Sunday, November 14, 2010

Endive; the Recipe

Hi all,

Since the veggie of the week is endive, I thought I'd write down a recipe for endive, so here we go:

Ingredients:
- (Broad-leafed) Endive

Directions

As soon as the endive is dropped into your cage, it is important to start slicing and dicing right away since endive is at it's best while it is still crunchy. Endive is always a tasty veggie, but at it's best when fresh.
Eat whatever is left after you're done slicing and dicing.

Enjoy!
Yaya

The Leftovers

A crop of endive is kinda big, so it is okay to share a bit with your humans for the following traditional Dutch recipe:

Andijvie Stamppot
(endive 'mash pot')

Ingredients (serves 4 humans)
- 400 gr. broad-leafed endive
- 1200 gr. potatoes (preferably floury)
- 80 gr. butter
- 4 cups of water (500 ml)
- pepper, salt and nutmeg
- warm milk
- Rookworst (Dutch smoked sausage)
- mustard
Variation tip: stir little pieces of bacon and Dutch cheese into the stamppot. My human likes old dutch cheese, but it has a strong taste so if you're not sure a young dutch cheese might be better.

Directions
Put the potatoes into the water and boil them until they are soft (about 30 minutes). Cut up the endive into small strips. Boil the rookworst. Drain the water from the potatoes. Mash the potatoes with a bit of warm milk, butter, a pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir in the raw endive and serve with the rookworst and a bit of mustard.

For the non-dutchies: rookworst and dutch cheese (e.g. Old Amsterdam)

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Christmas Fayre at Raystede Rescue

Piggyfriends agents Thorntons, Firenze and Venezia reporting.
 
On Sunday 5th. December from 12 until 3 there is going to be a Christmas Fayre at Raystede. This is the rescue from which we three came, as well as several other current Piggyfriends. It featured in Algernon Rat's travels when he was staying with us in April and can be seen on the Remembering Alge blog for that month.
 
 
We hope that somepig reading this will be able to persuade his/her slave to go along and support the cause. They need all the help that they can get so that they can care for even more animals.
 
Here is their website.........
 
 
Slave will be there, desperately trying to avoid the cavy house as we do not have any room for more piggies right now.
Her son, Kevin, who is shown in the blog, will be manning the car park as he does not want to get roped in to sing in the choir. Slave is a show off and will sing anywhere. Sigh............
 
 
 
 
 

Friday, November 12, 2010

Veggie of the Week Endive



Here are Agent Dinosaur and Agent Bumble Bee eating a leaf of Endive:) they love it!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

GPDD got problems again

As most of the GPDD readers probably noticed we haven't received the Guinea Pig Daily Digest for a few days now.
M and me were discussing whether GPDD had spam problems again, or that no one hadn't posted for a few days now.
As I wanted to know what was going on, I wrote an email to the GPDD and also to Tex.
---
Hi there,

I haven't received the GPDD again for a few days now.
I also don't see any new posts in the archives,
so i'm wondering if the GPDD got problems again,
or that just no one posted lately...

Wheeks,
Slave Mikey and piggies:
Guinygirlz: Woopy, Lily and Daisy (almost same weight as 2 year old Woopy,
and they're only 6 months!)
and Valentine Chico

---
Hi!

Yes, the same problem that happened a week ago seems to be happening again. We have a ticket in on it, and hopefully it will be resolved soon.

Tex
--

Well, let's keep our fingers crossed, they fix it soon!

Grtz,
Mieke

Monday, November 8, 2010

Veggie of the Wheek: Endive

This weeks' veggie will be Endive. Slave says this is a winter veggie, which can be bought here mostly in autumn and winter period.
As you can see, the Endive looks like a big crop of Salad, the taste is quite bitter,
and we get to have a whole leaf per guinea pig!
According to the Guinea lynx vegetable chart below, it's also known as Escarole.
Here is a table with it's nutritional values:
 Guinea Lynx'
VEGETABLE CHART

100 gram portions
Percent
Water
Energy
(Kcal)
Protein
(g)
Ascorbic
Acid (C)
Calcium
(mg)
Phosph.
(mg)
  Ca:P
Ratio
Endive (Escarole) 93.79171.256.552281.9:1
We also read it's high in fibe, vitamin A and K
Oh, wow, this is was wikipedia says about Endive: 'Endive (pronounced /ˈɛndɪv/[1] or /ˈɛndaɪv/), Cichorium endivia is a leaf vegetable belonging to the daisy family.' Wow, there is something like a Daisy family? I have got to be a part of that! Ow, it's a plant family? that is too bad...
Here you see me and Woopy sharing a leaf. Can you see, it's as big as me!
Slave says Endive is also very nice for people te eat, she likes in raw, mixed with mashed patatoes, and a sausage. What makes it really yummy is adding small chunks of Cheese (she's Dutch, huh?) and a little ketjap (soy sauce)...
Okay, those humans are weird, we just eat it raw.
Please send in your pigtures or stories about how you eat Endive!
Also i'd like to know if it's available in for example the US. It seems like a very Dutch veggie to us...

Green Wheeks,
Lil'Wheeker (aka Daisy)

Btw, Because of the Great Piggyfriend Slave Penny tips, our slave is now growing Endive and carrots inside (as it's cold outside)! We hope it will work, one of the seeds sprouted, but as slave planted both in one pot, we've no idea wether it will be carrot or Endive...

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Piggy Snap; Tort and White Tricolours


Agent Vroom



Agent Lettuce

This is me with my little sister Snuggles (I'm on the right) we are both Tricolour or Tort and White piggies. Plz to note I am not named for the hoomin singer but after the queen of Carthage-I'm a regal peeg. Home is my pod in my Aunty Loosy's house, Snuggs lives next door with her hoomin. I enjoy long cuddles, using Twitter to talk to other peegz around the world, floortime (especially for chewing on Aunty Loosy's shoes) and being told how lovely I am. Sometimes I miss my big sisty, Irene, who died in the summer.
Veggie of the week is one of my fav things cause it has broadened my nomming horizons, Endive is now a favourite nom, still think carrot is a bit rubbish though.
Dido out




Mystery Agent Watercress

Hi Agent Ghost. I would very much like to become an agent and to play Piggy Snap for the Tort and Whites team! I have chosen the name Agent Watercress, because I was named after the long-haired girl in a famous fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. A near translation of her name from German to English is "Watercress". I love having my hair trimmed (and it can get a bit knotty at the back) but the comb - oh no no no. I think my performance was once nominated for an Oscar.

Agent Watercress has given you the best clues to her real name so get guessing...



Mystery Agent Cox's Orange

Hi from me Agent Ghost. I'd like to play Piggy Snap for the same team. I have chosen the name Agent Cox's Orange, after England's most famous apple variety. I am very bold, friendly and inquisitive. I have a pointy nose and I like to stick it into everything! Whenever the slave comes into view, I march straight up to her to see what she's got for me.

Agent Cox's Orange real name is also a popular variety of apples as well as the name of a hobbit get guessing.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Eating Tomatoes

Agent Minty reporting.
 
Here are pigtures of myself and my friend, Copper, eating tomatoes. We just love them. I wanted our pigtures taken outdoors so that my eyes would look the proper colour but it was raining and windy and I decided that I would make do with Slave's useless camerawork and she took these in the playpen. Copper didn't mind as his eyes are red anyway.
 
These are tiny cherry tomatoes so Slave only cut them into halves. As winter is coming the tomato plants in the greenhouse will not produce many more fruits so Slave will have to buy them from the supermarket. They do not taste as good as the home grown ones but we will eat them all up.
 
Yum yum.