Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Quite Literally

I’m not sure if this is a question many of you will have pondered, but breakfast choices and general slovenliness have brought it up.
What can you do with leftover porridge?

I can’t think of a single thing, other than getting it out of the pan as quick as possible.
Ready Brek was all the rage when I was a kid.
The propaganda showed this mysterious orange glow around kids as they trundled off to school.
This was to show how warmed up they had been by their breakfast and prepared for the snowy walk.
That made me want it SO bad.
To my ‘strange’ mind, snow meant Ready Brek, so therefore, Ready Brek meant snow!
I can remember the rage I went into when I couldn’t make ATM or my Grandparents understand that there should have been snow the day after we had shopped.

Similar advertising indoctrination led me to believe only Blonde people could use Timotei shampoo.
Remember her?
Long blonde hair, white dress, nice tits, in a field or something; washing her hair in a stream or trough and flinging it back, to show a slow motion water arc.
I was totally bewildered when I found it in my dark haired uncle’s bathroom and couldn’t understand why he could use it.
That is when my Grandfather understood what was going on and had to start explaining advertising to me.
Up until then they hadn’t realised just how ‘Literal’ I was.
(An Asperger’s diagnosis was still over 25yrs away at that point!)

There also used to be a kids programme called “Vision On“.
It was quite progressive for it’s time and had a signer for deaf people.
They had a bloke called Tony Hart who did the ‘Arty’ bit.
He NEVER said a word and the ‘signer’ was always about when he was.
So, you can imagine my horror when he got his own show and the fucker was aurally A1 and had no problem with speech.
It STILL freaks me out! The Bastard!

11 comments:

Crisp-e said...

lol! I remember those ads like yesterday. Incidentally, they recently brought back that Aquafresh 'family' ad with the catchy tune.

One question: how did you cope with the panty liner ads? Did you think that a piece of material as thin as tissue paper would really absorb a pint of fluid?

Sleepy said...

Mate! The panty liner issue has been addressed in an earlier post!

Crisp-e said...

hahahahahaha!

Artemesia said...

First Sleepy..

I love your photos. Each one a luminous gem.

Now here's one for your left over porridge:Leftover Porridge..

Oatmeal Cake

1 ¼ cups boiling water
1 cup quick cooking oats
½ cup vegetable shortening (I used 8 oz. Butter)
(Let the butter get room temp soft)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups flour
1/3 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda

To Make.:
Add boiling water to the oats and let stand 20 minutes
(Here is where you could use your left over porridge
Would be about 2 ¼ cups of that cooked oatmeal.
*Make this cake after breakfast or later, really mash and soften
the porridge so it can be combined with the other stuff).
Crean the softened butter with the sugars, then add the beaten eggs
and vanilla with the oatmeal mixture.
Bake in two 9 inch greased and floured cake pans for 35-40 minutes
in 375 degree over (American degrees)
Check in 35 minutes..doneness depends on your ovens quirks. If cakes
have pulled away from sides of pans, probably done. If not..wait a bit more.
Turn out and cool before frosting.

Frosting-:
8 oz. Cream cheese (lite or regular)
¼ stick of butter (1/2 stick or 2 oz)
1 lb box of powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
between 1 & 2 cups chopped nuts (walnut or pecans)
*I toast nuts first, then cuisinart coarsly or smash)

To Make Frosting:
Cream together softened butter and softened cream cheese.
Then blend in the sugar, vanilla and nuts.
(I whip the above carefully at first, with a hand elec. Mixer.
It will fluff nicely).
Spread on top of first layer, top with the other layer and spread on top also.
I had enough to spread on much of the sides of the cake.
Can put some whole nots on top of thefrosting to decorate further.

I made this cake and it was eaten with great fun and enjoyment.
I happen to like oatmeal in most of its forms..cookies, shortbread, etc..
In baking, I don’t worry. Improvise within reason when you have to.
A

Sleepy said...

artemesia, Thank you and welcome!

Thank you for the recipe!
That will SO get done (Photos will be taken)

I love the idea of '375 American Degrees'! hehehe

Sending '1 English Hug'.

Schneewittchen said...

I've never heard of leftover porridge.....

LentenStuffe said...

The thing about Flahavan's porridge is it was once a simple sort of gruel, and we too had that glow in the snow advert, but today the stuff's gone all uppity and mod and has spawned an entire lineage of gruelettes, little microwave this, johnny portable that, quick oats the other (Imagine getting your oats quickly! Shameful), and there's the mini-pack for the back-pack. No end to the convenience and, of course, it comes out all nice and creamy, unlike the lumpy cement mother used to make, the stuff you'd have to take a mallet to after an hour in the open air ... let's not mention the pit of the gut.

But don't you just hate the way the advertisers target the fertile imaginations of children. Parents don't stand a chance of competing with that.

Sleepy said...

schnee.. Who measures that stuff out? Not me! There is always too much.

lenten..We had the butch bloke in the vest and kilt!

Schneewittchen said...

Ah, you need to make it straight in the bowl then into the microwave. Half a cereal bowl of oats, cover with H2O, two mins 30 in microwave, Mark's yer uncle. Kein leftovers und kein revolting saucepan.

Sleepy said...

I only microwave peas and jacket potatoes!

I have been known to microwave socks dry.

Sleepy said...

sassy.. For which, I still owe you.

Will trundle down later, with a pocket for of 'shrapnel'!

Spuds have final 20mins in oven. To go brown and crispy!