balls are used to decorate the cake, with a story that the balls represent the twelve apostles, minus Judas or Jesus and the twelve apostles, minus Judas. This tradition developed late in the Victorian era, altering the mid Victorian tradition of decorating the cakes with preserved fruits and flowers.

Ingredients

The cake is made from these ingredients: white flour, sugar, butter, eggs, fragrant spices, dried fruits, zest and candied peel.

History

Simnel cakes have been known since at least the medieval times. They would be eaten on the middle Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday (also known as Refreshment Sunday, Mothering Sunday, Sunday of the Five Loaves, and Simnel Sunday), when the forty day fast would be relaxed.^[13] More recently, they became a Mothering Sunday tradition, when young girls in service would make one to be taken home to their mothers on their day off. The word simnel probably derived from the Latin word simila, meaning fine, wheat flour.

A popular legend attributes the invention of the Simnel cake to Lambert Simnel, but this is clearly false since the Simnel cake appears in English literature anyway.

Different towns had their own recipes and shapes of the Simnel cake. Bury, Devizes and Shrewsbury produced large numbers to their own recipes, but it is the Shrewsbury version that became most popular and well known.

Eggs-otic Koulourakia

Koulourakia are a traditional Greek dessert, typically made at Easter to be eaten after Holy Saturday.

They are a butter-based pastry, traditionally hand-shaped, with egg glaze on top. They have a sweet delicate flavor with a hint of vanilla. Koulourakia are well known for their sprinkle of sesame seeds and distinctive ring shape. In fact, the word is the diminutive form for a ring-shaped loaf or lifebelt. These pastries are also often shaped like small snakes by the Minoans, as they worshiped the snake for its healing powers.

Now the pastries can be shaped into braided circles, hairpin twists, figure eights, twisted wreaths, horseshoes or Greek letters, although they are still often shaped into a snake style. They are commonly eaten with morning coffee or afternoon tea. Like all pastries, they are normally kept in dry conditions in a jar with a lockable lid.

Often, a clove is added in the middle of the pastry for added flavor.

Easter Biscuit

Easter biscuits are a traditional British cuisine gift, given to guests on Easter Sunday.
Originating from the West Country, they are made from flour, butter, egg yolk, baking powder and sugar. Lightly spiced, the currant-studded soft and round biscuits have a soft, biscuity, sugary crunch. Some traditional recipes include Cassia oil.
Most often, they are slightly bigger than traditional British biscuits, at up to 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter.

Hot Cross Buns

A hot cross bun is a spiced sweet bun made with currants or raisins and marked with a cross on the top, traditionally eaten on Good Friday.

History

In many historically Christian countries, buns are traditionally eaten hot or toasted during Lent, beginning with the evening of Mardi Gras (the evening before Ash Wednesday) through Good Friday, with the cross standing as a symbol of the Crucifixion. They are believed by some to pre-date Christianity, although the first recorded use of the term "hot cross bun" was not until 1733.
It is believed that buns marked with a cross were eaten by Saxons in honour of the goddess Eostre (the cross is thought to have symbolised the four quarters of the moon);[2] "Eostre" is probably the origin of the name "Easter". Others claim that the Greeks marked cakes with a cross, much earlier.
In the reign of Elizabeth I of England (1592), the London Clerk of Markets issued a decree forbidding the sale of hot cross buns and other spiced breads, except at burials, on Good Friday, or at Christmas. The punishment for transgressing the decree was forfeiture of all the forbidden product to the poor. As a result of this decree, hot cross buns at the time were primarily made in home kitchens. Further attempts to suppress the sale of these items took place during the reign of James VI (1603-1625).

Superstitions

English folklore includes many superstitions surrounding hot cross buns. One of them says that buns baked and served on Good Friday will not spoil or mold during the subsequent year. Another encourages keeping such a bun for medicinal purposes. A piece of it given to someone who is ill is said to help them recover.
Sharing a hot cross bun with another is supposed to ensure friendship throughout the coming year, particularly if "Half for you and half for me, Between us two shall goodwill be" is said at the time. Because there is a cross on the buns, some say they should be kissed before being eaten. If taken on a sea voyage, hot cross buns are said to protect against shipwreck. If hung in the kitchen, they are said to protect against fires and ensure that all breads turn out perfectly. The hanging bun is replaced each year.

Other versions

In the UK, the major supermarkets produce variations on the traditional recipe such as toffee, orange and cranberry, and apple and cinnamon.
In Australia and New Zealand, a chocolate version of the bun has become popular; there are also coffee flavoured buns sold in some Australian bakeries. They generally contain the same mixture of spices, but chocolate chips are used instead of currants.
In the Czech Republic, mazanec is a similar cake or sweet bread eaten at Easter time. It often has a cross marked on top.

The cross

The traditional method for making the cross on top of the bun is to use short-crust pastry; however, more recently recipes have recommended a paste consisting of flour and water.

Cadbury Crème Egg

A Cadbury Creme Egg is a chocolate product manufactured in the shape of an egg. The product is made up of a thick milk chocolate shell, with a white and yellow fondant filling which mimics the albumen and yolk of a real egg. Creme Eggs are the best-selling confectionery item between New Year's Day and Easter in the UK, with annual sales in excess of 200 million and a brand value of approximately £50 million.

Eggs-tra Recipies

For some Eggs-tra recipies, see Mrs P!

Eggs-treme Jokes!

What does the Easter Bunny get for making a basket?
Two points, just like the other basketball players.

How many Easter eggs can you put in an empty basket?
Only one. After that, it’s no longer empty.
How does Easter end?
With the letter R.

How do you know carrots are good for your eyes?
Because you never see a rabbit wearing glasses.

How did the soggy Easter Bunny dry himself?
With a hare dryer.

What do you call a rabbit with fleas?
Bugs Bunny.

How are rabbits like calculators?
They both multiply really fast.

If a rooster layed an egg on top of a hill, which side would it roll down?
Neither, roosters don’t lay eggs.

What kinds of beans never grow in a garden?
Jelly beans.

Why can't a rabbit's nose be twelve inches long?
Because then it would be a foot.

What do you get when you cross a bunny with an onion?
A bunion.

How can you tell which rabbits are the oldest in a group?
Just look for the gray hares.     

Now for the quiz....     

The Easter Bunny kindly provides us with eggs, but do you know why? Test your Easter food knowledge in our fun foodie quiz.

1. How long does Lent last for?

20 days
30 days
40 days

2. Why do we have eggs at Easter?

They are a symbol of rebirth
They taste nice
Jesus ate them at the last supper

3. Easter eggs only became chocolate this century, before that they were?

Made with lace
Carved from pancake batter
Painted bird eggs

4. The traditional roasted meat eaten at Easter is?

Roast beef
Chicken
Lamb

5. Which of these are traditional cakes made and eaten at Easter?

Simnel cake
Angel cake
Upside down cake

6. What is the traditional Christian date that Hot Cross Buns should be eaten on?

Shrove Tuesday
Good Friday
Palm Sunday

7. Paska is eaten as part of a traditional Easter meal in Eastern Europe. But what is it?

A type of chocolate egg
A type of baked egg
A type of bread

8. We all know that the Easter bunny kindly brings us eggs, but where did this rabbit symbol originate from?

It's the pagan emblem of fertility
Rabbits represent the disciples bringing food
They are the Russian symbol of peace

9. If you were celebrating Easter in Greece you'd be tucking into some nice Koullourakias. But what are these?

Bread sticks
Chocolate covered rabbit
Biscuits


10. If you were celebrating in America, the main dish of Easter Sunday to be tucked into is?

Roast goose
Roast ham
Shellfish

Now for Mrs P's challenge.

Write me a piece about why you enjoy cooking, making sure you use all the following words somewhere in your text. No more than one side of A4.

eggsperience

eggstremely

eggspectation

eggstravaganza

eggscept

eggsplosion

eggsample

eggsplore

eggstraterrestial  (ET)

eggshausted

eggstra-special

Hi everyone
If you read through this blog to the end you will find a quiz to try, and hand in, with a prize for the winner, and, for years 7 and 8, details of a lunchtime event in Food Tech.
This Sunday saw the start of the Chinese New Year. It will last for 15 days until 25th Feb. This Year is the year of the Snake.
I have been researching lots of facts about the celebration of the New Year and will enlighten you all too!

According to tales and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with the fight against a mythical beast called the Nian.  Nian would come on the first day of New Year to eat livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn’t attack any more people. One time, people saw that the Nian was scared away by a little child wearing red. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red. Hence, every time when the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again.   

On the days immediately before the New Year celebration, Chinese families give their home a thorough cleaning. It is believed the cleaning sweeps away the bad luck of the preceding year and makes their homes ready for good luck. Brooms and dust pans are put away on the first day so that the newly arrived good luck cannot be swept away. Some people give their homes, doors and window-frames a new coat of red paint;


Some believe that the second day of the New Year  is also the birthday of all dogs and remember them with special treats!



On the 13th day people will eat pure vegetarian food to clean out their stomach due to consuming too much food over the last two weeks.





The fifteenth day of the new year is celebrated as the Lantern Festival (otherwise known as Chap Goh Mei .Rice dumplings, a sweet glutinous rice ball brewed in a soup, are eaten this day. Candles are lit outside houses as a way to guide wayward spirits home. This day is celebrated as the Lantern Festival, and families walk the street carrying lighted lanterns.
In Malaysia and Singapore, this day is celebrated by individuals seeking for a love partner, a different version of Valentine's Day. Normally, single women would write their contact number on mandarin oranges and throw it in a river or a lake while single men would collect them and eat the oranges. The taste is an indication of their possible love: sweet represents a good fate while sour represents a bad fate.



A reunion dinner is held on New Year's Eve where members of the family gather for the celebration. The venue will usually be in or near the home of the most senior member of the family. The New Year's Eve dinner is very large and sumptuous and traditionally includes dishes of meat (namely, pork and chicken) and fish. Most reunion dinners also feature a communal hot pot as it is believed to signify the coming together of the family members for the meal. Most reunion dinners (particularly in the Southern regions) also prominently feature speciality meats (e.g. wax-cured meats like duck and Chinese sausage) and seafood (e.g. lobster and abalone) that are usually reserved for this and other special occasions during the remainder of the year.
Red packets for the immediate family are sometimes distributed during the reunion dinner. These packets often contain money in certain numbers that reflect good luck and honorability.

Red packets almost always contain money, usually varying from a couple of dollars to several hundred. Per custom, the amount of money in the red packets should be of even numbers, as odd numbers are associated with cash given during funerals .The number 8 is considered lucky  The number six is also very lucky. Sometimes chocolate coins are found in the red packets.
In addition to red envelopes, which are usually given from elder to younger, small gifts (usually of food or sweets) are also exchanged between friends or relatives (of different households) during Chinese New Year. Gifts are usually brought when visiting friends or relatives at their homes. Common gifts include fruits (typically oranges, and never pears), cakes, biscuits, chocolates, candies, or some other small gifts.
So, if you come to Food Tech on Monday 25th you can pick a red envelope. If there is an even number inside you will receive a little gift. If your number is 8 or 6 you win a Cadbury's creme egg, and if your number is divisible by both 8 and 6 you also win a prize.
Now for your quiz questions:
1.   Name the 12 animals of the Chinese calendar,in order.
2.   Why is the cunning Rat the first animal?
3.   What is the Chinese for Happy New Year?
4.   What symbolism do noodles carry?
5.   When and where was Ken Hom, the famous Chinese chef, born?
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MRS P's LUNCHTIME EVENT for Years 7 and 8,call in and find out. 

Hi everyone!
I am taking advantage of the day off (because of the snow), to write the next blog. This week will be the last Wednesday for another cohort of 12 Year 7's to come for their first ever session of Food Tech. Then, from next week I have the pleasure of the Year 8's. The year 7's have given me much entertainment over the last few weeks; they make a lot of mistakes, but learn from them. They come out with some hilarious statements and questions, but their excitement and enthusiasm is infectious, and I thoroughly enjoy teaching them. Their motivation and enthusiasm ought to be 'bottled' and sold! They had the pleasure of making a Spicy Pasta, Chocolate Brownies and Chicken Stir Fry with Noodles. Mr Collins, as Head of Year 7, often pops in to see how they are doing, and looking for food! So, now, in order that he doesn't have to judge which boy's creation is best, they all put a spoonful of their pasta or stir fry into the same foil container so that he gets a mixture of 6 different attempts (they work in pairs, you see). That way he can only say that they are all good!

I enjoy cooking and creating recipes, so even today I have been baking and inventing! I either make a recipe up entirely, or use a  recipe or idea from a book/magazine/the internet etc. and adapt it to suit - often in order to use up some foods and ingredients that I have left over in the fridge or freezer, or in the cupboard.
I love having a good sort out of my kitchen cupboards when I have time, and last night I sorted out lots of bits and pieces from my baking cupboard and today made a few cakes and some cherry and coconut scones. My husband rem,ains slim despite trying all the goodies, as he plays squash regularly!

I am upping my game this term because Mr Clements is becoming something of an expert at baking breads and cakes and give me samples to try. I shall have to be careful as he might be after my job!!
I also keep making an easy but impressive dessert from the new Nigella cookbook of Italian recipes - Nigelissima. I learn several languages as a hobby and my Italian Tutor (although he is actually Polish!) has lived and worked in many regions of Italy, often as a chef, to fund his studies as he progressed through Masters/PhD's, writing a book etc. As a consequence, he is a brilliant cook, and prepares really authentic Italian dishes. He has never heard of Nigella Lawson, but accepts that it was a good idea for her to do a book about Italian Food as she has worked over there as a chambermaid during her gap year, and she is a very popular celebrity chef.
The recipe is ....Meringue Gelato Cake with Chocolate Sauce. All it is really is a mixture of crushed meringues, whipped cream and chopped chocolate that you freeze in a loaf tin lined with cling film. Nigella adds some coffee liqueur. It does't freeze solid, so you can bring it out of the freezer at the last minute, turn it out and slice it up, serving it with chocolate sauce (bought or home made), and some raspberries. It is great! Come and get the recipe from me if you want; the first 4 boys to come for the recipe can try some out of my freezer at school!  I keep adapting the recipe already, eg. using half fat creme fraiche with the cream (healthier), chopped Ferero Rocher chocolates, or After Eight mints, or any leftover chocs of your choice!

I am having problems recruiting boys from Years 9, 10 and 11 to enter the heats of the Walsall Young Chef of the Year Competition - I don't know why? All contestants have to do is cook a healthy main course for 2 people for under £8. The heats will take place in the Food Tech Room after school over the next few weeks.
So, I have decided to open it up to Year 8's next. So, if anyone is interested, pop in and see me this week.
If there are too many entries, I will chose the best ideas and the other boys can take part in the School Competition later this year.

Some of you possibly listen to Steve Wright on Radio 2. He is a wacky DJ, who, in my day was a Radio 1 DJ! He has a slot on his show called 'Factoids' where he tells us amazing and weird facts about all kinds of things. I picked up a book of his at a book sale - here are one or two about food....
The record for eating 38 hard boiled eggs is 1 minute 15 seconds!
In 2007, Peter Andre was rushed to hospital in Jamaica suffering from banana poisoning. He had eaten 50 bananas the previous day and was suffering from an extreme potassium overdose!
Saffron is known as the king of spices and it's actually the world's most expensive food by weight.  It takes 120,000 crocus flowers, each picked by hand to produce 1 kg of saffron from the stamens!
Following his 300 mph car crash, Top Gear's Richard Hammond developed a craving for celery. He previously wouldn't eat it.
Ready Steady Cook's Ainsley Harriott was once a ball boy at Wimbledon.
Our food is so full of preservatives these days, that it now takes 3 weeks to start rotting rather than 3 days!
Hens lay more eggs when Radio 2 is played to them!
and finally ....
A seaweed used to flavour Japanese food, called UNDARIA PINNATIFIDIA, has been shown to cause weight loss in animals, particularly around the abdomen, and might be developed into a slimming supplement.  So, if you're a hippo, look out for the Undaria Pinnatifidia Weight Loss Programme, coming soon to a TV channel near you!
IF ANY OF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP WRITE THE BLOG, COME TO SEE ME ABOUT IT SOMETIME AND IT CAN BE ARRANGED.  I WOULD APPRECIATE SOME HELP, AND IT WOULD BE A GOOD WAY OF PRACTISING YOUR ENGLISH WRITING SKILLS, WHICH WOULD LOOK GOOD TO THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT!

Hi Everyone
Firstly, here are the answers to the hard quiz from November - I know some people tried it but found it too tricky to submit answers to me.

1.   Door locker, citrus fruit tart. ..KEY LIME PIE
2.   Cooked US State  BAKED ALASKA
3.   American River with a silt base tart. - MISSISSIPPI MIUD PIE
4    This festive roll is not for the fire - YULE LOG
5     Dark Wooded area celebration cake - BLACK FOREST GATEAU
6.    Cocoa confectionary with trainee girl guide - CHOCOLATE BROWNIES
 7.    What you do to start a race.  - SAGO
8.    Sweet Ballerina - PAVLOVA
 9.    One for the 25th December - CHRISTMAS PUDDING
 10.  Mr Clinton's daughter with a type of hair arrangement - CHELSEA BUN
 11.  Granny Smith's shoe repairer  APPLE COBBLER
 12.  Public School shambles - ETON MESS
13.  Espied Richard - SPOTTED DICK
14   Half a pair of long legged bloomers - with praise! - KNICKERBOCKER GLORY
15.  French eat white dessert - BLANCMANGE

There - it wasn't too tricky - or was it ?

Well, I hope you had a really good Christmas, and, if you celebrate the 25th with a traditional dinner, that it all went smoothly and tasted great.  I also hope that you didn't over-indulge and made yourself feel uncomfortably full all day.
A radio programme on the radio on Xmas Eve told of how the Romans actually had a building in their gardens called a VOMITARIUM for when they had overdone it on the eating and drinking - no prizes for guessing what that was there for!!

There were prizes for those boys who entered Alex and Priyesh's multiple choice Xmas quiz in their blog.
A bit suspicious though - they all had the same answer for the question about the spice used in Mulled Wine- the answer on the internet was cumin and of course that must be a mistake because I knew it was Cinnamon from the choice of answers. Suggests that the contestants had accessed the quiz on line or had bribed the 2 boys who set the quiz!!! Just warning you-  if any of the boys who entered the quiz offers you a glass of traditional mulled wine that they have made - it might taste a bit like a sweet curry?!
If I am wrong, and anyone finds a recipe for mulled wine using cumin then I stand corrected and will give a prize to you if you bring me a copy of it.
It was my turn to cook on Christmas Day this year - we entertained family, and I offered a selection of starters, turkey and beef as the main course with 5 different vegetable dishes and home made stuffing.
For dessert, my sister in law brought her home made Xmas pud - delicious - and then I had also prepared other sweets - Nigella's gelato meringue dessert with chocolate sauce and fresh raspberries, a home created chocolate roulade filled with creme fraiche and cranberries, and a fresh fruit salad. Whew!
The highlight of the meal though was the Xmas Crackers that my brother in law had sourced - each contained a wind up reindeer named after one of Santas 8. In the cracker box was a little race track which you put in the middle of the dining table. Then we raced our own reindeer against the others!  It was hilarious.  Below are pictures to illustrate the game. You can buy them for half price now on Amazon - get some for next year!
 

I bought myself a good book just before Christmas, after hearing it serialized on the radio. It is called The Horologican . I think you know that I am very interested in the history of the English Language, and this book – a book of hours - gives you many long-forgotten extraordinary words in the English language, arranged according to the hour of the day when you really need them.

On the food side, let’s look at one or two breakfasty words….

The study of breakfast is called ARISTOLOGY, and an aristologist would have even studied the 19^th book of the Iliad – a famous Greek epic written by Homer. The whole 19^th book is given over to the subject of whether to eat breakfast or not! Agamemnon gives a long speech commanding the Greeks to JENTICULATE – eat breakfast- whilst Achilles gives an even longer speech pointing out that it will make them late for work (ie. Killing Trojans!) Had Achilles been more reasonable he would have settled for a quick CHOTA HAZRI – a  brief breakfast just enough to keep you going til elevenses! It’s a Hindi work for little breakfast, and was even used in a story about a chap who, in 1886 spent the night up a tree with a tiger, and, when he returned at dawn simply wanted a chota hazri before he would tell them of his adventures!

Eggs, in the eighteenth century were actually called CACKLING FARTS on the basis that chickens cackled all the time and eggs came out of the back of them!

A lovely onomatopoeic word for a rashly roasted rasher of bacon is BRIZZLED - scorched near to burning.

We had a few foodie presents in our household this Christmas. My husband bought me a Stove top smoker - its really good. You fill it with a choice of wood chips, place the items to be smoked on a rack in the smoker, then close the lid and put it on the hob. It smokes food brilliantly. So far I have done trout, salmon and chicken but I shall be trying out lots more things when I have some spare time. The wood chips he bought me included apple, cherry, oak, alder, hickory,
I bought my husband a George Forman grill, family size, for him to grill a variety of stuff for us all.
I have yet to try out my yoghurt maker, which I bought on special offer at the Good Food Show. I do make my own yoghurt using a vacum flask but this kit has a much bigger, wider 'flask' to cultivate the yoghurt in, so you get more at one time, and its easy to clean. The Show was really enjoyable - we left at 3pm after 5 hours there - we sampled loads of yummy products including cheeses, sausages, dips and sauces, wines and punch, coffees and chocolates, breads and oils etc. etc. We went into the demonstrating theatre to see James Martin - that was really good. He is a classic car fanatic these days and owns several special cars himself, but he actually drove onto the stage in the world's smallest car, which is manufactured in GB. He had to roll out of it because he was almost stuck inside!

The one really interesting display at the show was this huge range of cheeses on tables in a cordonned-off area of the Hall where, during the week, a cheese tasting event had taken place. There were cheeses of all shapes, sizes and varieties on display that had been judged; their makers had been awarded prizes and certificates.
There were cheeses from all over the globe. The over all winner was a manchego cheese from Spain.
One cheese that I definitely wouldn't have wanted to sample was 'sticky toffee pudding cheddar'!
The entries from South Africa were huge whole cheeses in their rinds, and the rinds were designed to resemble the patterns on the skins of giraffes, cheetahs, leopards etc.! Brilliant!
The sad and disappointing thing though was that, because the cheeses had been out at Room Temperature for over 4 hours, they were labelled 'unfit for human consumption' and could not be sampled by or sold to the general public at the Show. They would all have to be 'binned' at the end of the day!  Food Safety Regulations I know, as I am a Food Safety Trainer, but honestly, it was such a waste of wonderful products.
So, the quiz this week is to find out which country the following cheeses come from:-
(Tip - consult wikipedia list of world cheeses....)
MQUNDU
PANEER
MAJDOULE
RUBING
TYROLEAN GREY
HALLOUMI
SAGA
EPAISSES
RAUCHKASE
FETA
RICOTTA
LEERDAMMER
MANCHEGO
GOLKA
DOVEDALE
OAXACA
MONTEREY JACK
WAIRUA
QUESO DE MANO
UGLICHSKY
Bring the answers to me when school starts - a prize for the winner.
SIGNING OFF.....MRS P

  Mrs P here. I am having a bit of a break from writing the blogs as you know; this week it's 2 more pupils from 8P who are having a go. They created this blog all by themselves, and with a bit of tweaking by me have published it for you below.. Do take time to read it through and have a go at the multiple choice quiz at the bottom of the page No one entered last week's quiz; so the chocs go into the roll-over and get added to the prizes for this week. That means there will be a runner up too, rather than just one winner..
Hey guys, I’m Alex and this is Priyesh, from 8P. This week we are blogging about potatoes, and how they are humble. We’ve found 48 synonyms for humble. We had to go through a lot of websites and thesauruses to get them. Some of them are: obliging, obsequious, reverential, self-conscious, self-effacing, subservient, supplicatory, unambitious, unostentatious, unpretentious. All relevant to the spud, don't you agree?

In the English dictionary, it said ‘also called Irish potato, white potato. The edible tuber of a cultivated plant, Solanum Tuberosum, of the nightshade family.’

          Potato in Gujarati is ‘batako’.

If you want to play some Christmas games, just go to:

‘’www.miniclip.com/games/genre-1003/christmas/en/’

INTERESTING SPUD FACTS

·       Children get more vitamin C, B1, B6, Folate,Iron, Magnesium and Potassium from potatoes than beetroot, bananas, nuts, broccoli and avocado all combined.

·       All the nuts, seeds and nut products eaten by children provide kids in the UK with less selenium than potatoes.

·       The record number of chip portions sold in a fish & chip shop, in a day, is 4000

·       ¼ of all potatoes grown in Britain are made into chips. That’s around 1.5 million tons each year, or nearly the same weight as 125,000 full double decker buses.

CHRISTMAS FOOD FACTS

·       One notable medieval English Christmas celebration featured a giant 165-pound pie.
The giant pie was nine feet in diameter. Its ingredients included:
* 2 bushels of flour
* 20 pounds of butter
* 4 geese
* 2 rabbits
* 4 wild ducks
* 2 woodcocks
* 6 snipes
* 4 partridges
* 2 neats' tongues
* 2 curlews
* 6 pigeons
* 7 blackbirds.

·       In the Ukraine, they bake a traditional Christmas bread called "kolach". This bread is braided into a ring, and three such rings are placed one on top of the other, with a candle in the center of the top one. The three rings symbolize the Holy Trinity.They also set the table for Christmas Eve dinner with two tablecloths: one for the ancestors of the family, the other for the living members as in pagan times, ancestors were believed to be benevolent spirits who, when shown respect, brought good fortune. The Ukrainians also prepare a traditional twelve-course meal at Christmas time. A family's youngest child watches through the window for the evening star to appear, a signal that the feast can begin. 

·       The inventor of the Christmas cracker or bon-bon was Tom Smith who owned a sweet shop in London.
Visiting France in the 1840's, while Tom was in France, he came across sweets wrapped in a twist of paper. As they were quite popular, he began to copy the idea.When Tom noticed that young men were buying them to give to their sweethearts, he began to place "love mottoes" on small slips of paper inside the sweet wrapping.Later in 1846, and thinking about Christmas, Tom's thoughts turned towards placing toys and novelties inside the twisted wrapping. He experimented with this and invented the idea of producing a wrapping that could be pulled apart. Voila! The humble Christmas cracker!

A fun christmas quiz - Mrs P has the answers locked away in the Food Tech safe. Print off your responses, hand them in this week, and win a Christmas selection box!  If no one enters, the 2 bloggers get the chocs!!

1Mince pies used to be oblong with a pastry figure on top. Who did this symbolise?

Jesus Rudolf Noddy Holder

2 Brussels sprouts got their name because

They were called russels, but this was mispronounced They were popular in Brussels Little cabbages was deemed too long a name

3 How many mince pies should you eat for luck?

3 6 12 52

4 When did good king Wenceslas step out?

On the eve of Christmas On the feast of Stephen To the tune of Jingle Bell Rock

5 In which direction should you stir mincemeat?

Clockwise Anticlockwise

6 Who first tucked into turkey in Britain?

Henry VIII Charles I Oliver Cromwell Queen Victoria

7 Which spice would you not normally use when mulling wine?

Cinnamon Cloves Nutmeg Cumin

8 What might have been served as a traditional Christmas dinner in early Britain?

Lancashire hotpot A mustard-smothered pig's head Black pudding

9 What might you find running through the middle of stollen?

Chestnuts Marzipan Gold More cake

10 Which of the following is a traditional flavouring for bread sauce?

Sage

Cloves

Star anise

11 The first mince pies actually contained meat as well as fruit.

True

False

12 What do Germans cook their Brussels sprouts in?

Water Apple juice Beer Schnapps