Random Musings

Plain white rice with garlic hoisin greens.

I used basmati because I only tend to keep two sorts of rice around - basmati and arborio. Any more sorts and they start falling out of the cupboard onto me. Half a mugful of rice, soaked for about ten minutes while I changed out of my cycling clothes, then rinsed, swished and drained three times. One mugful of boiling water over the rice on a highish heat. Stirred once when it came to the boil, let bubble until the steam had made chimneys in the rice and the sound of the water on the bottom of the pan had just changed - you can tell when the water's just about gone because it stops bubbling and starts sounding like it's almost frying. At that point, I swooped in: the lid clanged on and the saucepan went on the lowest possible heat for five minutes. Then I turned it off and got back to the greens.

One small head of spring greens, washed in a bowl of cold water and torn to pieces. Large bits of stalk and any yellowing leaf edges to the compost bin and the rest swished round. I took the darker shreds first, a handful or so with the water still dripping from them, and stirred them round in a non-stick frying pan (I couldn't be bothered to get the wok out of the back of the cupboard) on a medium heat. When they started to wilt, I added another handful; when they started to stick I added a drop of water. When they were all just about soft and the water had gone, I put them into a bowl to wait. Garlic next: two fat cloves, green centres removed, sliced finely and fried in a tablespoon or so of sunflower oil until just beginning to colour. I stirred the spring greens into the garlic oil, moving the pieces of garlic up over the leaves so they didn't colour too much more. Finally, a teaspoon of hoisin sauce (I'd rather have had oyster sauce but I haven't got any) and a tablespoon of water, allowed to bubble while I put the rice into my bowl, then spooned out over the rice.

Extremely simple, delicious, and exactly what I wanted. Recorded because for once I managed to cook all of the components for the perfect amount of time.

Just popping in quickly for an update: work is still busy and sciatica is still being a right bugger, so comfortable time in front of the internet is still a bit scarce. I'm reading my friends list intermittently, so if there's something you'd specifically like me to see, please leave a comment.

I'm getting really quite fed up with being in pain at the moment. In a lot of ways it could be a whole lot worse - I'm still getting to work, the side effects of the pain medication are not unmanageable and I am getting better - but this last week has included a bit of backwards progress and I'm really starting to miss things like being able to stand up for more than ten minutes in one go (without making some really startling grimaces, anyway) and having a social life. Ho hum. An Expedition (relatively speaking) is planned for Saturday, but I'll have to see how I feel.

In the mean time I am taking it easy and watching huge amounts of repeats of Time Team, which seems to be a perfect match for my ability to concentrate during the exercises my physiotherapist has given me - there's enough of a narrative and enough interesting things to distract me, but it really doesn't matter if I stop watching for a bit to concentrate on what my muscles are doing, unlike programmes with an actual plot. God Bless Archaeology.

On a significantly more positive note, Tesco are doing a 3-month free trial of their lovefilm.com service if you put in a code from moneysavingexpert.com, so I now have three months of free things to do in the evening. I'd be very grateful for any recommendations of (a)things on DVD that you really enjoy, (b)things on DVD that are vaguely entertaining but are better for being free, or (c)things on DVD that are lightweight and easy to follow (e.g. Die Hard).

Cycling Before Lycra, a site about 1930s-1940s cycling. Contains things like the site's author's recent experiences in recreating a carbide bike lamp and selections from a 1906 guide to cyclists (under 'Memorabilia').

Cyclists should know that one of the finest remedies in the world for cyclists, and one that is little known, is the sustaining power of the tomato. No matter how tired and exhausted the rider may feel, if only a small piece of tomato is eaten, it acts like magic, taking all the depressed feeling away and making one feel quite fresh. Cyclists who are travelling long distances should try this.

My maternal grandfather, who died well before I was born, was also a keen cyclist, so it's interesting to see the sort of kit he might have used. He would apparently leave work on a Friday and set off with his brother for the weekend, riding wherever their fancy took them and sleeping under hedges until they arrived back at the factory on Monday morning.

Family history does not record whether or not he took any tomatoes.

BBC News currently has an article with the headline Mammoth-killing comet questioned. Presumably it is helping police with their enquiries...

Despite having a rather painful back at the moment (sciatica: will be seeing dr. at first available appointment, i.e. next Monday, grrr), I managed to achieve two new (to me) things this weekend, as well as working on a crocheted scarf, keeping up with the washing and tidying up the garden for the first time since Autumn: double-crust turkey and mushroom pie and a rice bag.

The rice bag (of the microwave-and-apply-to-aching-muscles variety) was made to these instructions from Wise Craft. This produces a long, thinnish bag with plenty of room for the rice (or whatever else you use) to move about, meaning that it isn't too solid and it's easy to shape around joints. Lessons learnt while making it include: pinning and tacking works, even if you're feeling impatient; don't mark the right side of material (oops); leave the decorative stitching until the needle has moved off the corner where the seams meet; remember to count seam allowances on all of the bits of fabric when measuring. That last one is slightly embarrassing, in a failure of mental arithmetic way: I was about to write something about still having my usual talent for being able to measure something three times and get three different results, but I've suddenly realised where the extra half-inch went. I forgot to count the seam allowance on one of the bits of fabric.

I used some unknown woven plain white fabric (I tested a bit in the microwave first, to check that it didn't melt) for the inner bag and a blue-and-white striped cotton that used to be a nightshirt for the outer, with a white stripe on each end because there wasn't quite enough of the blue-and white in one length. I used a decorative diamond stitch (in black, which I am using on white fabric because it means I see my mistakes) for the topstitching on the ends. I was rather disturbed to find, when it was all finished, that this combination of fabric and stitches makes it look rather as if I've amputated one of Andy-Pandy's legs, but possibly the comparison wouldn't occur to anyone else. Anyway, it all worked out fairly well, considering that this is the first practical thing I've made with a sewing machine in years, and the first completed project with this sewing machine at all.

The turkey pie I made up as I went along, more or less. I wanted a double-crust pie with a fairly solid filling that would stand up to being taken to work, cold. I used bought pastry, I'm afraid - one packet of Jus-Roll shortcrust. One day I will conquer the pastry jinx, but now is not the time.

( Pie! )

This week's vegbox contains:

carrots
parsnips
celeriac
sweet potatoes
calabrese
leeks
mixed peppers
mushrooms

( Ideas so far, including the Mennonite cookbook )

To anyone in the North of England currently being rained on: I'm sorry. It's my fault - I left my waterproof trousers at work.

I still don't envy the car drivers, though: I still get to work faster, and I don't have to use petrol or sit in a stuffy box to do it.

I missed most of the inauguration, on account of being at work, but I caught the highlights and part of the parade on the news later. I'd never even have considered deliberately watching another country install their new head of state before now: it's partly that I know/have seen personal commentary from far more Americans now than at any other stage in my life, but mostly it's about the relief that Bush is really gone, and watching the relief and hope in other people. At one point, the BBC commentator noted that the parade was passing through what was once a slave market within sight of the Capitol building. There were plenty of other emotional moments, but that's the one that sent shivers down my spine.

Yesterday lunchtime I had been thinking about some interesting US and Mexican recipes I'd seen online, and decided that I would finally get round to ordering some ingredients from the Cool Chile Co., an online shop with a stall on Borough Market, recommended by a post somewhere I've now forgotten. My order has just arrived! I am sitting at my desk surrounded by dried ancho, chipotle and mulato chillis, Mexican oregano, tamarind paste (which looks more like block tamarind to me, but never mind) and hibiscus flowers.

I have a horrible feeling that I've run out of dried pinto beans. And dried black beans. Still, I'm all excited. What should I attempt first? I've got my eye on a recipe for Texas Red (chilli), but suggestions are welcome. Particularly for the hibiscus flowers - I bought them on a whim because they were reduced, and the only thing I know how to make is the sort of tea which steeps overnight in the fridge. Can you just add hot water, like tea leaves? And if I do, do I dare try it this afternoon at work without benefit of a teapot or a tea strainer?

Stuffing

( Recipe )


Braised Red Cabbage

( Sort of a recipe )

Brandy Butter

( Recipe link, with notes )