Notes from a bemused canuck
Last night, I dreamed that Sara tried to pierce my nipples and I decked her, then she and Em jumped in a moat while shopping for sunglasses. Highly distrubing.
Lots of progress this day. My couch was delivered and assembled in Cambridge; Katy's dad (Mel), his brother (Stu) and I (me) drove up the first load of stuff to the apartment and started unpacking – my kitchen is becoming functional – and I finally got my house insurance sorted all. All in all, a good day.
Ok, so I don't have a new car nor any caviar, but what I do have is:
– a new duvet with duvet cover
– lots of shiny Ikea schwag (lamps, picture frames, storage solutions and other goodies)
– kitchen stuff
Katy and I took a drive across Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire today. It was a nice day for a drive, though the Ikea store kept trying to maim Katy. Bad store! *kicks Ikea*
This weekend also saw the acquisition of my cell phone. It's here. Worhip it :)
I'm going to be in Cambridge tomorrow morning (well, from noon-to-5pm) waiting for Ikea to deliver my sofa and hopefully also work out the details of my house insurance. After that, cable and internet and telephone are coming at the beginning of next week, and all I need to do is work out my banking details and do the last few purchases and Robert's my father's brother.
Ingredients
8fl oz/225ml carnaroli rice
4½oz/125g cubetti pancetta or chopped bacon
1oz/25g butter
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
1¼ pints/725ml chicken or vegetable stock
3oz/75g finely grated Pecorino Romano, plus some extra for sprinkling
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 heaped tbsp crème fraîche
salt and freshly milled black pepper
You will also need a round ovenproof dish with a diameter of 9 inches (23 cm), 2 inches (5 cm) deep, placed in the oven when it's pre-heated.
Method
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 2, 300F (150C).
First of all, in a large, hot frying pan over a medium heat, fry the pancetta or bacon in its own fat for 4-5 minutes, until it's crisp and golden, then remove it to a plate. Next add the butter to the pan, then the onion, turn the heat down to gentle and let the onion soften in the butter for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the stock in a small saucepan. Then return the pancetta or bacon to the frying pan and, after that, stir in the rice and move it around until all the grains get a good coating of the buttery juices. Now add the hot stock to the rice, along with some salt and freshly milled black pepper. Let it all come up to a gentle simmer, then transfer the whole lot to the warmed dish, stir it once and then bake, without covering, on the centre shelf of the oven and set a timer for 20 minutes.
When the time is up, gently stir in the Pecorino, folding and turning the rice grains over, then set the timer for a further 15 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the egg, egg yolks and crhme franche together, then remove the risotto from the oven and gently stir in this mixture, making sure it is well mixed. Leave the risotto for about 2 minutes, by which time the eggs and crhme franche will have thickened – but no longer, as it will get too thick. Serve on warm plates with some more Pecorino Romano sprinkled over.
Must try this.
As of monday the 25th, I will have broadband internet, digital cable and a phone. Things are falling in place. This makes me happy.
Go on, surprise me.
No just shouting 'boo'. Tell me something interesting, make an offer or a suggestion, do something unexpected and nice. Dare ya!
I went to meet Katy at the train station, across town, during rush hour and I did not get lost, nor did I get killed by traffic. This is an achievement!
Moonshining Techniques Help Americans Fight High Gas Prices
Americans who want to fight back against high gas prices are taking a tip from moonshiners. That’s according to an unemployed Michigan ditch-digger who is using his time off to build personal home distilleries that let folks turn corn, potatoes or other starchy materials into ethanol – an alcohol that can be used to power cars. It’s basically the same process used to make moonshine, except you mix a little bit of gasoline in the final product so it will burn properly in an auto engine.
Inventor Paul Cavalloro’s Micro Fuel Plant can produce four gallons of fuel per day from 20 gallons of liquified apples, corn or other raw materials. He says you can run the plant in your kitchen from a gas stove and the resulting fuel would cost you only $1.40 per gallon – plus it burns cleaner and more efficiently than gas.
Cavalloro says he’s had 36 orders for the stills since he started selling them for $250 a pop a few days ago, mostly to people in high gas price hubs like California.
I want to rename my blog in order to reflect the fact that I'm now an expat, a canuck in Queen E's court. Give me ideas:
My current title/subtitle are “Did I say that?” and “I wanna be sedated”.
Ingredients
* 2 tbsp vegetable oil (canola works best)
* 1 tsp cumin seeds
* 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
* 1 inch piece of ginger, grated
* 2 green chiles (any kind is fine, except habañero, which is too spicy), seeded and diced
* 1 tbsp cumin powder
* 1 tbsp coriander powder
* 1 tsp chile powder or cayenne pepper
* 1/2 tsp turmeric
* 1 can of petite-diced or crushed tomatoes
* something else
* 2 tbsp fresh, chopped coriander
Instructions
* Heat the oil in a sauce pan, wok or pot until it gets really hot (i.e. when a drop of water hits the pan, it sizzles like crazy).
* Add the cumin seeds and fry until they start to brown/pop.
* Add the onion and stir well. Mix it up occasionally. When the onion starts getting soft and translucent, it's cooked enough.
* Add the ginger and chiles.
* Put in the spices (do not use the yellow supermarket “curry powder”; that shit is too bland), stir well, and cook for another minute or two.
* Pour in the tomatoes and stir occasionally. You want to make the tomatoes' water evaporate, so the sauce is thicker. Aim for something roughly as thick as tomato sauce; not too watery and not too thick and pasty.
* Add your anything ingredient. This can be range from canned red beans to zucchini to pieces of leftover chicken. Stir well, to let it absorb the ingredients. If the sauce starts gets too dry, just add some water and mix well.
* Add the coriander as garnish (cooking destroys a lot of its flavor and fragrance) and salt and pepper to taste.
* Serve with long-grain rice (e.g. basmati), plain yogurt (or raita) and chutney.
So, there you have it — a typical “curry” sauce is just (1) onion, garlic, ginger and chiles that have been chopped and fried (2) with spices mixed in and then (3) some mushed tomatoes added.
Indian food is delicious, but don't let it intimidate you — from Rogan Josh (some cardamom) to Madras (lots of chile) to Vindaloo (vinegar and lots of chile) to Tikka Masala (lemon juice and more turmeric), most Indian dishes you're familiar with are just nuanced variants on the above.
Katy's bed ate my underwear.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.