Category: food

Kebab 3

Previously…

The local chip shop has been selling Greek-style chicken and donner kebabs for a few weeks now, as a sideline. My first ever chicken kebab, a week after they started, was utterly wonderful; a shame I only had 3/4 of it after sharing with daughter 2 and some of my meat with my mother-in-law.

About 4 weeks ago I had my second, a donner, again with salad, fluffy flatbread and sweet chilli sauce. Not as good as the chicken though, it has to be said.

Today, after a too-long hiatus, I had another donner kebab (the chicken had sold out.)

Now, it’s been suggested that eating a kebab from a tray with a blue plastic fork is ‘wrong’, that eating one on a plate with metal cutlery is also ‘wrong.’ So today I took a saner man’s suggestion and upped my game by eating it on a big plate with the shiny cutlery, crucially whilst wearing a (quilted) smoking jacket and toting a pipe.

Er… ok, I don’t have a smoking jacket or a tobacco pipe, so made do with this bubble wrap and a yellow Kazoo!

Full.

Content.

JD Honey

I remember the trials and tribulations attempting to drink Maker's Mark bourbon before I gave it away; I remember well the aroma from the empty glass the following morning. Amazing.

On a whim, as an entirely unsuitable substitute after my failure to find white squishy bread on the day the shops failed (laid waste in a manner reminiscent of the film '28 Days Later', but people will probably remember it as 'Friday'), I bought a bottle of Jack Daniels Honey.

The aroma is very reminiscent of my memory of Maker's Mark, half a day later; it's also a very effective alcopop.

Soup

Tonight we visited the local cricket club's annual bonfire and firework display for the funfair rides, hook-a-duck attractions and food stalls. Always a grand occasion.

I spent time during the firework display casually pointing out to the girls the importance of standing back from fireworks, all the rest, and literally pointing out the respect the technicians had for the explodey-things. We might get some fireworks tomorrow, but no bangs.

Afterwards we returned home and settled down to comfort Ruby dog after all the bangs in her neighbourhood, and I settled down to some Hallow'een-pumpkin soup, the best soup I'd made in my life. Really, we'd tried it earlier and it was, mmmm…

I put the heat under the soup, sorted the girls clothes out, put the recycling in bins, then went upstairs to change and pee, leaving the girls to make warm drinks.

A little while later… I sniffed, "Delicious."

A first: I'd burnt the soup.

Woodford Reserve

Sod it, I'll add a drink to the food order; the tablets say I can have a drink!

Woodford Reserve rye whiskey.

There is no contraindication so don't worry, but I doubt the manufacturer would want to encourage irresponsible behaviour. No, in answer to the question I sense forming, the tablets don't talk to me, that'd be a bit weird.

Food

When ordering food for other people or for myself and others I'm unlucky.

The modern world is set up to make things easy for those who would let others take the strain of food preparation: go out to eat, or pick up the phone or electronic device, speak or blindly stab at buttons until something vaguely resembling a meal is concocted, then sit and wait. And occasionally peer out of the window if within the comfort of home, as if that will speed up the delivery process.

In theory it's foolproof. But no. For when I get involved it all turns to sh…

It'll either have not quite what was ordered, or something completely random thrown in, or it'll be late when visitors need to go home right after the meal we've spent seconds preparing.

When we're out anywhere my wife knows to order for the girls and herself and leave mine to me. It all arrives exactly as ordered, all of it, even mine.

Even some colleagues now know not to trust me, especially since the now slightly-famous 'non-popped egg yolk down the front of the shirt incident' of September 2017!

Unlucky Baz?

Sprout burrito inventor

In an attempt to reinvent myself on social networks I've been silent for a long while, to let the old stuff out and the void in. That's not to say I haven't missed the interactions, I have. But life, as-ever, got in the way.

I'm not back yet, far from it, but I see encouraging signs. One of them was an attempt to engage with people I don't know on IRC. It's literally 20 years since the last time I had a go, and there's no coincidence that was also my first try; it's synchronous chat, quite a fast-paced, and an unforgiving environment. But once in, it appears a sense of community remains. Nerds, geeks abound. The attempt went reasonably well, but I definitely sensed some insularity, mistrust of outsiders; most unlike the entirely positive experiences on the 3 most-recent small networks it's been my privilege to be involved with.

So, to the title of this post?

First, it might be, though probably isn't, a good idea to read this:

"Today, after a lot of procrastination, I will eat my first-ever burrito. I'll post a picture of the uncooked thing momentarily. Later this year, a visit to Taco Bell UK"

And then this:

"Following up yesterday's first-ever burrito, I'm making my own from leftovers: Mashed sprouts, sweetcorn, redcurrant jelly, tiny squirt of ketchup. In the oven now, wrapped in foil"

Incidentally, the mobile version of the Fark site works really well on mobile devices.

Getting there, not just socially.

Four Roses 4

This time the experiment continues with sufficient ice cubes prepared to sink an ocea, er…

Drunk this time with a single, melted, ice cube. Precisely this one, well this half:

Verdict: hmmm… Clean, crisp, with an odd taste just before it starts to tingle my gums, and then it’s back to…

It smells underwhelming still after the Maker’s Mark, but I’m happy with the trade-off; it’s still a warming, drinkable drink.

My view, ‘Buffalo Trace’ is a more rounded experience. Once this is done I’ll of course try the ‘Woodford Reserve’ then the ‘Bulleit’ but thus far the shaggy quadruped gets my vote. A shame, I paid quite a bit more for this Four Roses than I expected I would when all this began. Not a complaint, far from it.

Nevertheless, to be continued…

Links:

Four Roses 3

Aw, FFS, we don't have any ice cubes!!!2!¡

/Potters about in the kitchen for a while and tries, but ultimately fails to, resist temptation…

Drunk neat again with it and me at room temperature: oh yes. Looking forward to dropping a freshly-frozen ice cube with pre-boiled cold water from the kettle in the next glass, because I know what I like.

Smells underwhelming still, but it's a warming, drinkable drink.

Has to be said: 'Buffalo Trace' is still my favourite whiskey, but this comes 'real close'.

To be continued…

An aside; maybe I should have swilled the Maker's Mark around in my glass and before leaving it to evaporate overnight, I miss those rich, extraordinary aromas.