The beaver is a proud and noble animal

Pictures and comics, oh my!

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:46:33 +0000

So, firstly, the pictures. Becca from the nursery took these. Apparently, bouncing on the trampoline is his favouritest thing in the whole wide universe:

Then, the comics. They haven’t been processed for the comics page yet, but they will get done eventually.

Current Mood: Amused

I am officially a dirty old man

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:36:20 +0000

RC: how’s lovely Denver?
JF: fun
JF: quite nice I like it here
JF: plus there has been a week long 16-18 girls volley ball tourney
JF: the hotel has been filled with them :D
RC: aw man
RC: you get nubile horny volleyballers at your HUPO
RC: I got the gangs of long beach
RC: no fair!
JF: I couldnt go to the pool for fear of perving on volley ballers
RC: I say go and perv
RC: as long as you don’t touch :P
RC: cause, you know, jailbait and all that
RC: but not looking would be a crime against masculinity
JF: yeah
JF: I got invited to some party on the 6th floor yesterday with the winning J18 volleyball team
JF: was crushed in a lift with them
RC: you poor poor man
RC: my heart bleeds for you
JF: I know, the horror.
RC: did you go?
JF: I didn’t go
RC: tsk tsk
JF: 20 super excited scantily clad volley ball girls is not a party I ought to be going to.
RC: dude. that’s a Penthouse Forum letter right there waiting to happen :)
JF: ? they publish stories like that?
RC: clearly you’ve never read the articles :)
RC: seriously though, I’m old enough to remember a time when porn came in hardcopy
RC: how sad is that?
JF: hard before use?
RC: bad, bad pun
RC: no cookie for you
JF: har har har

Current Mood: Giddy

[Recipe] Roasted rabbit stew

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:12:11 +0000

1 rabbit, jointed in 6 portions
6 sausages, cut in chunks
6 rashers smoked bacon, cubed
6 large roma tomatoes, cut in segments
4 onions, sliced
3 bay leaves
1 rosemary sprig
500ml white wine
salt, pepper
olive oil

0. Preheat oven to 180C.
1. Brown the rabbit pieces in olive oil on high heat in an oven-proof pot. Remove and set aside.
2. Reduce heat. Brown bacon, sausages and onions in some more olive oil until well caramelised.
3. Deglaze with wine. Add rabbit pieces, tomato segments and herbs. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Roast in oven for 1 hour.
5. Remove rabbit pieces and set aside. Return pot to oven for another 20 minutes to further stew the vegetables.
6. Check stew seasoning. Place rabbit pieces on top of stew and return pot to oven for 10 minutes to re-heat.

I used honey and wholegrain mustard sausages we get from the Giggly Pig people at the market and a nice Riesling for the wine. All in all, a very good first try and the recipe.

Current Mood: Calm

The hands

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:43:10 +0000

Katy and I have built-in hand puppets that seem to have a life of their own. They can be quite opinionated (Katy’s hand is quite adamant that Rhianna is a skanky ho festering with chlamydia and herpes). We;re not entirely sure when they came to life, nor are we really sure if we’re completely sane or not.

Still, they seem harmless and making them talk at the dinner table seems to wind Mel up to no extent, so it’s all good.

Current Mood: Amused

Countdown in TXTSPEAK

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:16:40 +0000

I had a silly conversation with Katy last weekend, where we were discussing how an updated version of Countdown aimed at teen-aged kids would go down:

CONSONANT!
CONSONANT!
SYMBOL!
NUMBER!
CONSONANT!
CONSONANT!
vowel, please

Presenter: Dude, what’s a vowel???

Current Mood: Amused

Taking steps to take control

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:02:26 +0000

My therapist tells me that I need to work on becoming more spontaneous and stop worrying about all the bad shit that can happen in the world. I need to “feel the fear and do it anyway”. I need to accept that I can deal with consequences when they happen, if they happen instead of making a big mental mountain out of everything.

As such, I am taking the first steps in finally seeing if/how I can become independently mobile. I have sent off the paperwork to get my provisional license from the DVLA and will be booking a motorcycle driving course by the end of the month if all goes well.

Booah!

Current Mood: Giddy

Want pie now!

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:56:22 +0000

I recent IM conversation with Katy :)

(13:46:38) Rc: heyho
(13:46:44) Rc: how’s you feeling?
(13:46:53) Rc: have you had pie?
(13:47:36) Rc: how be the beastie?
(13:47:41) Rc: has he had pie?
(13:47:51) Rc: can I have pie?
(13:47:54) Rc: hmmmmmmm, pie!
(13:48:04) Rc: pie! pie! pie! pie! pie!
(13:48:17) Katy: i am currently having pie

Current Mood: Amused

A weekend in food

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:07:48 +0000

So, from my last few posts, you’ll have noticed that I was a bit busy in the kitchen last weekend. I made won ton soup for Saturday lunch, chawanmushi and dobinmushi for Saturday dinner and we went completely mad for sunday dinner (and our Valentine’s day feast) by making a 3 course meal of baked Camembert fondue starter, t-bone steak with mushroom sauce and baked potato entrée and a dark chocolate tart for pudding. Calories be damned, we needed it.

The food was good but the health was bad. I had a horrible throat for most of last week and now it’s moved upwards to my ears. I think I have some sort of ear infection because my left ear was completely blocked yesterday and every time I coughed or hiccuped, it felt like I had a rusty nail shoved in my lughole. Yay, fun times!

Current Mood: Sick

[Recipe] Baked Camembert

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:03:58 +0000

Based on a recipe from Nigel Slater. Pure indulgence, this. As the Camembert bakes, the cheese underneath the crust becomes a hot, creamy, sticky, smelly, bubbling pool.

Ingredients:

a whole small Camembert in it’s wooden box
a little white wine

Method:

Take the cheese from it’s wooden box and remove the paper wrapping. Push the cheese back into the box.

Make half a dozen tiny holes in the rind and drizzle a little white wine into them. Just a few drops. Replace the lid. Bake in an oven preheated to 200ºC for twenty-five or until hot and bubbling.

While the cheese is cooking put the potatoes on to boil in salted water. Serve the melted cheese in its box, dipping in the spuds or some gherkins, or simply a chunk or two of very crusty bread.

Current Mood: Amused

[Recipe] Won ton soup

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:41:08 +0000

The name won ton means swallowing a cloud, and the wonton floating in this popular soup are thought to resemble clouds. This recipe for Won ton soup serves 4. You can get most of the ingredients in a good asian supermarket. Get frozen won ton wrappers, they cost next to nothing and will save you a lot of hassle.

won ton wrappers
1/2 pound boneless lean pork, chopped finely
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine, mirin or rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 green onion, finely minced
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 dashes of pepper
1 small knob of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

Combine all the filling ingredients in a bowl, mixing well. Lay one won ton skin in front of you. Cover the remaining won ton skins with a damp towel to keep them from drying out.

Filling the won tons:

Moisten all the edges of the won ton wrapper with water. Place a heaping teaspoon of won ton filling in the center. Fold the won ton wrapper in half lengthwise, making sure the ends meet. Press down firmly on the ends to seal.

Use thumbs to push down on the edges of the filling to center it.

Keeping thumbs in place, fold over the won ton wrapper one more time.

Push the corners up and hold in place between your thumb and index finger.

Wet the corners with your fingers. Bring the two ends together so that they overlap. Press to seal.

The finished product should resemble a nurse’s cap.

Repeat with remaining won tons.

Here’s a video with a similar way to fold won tons:

Boiling the won tons:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the won tons, making sure there is enough room for them to move about freely. Let the won tons boil for 5 – 8 minutes, until they rise to the top and the filling is cooked through. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon.

To make the soup:

Bring the 1L of chicken stock to a boil. Add the won tons and bring the soup back to a boil. Add the green onion, remove the pot from the heat. Ladle into soup bowls, allowing 6 won tons per person.

Optionally, you can also add sliced bok choi and thinly sliced red pepper to the stock.

Current Mood: Giddy