Month: July 2013
[recipe] Spanish eggs and chorizo
Ingredients
500g baby new potatoes
2 onions, sliced
2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into strips
200g cooking chorizo, sliced
4 eggs
Method
Steam the potatoes for 15-20 mins or until cooked.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan. Add the onions and peppers, then cook for about 10 mins until soft. Push the peppers to the side of the pan and add the chorizo, sizzling until cooked though and releasing its oils. Transfer to a plate.
Once cool enough, halve the potatoes. Heat 1 tbsp oil in another non-stick pan and tip in the spuds. Fry for about 10 mins until golden and beginning to crisp. Stir in the onion mix, heat through and season.
Meanwhile, in the onion pan, fry the eggs to your liking. Place them on top of everything, allowing 1 egg per person.
[recipe] Borscht
Ingredients
250g sirloin or flank steak, trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
250g mushrooms, sliced
4 medium beets (about 500g), peeled and shredded
2 medium potatoes (about 200g), peeled and cubed
1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped celery
120ml red wine
1.5l beef broth
250ml tomato sauce
chopped fresh dill (to taste)
1/2 cup sour cream (to serve)
Preparation
Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add steak and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
Add 1 teaspoon oil to the pot and heat over medium-high. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to the bowl.
Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to the pot. Add potatoes, beets, cabbage, carrots, onion and celery. Cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to soften, about 10 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits. Stir in the reserved mushrooms, broth and tomato sauce. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook, covered, until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
Add the reserved beef. Simmer, covered, until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in dill. Top each portion with 1 tablespoon sour cream and garnish with more dill, if desired.
Google: this app is not available in your country
Well, that was painful as hell.
Ever since we moved from the UK to Switzerland and opened a bank account with the BCV, I’ve been trying to download and install the app from the Google Play Store without success. It keeps complaining that the app is not available in my country (O.o). After much swearing at uncooperative phone systems, turns out that the culprit is the Google Wallet. My credit card, which I registered a loooong time ago, has a UK address, which is what Google bases itself on (in part). So, I had to update my credit card details, then flush out my browser cache, and voila, app downloaded. It really didn’t help that the default language for the Swiss play store is German, nor that the mobile phone reception on campus is shit so I couldn’t get the 2-step Google verification codes easily. It took me about an hour of faffing to get it done.
Cafe Coccinelle
Rabbit has found his favourite eatery in Lausanne. We’ve been here twice and already we’re recognized :-)
Now that’s original
We just came across a shop that sells not only oil and vinegar in bulk, but also liqueurs, rum and whiskey!
When Richard went to work today, a happy feeling came his way.
It’s been a very long time since I’ve been this happy about work. I’m downloading a buttload of source code from various places that I will spend the next little while figuring out how to make it all work together and make something new. I’m excited!!
I have loud music blaring in my iPod and I am bopping to the code. This makes me very, very happy.
So much want
I saw this print online. I want it, but I have the feeling that we’re already going to be tight for wall space as it stands :-)
[recipe] Frozen watermelon margarita
2 1/2 cups seedless watermelon, cut into 1-inch cubes, rind discarded before measuring
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
4 ounces tequila
2 ounces orange flavored liqueur
1 1/2 cups ice
Lime wheel or watermelon wedge, for garnish
Put cut watermelon in a plastic bag and place in freezer for a minimum of 2 hours. (If time does not permit this step, add a few extra ice cubes when blending, the difference is not that significant.)
Stuff all ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth. Garnish rim of glass with a lime wheel or a watermelon wedge and serve immediately.
We have (tentatively) found housing
We’ve gotten oral confirmation that the flat we put an offer on is ours. We still need to sign the contract but our relocation agent is going to look into that for us. All going smoothly, we should be able to move in from August 30th.