Friday, December 08, 2006

This Week


Posting blog 100! Time to spread the word a little more.

But to the topic at hand. This week was not entirely smooth - some things worked better than others and some things fell by the wayside.

Saturday we had bread and jam and coffee after the market then set off to the private view of the latest work by the Boyle Family and it is fascinating. A study of the growth of a random sweeping of seeds during the summer, it is a projection of images taken for 1 second every 10 minutes 24/7 for months. It's extraordinary how much changes between frames and how easy it is to get caught up watching the movement of light. Brilliant. Then we tottered off to Taj Stores because it was nearby for some bits and pieces and then home to a quick snack first of sausage roll then chinesey roasted spare ribs, green peppers stir fried with black beans and rice later. Good.

Sunday we started with porridge and the papers and coffee. I started off a huge pot of chicken stock with bits and pieces of chicken I have frozen lately and the carcasses I bought plus lots of vegetables. By the time it was gently simmering the sun was shining in a clear blue sky so we wandered over to the Tate for a little culture then home later for scotch egg and housework. Dinner was the first attempt at Bali food at home - dry spiced beef and bali salad with rice. It took a little longer than I was expecting - forgot to factor in that when we'd made them at the cooking school there was a dozen of us plus a back up professional kitchen (!) but, when we got there, it was a triumph.

Monday it was coffee and cereals and yoghurt for breakfast and the same, as usual, for the week, lunch was leftover spiced beef and rice for a little filip in the middle of the day, same Tuesday and dinner was smoked salmon, beetroot salad, rocket and crusty bread - perfect.

Tuesday dinner was less successful - I kept one of the slices of topside I bought for the spiced beef to make a stir fry with fresh coriander and it turned out okay but not brilliant partly because I only had a tiny bit of peanut oil so didn't deep fry the marinated meat. I made sea spice aubergine to go with it which is one of my favourite dishes and it too was a disaster. The oven is playing up - it turns itself off for no reason, then the electronic spark clicks loudly and it eventually reignites and I think the heat must have dropped significantly so the aubergine were under cooked and it all went bad from there. At least the rice was nice.

Wednesday my lovely boyfriend had the last of the spiced beef with fresh rice from the night before with cucumber, sugar snaps and discs of carrots for lunch and I made a salad box with rice for me and a boiled egg which I forgot to take. So we regrouped Wednesday night and went to see the highly praised 'London to Brighton' - which is most of all like a very good episode of 'The Sweeney' so interesting rather than brilliant, then had dinner at 'Upstairs' on Acre Lane which, too, was interesting rather than brilliant.

Thursday I bought a wild boar chorizo roll from Denhays stall in the second food market on Whitecross Street and some rye bread to go with bacon and barley soup from the freezer when I got home from the last of my French classes for the year which was lovely when I got in out of the lashing gales

Friday I made a vegemite sandwich on rye for my love with an apple for his lunch and I shall find a treat at Whitecross Street again then we shall probably have spicy corn fritters and a repeat of the Bali salad for dinner using the rest of the cabbage and beans and coconut

So I didn't use the chicken I had bought for lunches - that went into the freezer and can come out again for next week, there is also some celery and potatoes that may well be used this week and otherwise we ate pretty much everything. Though last week's butternut is still sitting happily untouched in the vegetable rack

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