Made some chocolate & orange hot cross buns. But since Easter is passed and we’re heathens, they became hot agnostic buns. And they smell phenomenal!
The world has loved, hated and envied the U.S. Now, for the first time, we pity it.
Writing in the Irish Times, Fintan O’toole says:
“Over more than two centuries, the United States has stirred a very wide range of feelings in the rest of the world: love and hatred, fear and hope, envy and contempt, awe and anger. But there is one emotion that has never been directed towards the US until now: pity.”
“It is hard not to feel sorry for Americans,” he states. “Most of them did not vote for Donald Trump in 2016. Yet they are locked down with a malignant narcissist who, instead of protecting his people from Covid-19, has amplified its lethality. The country Trump promised to make great again has never in its history seemed so pitiful.
“It is one thing to be powerless in the face of a natural disaster, quite another to watch vast power being squandered in real time — willfully, malevolently, vindictively,” he added. “It is one thing for governments to fail (as, in one degree or another, most governments did), quite another to watch a ruler and his supporters actively spread a deadly virus. Trump, his party and Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News became vectors of the pestilence.
“The grotesque spectacle of the president openly inciting people (some of them armed) to take to the streets to oppose the restrictions that save lives is the manifestation of a political death wish. What are supposed to be daily briefings on the crisis, demonstrative of national unity in the face of a shared challenge, have been used by Trump merely to sow confusion and division. They provide a recurring horror show in which all the neuroses that haunt the American subconscious dance naked on live TV.”
My new meeting aide
Tolstoy has volunteered to sit in for me in some meetings. It would probably help if he knew how to type – or at least look directly at the camera.
We iz serios team doing serios works
Someone suggested we have a “theme” for our weekly team Kanban. The first one was “under the sea”… It wasn’t pretty. It was funny though.
Update: “medieval” theme:
Update: “my country” theme:
Tomorrow will be better
Working from home
So it might have taken a viral apocalypse, but I’ve never been as productive as I am now. Maybe it’s a defense mechanism to hide in the bedroom as much as possible to avoid the chaos otherwise being wrought by the small person. In any case, my home kanban board is moving in the right direction with a very healthy “done” section.
Quarantaine… day whatever
I’ve been working from home since March 11th… Mixed feelings about the possible re-opening. I think it’s a bit soon, and worry about a 2nd wave, but on the other hand, we’re all going stir crazy.
Testing the great biscuit debate with science!
which biscuit is the best for dunking? We tested chocolate-oats, chocolate digestive, Oreo, traditional butter Shortbread, stroopwaffles and lotus Biscoff biscuits with cold milk, tea and coffee. The concensus winner was that Oreo biscuits are best with milk and lotus biscuits won both hot drinks.
Science, bitches! And as the mythbusters say: “remember kids, the only difference between screwing around and science is writing it down”.
View from my pillow this morning
How I’m waking up these days. Grumpy bastard next to the pillows, Pavel being demanding of fuss.
[recipe] Cioppino
2 large carrots, finely chopped
1 leek, white part only, finely chopped
1 large yellow onion, minced
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 small courgette, finely chopped
1 tbsp fennel seeds
salt and pepper, to taste
150g tomato paste
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tsp chili flakes
250ml dry white wine
1 tin crushed tomatoes
1 tin tomato passata
225g sea scallop
225g prawns, peeled and deveined
225g squid, sliced
225g cod filet, or any firm white fish
Sourdough bread, grilled, for serving
Fresh parsley and fresh tarragon, chopped, for garnish
Preparation
In a large pot over medium heat, melt together 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add the carrot, leek, onion, bell peppers, courgette and fennel seeds. Season with salt and pepper. Stir and cook until the vegetables are softened, about 15 minutes.
Stir the tomato paste, basil, oregano, thyme, and chili into the vegetables and cook until the tomato paste starts to brown, about 10 minutes.
Next, add the white wine to deglaze the pan, stirring to loosen any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.
Add crushed tomatoes and passata. Stir together, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Cut the fish into medium chunks and add to the stew to gently poach.
In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and 2 tbsp of butter over medium-high heat. Season all of the seafood with salt and pepper.
Add the scallops to the pan and sear the first side until golden brown, 3 minutes. Flip and sear on the other side for another 3 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Wipe out the pan if needed.
Add more olive oil as needed, then add the shrimp to the pan and cook for 3 minutes on one side. Flip and cook on the other side for 3 minutes more. Set aside.
Add more olive oil and the squid to the hot pan and sauté until cooked, 5 minutes.
Transfer all of the cooked seafood to the simmering stew; or plate the seafood artfully in wide bowls and pour the hot stew over the top.
Serve with grilled sourdough bread and garnish with herbs.