It was December 2010, and Mumford and Sons had been on the road since the previous summer: a glorious, eventful, yet relentless time. Standing somewhere between exhilarated and exhausted, the plan now was for the band’s four members to spend a few weeks apart, write, recuperate, and then reconvene in Nashville in the New Year, with the intention of trying out material for their second album.
The informality of the set-up in Tennessee perhaps helped to dispel any nerves they may have had about following up 2009’s Sigh No More — an album that had gone four times platinum in the UK, and twice platinum in the US. The band assembled in the front room of a house and set about sharing the songs they had been working on alone. “It was a coming together, a sharing of some stuff,” explains Lovett (keys, accordion, drums), “a pool of ideas that would come out of our time apart. So if there was nervousness, it wasn’t nervousness about the record, it was nervousness about how a couple of these new song ideas would go down. But we knew we were going to play music, and it wasn’t time to get into the nuts and bolts of it, it was more like we were starting another year from this point. And that felt very good. Very fresh, and natural.”
Out of that time in Nashville came a couple of songs for the new record — the gorgeous Lovers’ Eyes and Hopeless Wanderer. Then followed more touring, performances at the Grammys and the Brits, before the chance came in the summer to head into a studio in Bermondsey, south London. Here the band recorded the title song for the soundtrack to Wuthering Heights, as well as finding the footings for several of the new album’s songs: Babel, I Will Wait, Not With Haste, Broken Crown, Lover of the Light.
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A pre-baked pizza crust is coated with Campbell’s® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup and topped with stir-fried veggies, chicken strips and Cheddar cheese for a deliciously different pizza.
What You’ll Need
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell’s® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
1 prepared pizza crust (12-inch)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cups frozen vegetables
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 package (about 10 ounces) refrigerated cooked chicken strips
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
Dried oregano leaves or crushed red pepper
How to Make It
Spread the soup on the crust to within 1/4 inch of the edge. Bake at 450°F. for 5 minutes.
Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the vegetables and garlic and cook until the vegetables are tender-crisp, stirring occasionally.
Spoon the vegetables on the pizza. Top with the chicken and cheese. Sprinkle with the oregano, if desired.
1. Line 2-cup microwave-safe cereal bowl with microwave-safe paper towel. Press tortilla into bowl. Break egg into centre of tortilla. Beat egg gently with a fork until blended, being careful not to tear tortilla.
2. Microwave on High 30 seconds; stir. Microwave until egg is almost set, 15 to 30 seconds longer. *Microwave ovens vary. Cooking times may need to be adjusted.
3. Remove tortilla with paper towel liner from bowl to flat surface. Top egg with cheese and salsa. Fold bottom of tortilla over egg, then fold in sides.
KITCHEN COUNTER:
Serves 1. Nutrition information per serving: 197 calories; 10 g total fat; 4 g saturated fat; 1 g polyunsaturated fat; 3 g monounsaturated fat; 218 mg cholesterol; 407 mg sodium; 17 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fibre; 11 g protein; 365.2 IU Vitamin A; 17.5 IU Vitamin D; 55.3 mcg foliate; 119.5 mg calcium; 2.0 mg iron; 129.8 mg choline.
Recipe courtesy of the American Egg Board Culinary Library.
INGREDIENTS: 4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried basil
½ tsp black pepper
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
2 cups frozen peas and carrots
Dumplings:
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp butter (softened)
1 cup milk
TOTAL TIME: 30 min
DIRECTIONS:
1. In heavy bottomed Dutch oven or large wide pot, over medium heat, add chicken broth, water, butter and all seasonings. Cover and bring to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, cut chicken breast into bite sized pieces. Add to soup mixture. Stir to combine and cover.
3. In a sealable container combine flour and milk. Seal tightly and shake vigorously to combine well. You will create a smooth flour mixture for thickening your sauce called a slurry. Slowly pour the slurry into broth, stirring constantly. Add frozen vegetables. Cover.
4. Combine dumpling ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix well with a fork. Remove cover from stew and stir well. Drop dumplings into stew one tablespoon at a time, use a 1 tablespoon scoop to make it even easier. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Preheat oven to 150 degrees C. Grease and line a 22x13cm loaf tin with baking paper.
Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add beaten eggs and orange juice and mix well.
Sift flour and baking powder. Reserve 1/3 cup of flour mixture and toss with sultanas and cherries (this will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cake).
Add flour mixture to batter and blend. Add floured raisins and cherries to dough and mix until just combined.
Pour batter into prepared loaf tin. Bake in pre-heated oven for 2 1/2 hours.
Wrap the cake in cling wrap or foil and store in a sealed tin for a couple of days before serving.