Shopping for new glasses
I need to replace my current glasses because the lens coatings are coming off and they look permanently dirty and cloudy. These will be my new ones that I’m hoping to receive this week.
I was debating between a few models, so I sent the pictures to Katy to get final approval. Turns out she chose the ones I was leaning towards as well.
[recipe] Guinness chocolate brownies
330ml (1 bottle or 1 can) Guinness Extra Stout
175g unsalted butter
225g semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped*
250g granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
125g all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp espresso powder
In a small saucepan, bring the Guinness to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce to medium heat and allow to simmer until reduced down to 2/3 cup, about 20-22 minutes. Set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes. You will use 1/2 cup in the brownies.
Preheat the oven to 350F/175C and grease a 9×9 inch pan or line with aluminum foil or parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished brownies out (makes cutting easier!). Set aside.
Place the butter and chopped chocolate in a large microwave-safe bowl. Melt in 30 second increments, whisking after each, until completely smooth. Whisk in the sugar and 1/2 cup of reduced Guinness until completely combined. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract. Finally, whisk in the flour, salt, and espresso powder. The batter will be thick and shiny. Pour/spread evenly into prepared pan.
Bake for 30 minutes, then test the brownies with a toothpick. Insert it into the center of the pan. If it comes out with wet batter, the brownies are not done. If there are only a few moist crumbs, the brownies are done. Keep checking every 2 minutes until you have moist crumbs.
Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into squares.
Cover and store leftover brownies at room temperature for up to 1 week.
word of the day
[recipe] two-ingredient flatbreads
250 g plain full fat Greek Yogurt
250 g self raising flour
Pinch of salt/pepper
Pinch of cumin powder
Oil for rolling out
Mix the Greek yogurt, flour, salt, pepper and cumin together in a large bowl, then leave to rest for 20 minutes at room temperature.
Divide the dough into 8 and roll into 8 balls.
Heat a small non-stick frying pan over a high heat and roll out your first flatbread to about the side of a side plate – use a little oil on the work surface to stop the dough sticking.
When the pan is really hot, lay the flatbread in the pan and cook for 30 seconds, or until the flatbread is covered in brown spots (but not burnt!!)
Flip the flatbread over and cook on the other side for a further 30 seconds, or until covered in brown spots and cooked through.
While the first flatbread is cooking, roll out the second flatbread so it is ready.
Put the cooked flatbread on a plate and repeat the process, until all the flatbreads are cooked.
[recipe] Roasted red peppers

Cut 6-8 peppers in half. Remove stem, seeds and membranes. Place skin-side-up on a foil-covered roasting tray.
Broil for 15 minutes at 200C. Alternatively, grill on bbq. Once the skins are blackened remove the peppers from the oven.
Cover the peppers and let the peppers cool for a few minutes until comfortable enough to handle and then peel the skins off and discard them.
While the peppers are cooling, bring 1.5 cups of white wine vinegar, 2 tsp sugar and 1 tsp salt to the boil and remove from heat.
Put the pepper halves in a wide-mouth kilner jar and cover with vinegar. Top with olive oil and store in the fridge for up to a month, if they last that long.
[recipe] Moka granola
2 1/2 cups Old Fashioned Oats
1 1/2 cups rice crispies
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
3 tbsp dark chocolate cocoa powder
1 packet instant espresso or coffee powder (1 tablespoon)
1/4 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350F/175C
Combine coconut oil and honey in a medium size mixing bowl. Microwave 45 seconds or until coconut oil is melted. Add cocoa powder and espresso powder, stir mixture until well dissolved.
Add oats and stir mixture until all oats are completely covered in the chocolate coffee mixture.
Grab a large baking sheet, line with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
Spread oats mixture thinly and evenly across the baking sheet.
Bake 10 minutes, stir mixture, bake 10 more minutes.
Remove oats from oven, let them cool about 10 minutes, and while still warm sprinkle half of the chocolate chips over the granola mixture (it will melt onto the granola and make these fantastic clusters) when the granola is completely cool add the rest of the chocolate chips.
Store in an air tight container.
This is my life now
How very un-Swiss
Katy and I were walking into town, just ambling side-by-side on the sidewalk. We see another couple coming towardssta us, on the same side of the road. I scooch over towards Katy to let them by, but the dude doesn’t move at all and basically shoulder-checks me so I bump into Katy. I turn around to face him and my auto-Canadianism starts to apologise, when the guy just point-blank says “I was in my lane”. WTF? Rudeness? Very un-Swiss. Katy was more upset than I wals. If he truly needs to assert his masculinity this way, I’m a firm believer in karma for this sort of thing.
Sushi!!!
Earlier this weekend, summer rolls. Tonight, sushi with teriyaki chicken and omelette. Again, faffy but so much yum! Made 4 spicy chicken rolls and 3 egg ones. Amusingly, I ran out of rice vinegar for the rice, so I subbed with rose wine balsamic. Shhh, don’t tell the purists, but it was damned nice!










