Category: Uncategorised

Japanese cuisine?

Ofelia has heard that we’re looking at Japan today, so she’s put on her costume and brought a bowl, hoping there might be some Japanese food. Noodles, maybe?

Ratvaark looks at Ofelia who is wearing a Japanese dress and hairdo, and has a bowl with chopsticks.

Well, here’s the funny thing Ofelia. In Japan they have a tradition of eating Kentucky Fried Chicken for Christmas lunch!

Ratvaark and Ofelia look at a bucket of KFC chicken pieces, and a paper cup of Pepsi.

Well, it’s a popular tradition with us! Tuck in everyone, there’s lots to go round!

All the vaarks gather around the bucket of chicken

Ernest especially likes a fizzy drink, even though the bubbles make his snozzle tickle!

Ernest has extended hi long snozzle to reach up to the straw in the drink.

Well, Ofelia is happy enough to enjoy a bit of junk food as a treat. And she’s found a little picture of Father Christmas on the calendar.

Ofelia looks at the calendar window, with a picture of Father Christmas.

Time for Welsh Cakes!

Heddiw yw Dydd Dewi Sant – nawddsant o Cymru. Felly, Ofelia yn gwneud Welsh cakes!

Today is St David’s Day, patron saint of Wales. So, Ofelia is making Welsh cakes!

Ofelia has flour, butter, sugar, dried fruit and an egg.

Mae gynnon nhw llawer o enwiau yn Cymraeg, fel pice bach, neu teisennau maen. Maen nhw’n gwneud ar radell, neu mewn padell ffrio.

They have lots of names in Welsh like “little pie” or “bakestone cakes”. They are made on a griddle, or in a frying pan.

Yn cyntaf, rhowch flawd a menyn mewn powlen.

First, put flour and butter in a bowl.

Ofelia has a bowl with flour and butter in

Rhwbiwch nhw gyda’i gilydd i wneud ‘briwsion bara” Mae’n flêr, felly Ofelia yn ofyn Mrs Human i helpu.

Rub them together to make ‘breadcrumbs” It’s messy, so Ofelia asks Mrs Human to help.

Ofelia has a bowl of rubbed flour and butter

Wedyn, ychwanegu siwgr a ffrwythau sych. Weithiau, Mrs Human yn gwneud nhw efo sglodion siocled yn lle

Then add sugar and dried fruit. Sometimes, Mrs Human makes them with chocolate chips instead.

Fruit and sugar is added to the bowl

Nesa, ychwanegu wy, a cymysgu i wneud toes. Os ti’n angen, adio tipyn bach o llaeth.

Next, add an egg, and mix to make a dough. If necessary, add a small amount of milk.

Ofelia stirs an egg into the mixOfelia has a ball of dough

Rhowch y padell ffri, neu radell, ar y cwcer i boethi. Ychwanegu tipyn bach iawn olew.

Place the frying pan, or griddle, on the cooker to heat. Add a very small amount of oil.

The pan is on the hob

Gallet ti rholiwch y toes a defnyddio torrwr, neu gwneud peli bach a fflatiwch nhw â dy dwylo

You could roll the dough and use a cutter, or make small balls and flatten them with your hands

Ofelia is cutting the dough into little balls

The balls are flattened into cakes.

Rhowch y cacennau yn y padell, a coginio ar dau neu dri munud a bob ochr

Put the cakes in the pan, and cook for two or three minutes on each side

Some of the cakes are in the pan

The cakes are turned over in the pan, showing their cooked sides

Wedyn, rhowch y cacennau ar rac, a taenellwch siwgr. A bwyta, efo panad.

Next, place the cakes on a rack, and sprinkle with sugar. And eat, with a cuppa.

The cakes are on a cooling tray

Ofelia looks at a full tray of cakes

Oh, bore da, Nano! Beth wyt ti’n meddwl am fy cacennau?

Oh, good morning, Nano! What do you think of my cakes?

ofelia talks to nano

Nano yn dweud “Ardderchog! Blasus iawn!”

Nano says “Excellent! Very tasty!”

Nano looks at the cakes

Felly, mae Ofelia a Nano yn dweud “Dydd gŵyl Dewi Sant Hapus! A mwynhewch eich Welsh Cakes!”

So Ofelia and Nano say “Happy Saint David’s Day! And enjoy your Welsh Cakes!”

Ofelia and Nano sit on a leek and face the camera

A haggis huntin’ we will go!

Well, it is the 25th January, which is Burns’ Night! So Nano and I have put our kilts on, and are going on an expedition to hunt a haggis. Only, we’re not quite sure what a haggis actually is…

Ratvaark and Nano are wearing kilts and have ratvaark’s rucksack

Ernest says, we will probably need a big net to catch it in!

Ernest brings them a fishing net made from a piece of net curtain

Winston says, he’s heard the haggis lives in the water, so we might need a fishing rod.

Winston brings a fishing rod

Matilda thinks if we are going anywhere near the water, we must take a lifebelt, and Nano’s yacht!

Matilda is wearing an orange lifebelt and Nano sits in his half-walnut boat

Hypno thinks we might need to look far away, so he’s brought us a telescope to pack.

Nano looks through a telescope Hypno has brought

Microvaark thinks the haggis might be very small, so we’ll need a magnifying glass.

Nano is magnified through a magnifying glass Micro has brought.

Bernard says he thinks there will be a lot of thick undergrowth to get through, so he’s lending us his shears.

Bernard brings a pair of garden shears

Vincent says, how will we know where we’re going without a map? Just be careful opening it in the wind….

Vincent brings a folded map

Vincent has unfolded the map which is as big as himself.

Gino says there are mountains to scale, so we’ll need a rope and grappling hook.

 

Esther thinks it’s bound to rain, so we better pack a brolly

Esther holds a black umbrella

Arnold, who is always safety conscious, wonders if the haggis breathes fire? So we better take an extinguisher.

Arnold gives them a fire extinguisher

Peggy thinks it’s bound to be dark by the time we get there, so we better have a torch.

Peggy shines a mini torch onto Nano

Dim wonders if the haggis can be tamed with soothing music. Better pack the gramophone. Really? OK…

Dim brings them a brass model gramophone

Fury thinks the haggis will be very fierce, so we should take a big sword to protect ourselves.

Fury brings them a long sword shaped letter opener

Ofelia says we must be polite, so we should take offer the haggis a snack and a cup of tea.

Ofelia brings a teacup and saucer, and a wrapped cafe biscuit.

Well! That’s quite a lot of stuff to pack! I can fit a fair bit in my rucksack, but the rest… well, we’ll have to take the wheelbarrow!

Ratvaark looks at the big pile of items

Ratvaark has packed a lot into his rucksack, but the bigger items remain.

All the rest of the items are packed in the wheelbarrow and Ratvaark is carrying the rucksack

Well, off we go! Through dark forests and over rocky mountains we quest.

Ratvaark and Nano push the barrow though a forest

They push the barrow in front of a rocky backdrop

Well! It looks like we’re on the right track Nano!

Nano sits on Ratvaark’s nose to read a sign that says “Haggis” with an arrow pointing onwards

Oh! Here is is. It’s not fierce, or tiny, or a fish, or firebreathing. It’s just a sort of meat pudding!

Ratvaark and Nano look at a wrapped haggis

“The good news is”, says Nano, “we don’t have to share our biscuit with it!”

Ratvaark and Nano share the biscuit they packed.

Everyone is very pleased to see our haggis when we get it back. There’ll be plenty to go round!

All the vaarks are admiring the haggis

But having carried the rucksack and pushed the barrow all that way, I just want a lie down!

Ratvaark lies flat on the floor, tired out.

Looking back over 2019.

As the 2019 comes to an end, we’re all going to choose our favourite moments of the year.

Bernard enjoyed setting up his rock garden, and also when we visited Snailvaark and friends, because Tali the molevaark showed him around the courgette plants.

Ernest was very proud to be Dim’s Best Vaark at the wedding, and also to have rescued Nano from the overflow when the popcorn machine went crazy!

ernest is holding the ring for dim, both dressed in tuxedos

Esther remembers having a big wiffle-hug with cousin Snailvaark on our visit to Wales. And then there was that lovely sunny day out in Halifax, exploring the Piece Hall.

Fury was on hand to check out the mechanicals when the humans got a new car, but her proudest moment was when she ran the steam traction engine to power the Ferris Wheel at the fete.

fury investigates a car engine

Gino says he really enjoyed helping to make the Christmas crackers, once he’d got the motif unstuck from his nose.

gino has the motif from a cracker stuck to his nose

Hypno had a great time running a stall at the Christmas Market, but even better was playing in the band Europe at Vaarklife!

Matilda says nothing will top the moment Dim proposed, and she was so happy when they finally joined the broken biscuit.

Dim says he was overjoyed when Matilda said yes, and will never forget their first dance at the wedding reception.

Micro says weddings are all very well, but he got a bike this year and that’s hard to beat!

micro admires a bike on Winston’s market stall

Nano is super proud of his Christmas sweater, and says he looks forward to getting many more outfits. He also really enjoyed driving a digger on the lads’ Stag Day out.

Ofelia had great fun dressing up as a Dalek for our Halloween party, and was happy to be able to share a bit pan of paella with the alien who arrived at Vaarklife.

Peggy loved meeting up with her cousin, and making her a dress. But she says the cucumber facial as the girls’ spa day was very relaxing.

Peggy lies on a couch with a slice of cucumber over her face

Vincent says there was just one highlight for him – playing Bowie!

Vincent is dressed as David Bowie

Winston’s totted up his accounts and says it’s been a successful year again. Investing in that market stall was a good move.

Arnold is just happy nobody got hurt!

Arnold sets off fireworks behind a safety tape

And me? Well, I’ve just enjoyed it all. But especially meeting up with friends – including our crocheting facebook pals, our friends in Wales, Sonning Bear and his friends on the boat, and all of you here online. Thank you for joining us, and here’s to next year!