Blogchains, lists, cheating and fried food (all at once, of course)
Another AW Blogchain is upon us. I’ll give you the complete list of blogs in a few days time, when I’m not trying to do so much at once. It’s the end of my teaching year (just two more classes!), and it’s Chanukah, and it’s … lots of things. My brain loses track and I’m reduced to writing lists. I sing them out to the tune of “Don’t Fence me In” – “Give me lists, lots of lists.” Which brings me to Kat, who started this blogchain off by talking about distractions.
I did well at school and well at university and I owe it partly to the wondrous capacity of lists to fuse together the incompatible and make impossible days look almost reasonable.
How does this work? Well, on today’s main list I have “teach, meeting, sort out A’s problem, ring D, start sorting stuff for writing retreat, shop for Chanukah, pay a bill, sort presents, waste time in my current favourite shop using the excuse of guests over the weekend, blog fried food, do blogchain.”
Not an impossible day, but only if I combine things. I did my Chanukah shopping at my favourite shop and bought stuff for the writing retreat and bought two presents all at once. And I’m going to a postscript with today’s portion of historic recipes, to boot.
In simple language, I cheat. Not at exams, but in fitting things into the day. It got me through my doctorate when I developed glandular fever and my father developed cancer. It got me through today.
I still don’t know why lists work for me and not for other people, but on some days, lists are the only things that work. Right now, for instance, my brain isn’t working at all. This means I’m going to opt out of thought entirely (cheating again) and send you to look at the next blogpost in the chain (which will appear just as soon as Tina can work out how to follow on from lists and historic food).
With this post I’ve finished my main list, though, and need to cross everything off and crumple the paper and smile hugely. Did I forget to say? Lists only work when they’re symbolically destroyed with much glee. Without that, they’re just scribbles on scrap paper.
Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes By Miss Parloa and Home Made Candy Recipes By Mrs. Janet McKenzie Hill 1909
COCOA DOUGHNUTS
One egg, 1/2 a cup of sugar, 1/2 a cup of milk, 1/4 teaspoonful of salt, 1/4 teaspoonful of cinnamon extract (Burnett’s), two cups of flour, 1/4 cup of Baker’s Breakfast Cocoa, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Mix in the order given, sifting the baking powder and cocoa with the flour. Roll to 1/3 an inch in thickness, cut and fry.
MRS. BEDFORD’S CHOCOLATE CRULLERS
Cream two tablespoonfuls of butter and 1/2 of a cupful of sugar; gradually add the beaten yolks of three eggs and one and 1/2 cupfuls more of sugar, one cupful of sour milk, one teaspoonful of vanilla, two ounces of chocolate grated and melted over hot water, 1/3 of a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in 1/2 of a teaspoonful of boiling water, the whites of the eggs whipped to a stiff froth, and sufficient sifted flour to make a soft dough. Roll out, cut into oblongs; divide each into three strips, leaving the dough united at one end. Braid loosely, pinch the ends together and cook until golden-brown in smoking-hot fat.
December 5th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Fab post. This sounds divine. I’ve made notes and going to fix some this holiday.
December 5th, 2007 at 9:13 am
I love making lists! What I really love is scratching things off the list when the task is accomplished!
December 6th, 2007 at 7:34 am
Tina, I’ve had to choose between all teh recipes I’ve collected for this holiday and it has become too much for my brain. You cook, and I’ll just eat the chocolate…
Mary Lynn, you have it exactly right. It’s not the list itself, it’s scribbling madly over the bit you’ve finished to prove you’ve done something amazingly handy.
December 19th, 2007 at 2:11 am
Miss Mama is a listmaker and thus I ended up to be one too. Unfortunately, I have a nasty habit of forgetting what I’ve done with whatever list I need to be using at the moment and so I have to wing it most of the time.
Okay. So I hate the seeming rigidity of lists. The thing is, they’re a necessary evil.
Typing of evil, YOU are evil for typing about chocolate fried goodies.
Now I challenge you to post a recipe for and the origins of the Fried Mars candybar.
Go!
December 19th, 2007 at 11:53 am
[...] Gillian’s Food History [...]
December 19th, 2007 at 11:58 am
I love this post. It is so indicative of how I live my life. I multi-task at everything. My husband can never understand how I get so many things done… and done right. I’ve tried over and over to explain the art of multi-tasking. He doesn’t get it. LOL.
I take multi-tasking down to the most minute level. Even the conservation of footsteps count. Before I walk in my bedroom, I’ll grab 4 things that need to go in. Even if that means I’m limping and dragging stuff. One trip… not 4, and only because I was going in there anyway. I think it drives my husband nuts… LOL
December 22nd, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Love your last line!!
Based on your list philosophy, I bet you are a champ at re-slanting stories (use the same research, sell multiple pieces) and selling re-prints, too!
December 23rd, 2007 at 4:24 pm
I’m the same way and should I need to go out and do something, I order the things I need to do by location so I’m not driving all over the place. I’m into multi-tasking and condensing. I’m also OCD so that explains a lot.
December 30th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
Actually I break my own list-efficiency when I work round the house. If I do one task at a time I save my neck pain and give myself more exercise in a day. The minute I’m busy though, I revert to type.