Well, it finally happened: I got tagged for one of these. I may be late to the party but, yes, I am vain enough to write 25 things about me and it just might be the thing to kick-start this blog back into life so here goes ...
1. I met my wife on the internet back in 1994 before this was a popular thing to do.
2. I hate to be thought of as a computer geek, though people who know me insist I am; I like to think of myself as more rounded intellectually than that.
3. The first record I ever bought for myself was a Procol Harum compilation called "A Salty Dog" on EMI's "Music for Pleasure" label. I bought it in Woolworths and it cost 75p (this was in January 1973). I remain a fan to this day.
4. Organizing, arranging, listing, collecting, documenting things gives me great satisfaction.
5. I do not drive a car and in fact never learned to drive, though I did have a few lessons back in the late 80s.
6. I love to cook and think I'm pretty good at it.
7. I have a friend who I've known continuously for 45 years: 90% of my lifetime.
8. The iPod Touch is, to me, the nearest thing I know to the perfect gadget.
9. Hearing music I dislike is actively painful to me.
10. "Pedant" would be my middle name if I was named for my personal characteristics but in fact it's "Leonard" after my late father.
11. If I see words, anywhere, I just *have* to read them.
12. I'm hugely reluctant to operate outside my "comfort zone".
13. I enjoy playing games, more to master game mechanics than necessarily to win.
14. A book is, to me, a precious object to be treated with respect.
15. I love riding my bicycle.
16. I was an Apple Lisa beta-tester (the Lisa was a forerunner of the Mac).
17. I often feel personally affronted by generalisations and hate being labelled (see '2' above).
18. I enjoy wine but drink more than I should.
19. I wish I had learned to play a musical instrument.
20. When I was young, I dreamed of living and working in Cambridge. Now I do.
21. I always imagined I would hate camping but found I actually adore it.
22. I get grumpy when I'm hungry.
23. I'm a sucker for quizzes, surveys and anything that asks my opinion.
24. As soon as I've sent this I'll think of something crucial I've left out.
25. Life is good.
21 February, 2009
24 January, 2008
Having a Blast with Mary
We had a great deal of fun the last few days in the company of Lisa's college friend, Mary, who flew in from New York to spend a while with us. Mary has long been a great friend of Lisa's and distinguished herself by being the only person to make the trip from the USA to our wedding (all those years ago!). Her visit was planned over the cusp of the New Year and she duly arrived chez-nous on Saturday. That evening we cooked our current favourite dish, the Kingfish Mooli with boiled red rice, on what turned out to be our only evening eating in.
Sunday we all walked along Mill Road into the town centre to show Mary some of the sights. Lunch was at the famous Eagle pub and in the evening we dined at the Loch Fyne restaurant on Trumpington Street. On Monday, I had to go to work but Lisa took the day off to take Mary on a trip into London. They started in Westminster at the Cabinet War Rooms and finished up in Chinatown at the New World restaurant before getting the last train home. In spite of some very wet weather they seemed to have had a good time.
Mary had Tuesday to herself while we were at work and in the evening we rounded off the culinary part of the visit with dinner at our favourite local place: Café Adriatic up on Mill Road. We finished on a gustatory high which was appropriate as it was Mary's birthday. She flew home yesterday leaving behind two very happy hosts who'd enjoyed her stay tremendously and were already looking forward to the next opportunity for meeting up with her.
Sunday we all walked along Mill Road into the town centre to show Mary some of the sights. Lunch was at the famous Eagle pub and in the evening we dined at the Loch Fyne restaurant on Trumpington Street. On Monday, I had to go to work but Lisa took the day off to take Mary on a trip into London. They started in Westminster at the Cabinet War Rooms and finished up in Chinatown at the New World restaurant before getting the last train home. In spite of some very wet weather they seemed to have had a good time.
Mary had Tuesday to herself while we were at work and in the evening we rounded off the culinary part of the visit with dinner at our favourite local place: Café Adriatic up on Mill Road. We finished on a gustatory high which was appropriate as it was Mary's birthday. She flew home yesterday leaving behind two very happy hosts who'd enjoyed her stay tremendously and were already looking forward to the next opportunity for meeting up with her.
17 January, 2008
Couscous and Curry
On Saturday we were delighted to play hosts to our friends Frank and Debby. As Debby is a "vegetenarian", as Frank memorably puts it, we were careful to ensure that no dead animals featured in the evening's menu. The centrepiece was a huge platter of couscous with mixed vegetables which seemed to go down well with all concerned.
The following day Lisa and I were in a curry mood and spent several hours preparing a feast of Chettinad chicken curry (one of our favourite dishes from Atul Kochar's "Indian Essence"), Bengali-style Aubergine in Yoghurt (from Anjum Anand's "Indian Food Made Easy"), a Coconut Fish Curry based on Atul Kochar's recipe but made with kingfish, a cucumber raita and a pot of red boiled rice. The only trouble was that by the time we'd brought all this to our groaning board, we were pretty pooped and settled for a simple dinner of just the kingfish mooli and the red boiled rice.
On Tuesday we reprised the couscous dish from Saturday but, true to our omnivorous inclinations, we added some chicken to the mix as shown in the photo at the head of this entry. Yesterday we made a fresh pot of rice (Basmati this time) and refreshed the unused dishes from Sunday night to enjoy a delicious midweek curry for next to no kitchen labour (at least, on the night itself).
We'll be entertaining again this coming weekend as Lisa's great friend Mary is coming over from New York for a few days with us. In fact, rather than writing this, I should be sorting out the spare room this evening to make all ready for her arrival on Saturday!
The following day Lisa and I were in a curry mood and spent several hours preparing a feast of Chettinad chicken curry (one of our favourite dishes from Atul Kochar's "Indian Essence"), Bengali-style Aubergine in Yoghurt (from Anjum Anand's "Indian Food Made Easy"), a Coconut Fish Curry based on Atul Kochar's recipe but made with kingfish, a cucumber raita and a pot of red boiled rice. The only trouble was that by the time we'd brought all this to our groaning board, we were pretty pooped and settled for a simple dinner of just the kingfish mooli and the red boiled rice.
On Tuesday we reprised the couscous dish from Saturday but, true to our omnivorous inclinations, we added some chicken to the mix as shown in the photo at the head of this entry. Yesterday we made a fresh pot of rice (Basmati this time) and refreshed the unused dishes from Sunday night to enjoy a delicious midweek curry for next to no kitchen labour (at least, on the night itself).
We'll be entertaining again this coming weekend as Lisa's great friend Mary is coming over from New York for a few days with us. In fact, rather than writing this, I should be sorting out the spare room this evening to make all ready for her arrival on Saturday!
07 January, 2008
Belated New Year's Eve
We stayed home "à deux" on New Year's Eve, cooked a nice dinner for ourselves and opened a bottle of Champagne to toast the chimes of Big Ben at midnight. At which time Lisa was actually on the phone to her good friend Mary in New York City, so Mary was remotely with us as the New Year arrived in the UK. During that call we arranged a date for Mary to come visit us here in Cambridge in just three weeks' time. More on that in due course, no doubt!
This last weekend we had a kind of belated New Year's party down in London at the home of our dear friends Chris & Tony. Eight of us sat down to a superb dinner of ceviche followed by chicken casserole and several other dishes. A great time was had by all. Sunday, the six of us who stayed the night had a late breakfast and walked up to Alexandra Palace to get some fresh air and stretch our legs.
Lisa and I took a detour on our way home to have dinner in the New World, our favourite restaurant in London's Chinatown. Lisa has blogged elsewhere about Thursday's dinner which was delicious. Wednesday was our first day back at work since 21st December so, instead of cooking for ourselves, we treated ourselves to dinner out at the local "Strada" which, for a chain restaurant, has a relaxing and unhurried atmosphere and even manages a touch of elegance.
This last weekend we had a kind of belated New Year's party down in London at the home of our dear friends Chris & Tony. Eight of us sat down to a superb dinner of ceviche followed by chicken casserole and several other dishes. A great time was had by all. Sunday, the six of us who stayed the night had a late breakfast and walked up to Alexandra Palace to get some fresh air and stretch our legs.
Lisa and I took a detour on our way home to have dinner in the New World, our favourite restaurant in London's Chinatown. Lisa has blogged elsewhere about Thursday's dinner which was delicious. Wednesday was our first day back at work since 21st December so, instead of cooking for ourselves, we treated ourselves to dinner out at the local "Strada" which, for a chain restaurant, has a relaxing and unhurried atmosphere and even manages a touch of elegance.
02 January, 2008
Holiday Menus
We really went to town with the cooking over this holiday period. We didn't photograph every single dinner but, in truth, they were all very tasty and satisfying. Several of the links below are to entries in Lisa's
A Cook's Journal blog, the others are to photos in my Flikr photostream. The full roll-call is as follows:
A Cook's Journal blog, the others are to photos in my Flikr photostream. The full roll-call is as follows:
- Saturday, 22nd December
Steak Frites & Green Beans - Sunday, 23rd December
Pheasant Casserole with Celeriac & Apple Mash and Brussels Sprouts - Monday, 24th December
Lamb Shanks with Colcannon Mash and Carrots - Tuesday, 25th December
Escargots
These were just supposed to be the starter but it turned out this was enough dinner for us tonight - Wednesday, 26th December
Quail Risotto
From the cookbook "Francesco's Kitchen" I gave Lisa for Christmas - Thursday, 27th December
Roast Duck with Brussels Sprouts, Swede & Carrot Mash and Roast Potatoes & Parsnips
This was the main course planned for Christmas Day - Friday, 28th December
Pheasant with Brussels Sprouts, Baby Carrots and Mashed Potatoes - Saturday, 29th December
Spaghetti Carbonara - Sunday, 30th December
Provençal Beef Daube with Baby Carrots, Brussels Sprouts and Baby Potatoes
The daube was actually cooked yesterday and reheated today - Monday, 31st December
Quail on Polenta with Green Beans - Tuesday, 1st January
Partridge on Mashed Potato with Brussels Sprouts
29 December, 2007
Out and about between Christmas and New Year
Yesterday we took the train out from Cambridge, two stops to the east to the delightful market town of Bury St. Edmunds. As you can see from the photo, we spent some time looking over the famous Abbey ruins. Before this, Lisa bought me a new overcoat, as a belated Christmas present, at a gentlemen's outfitters in the town. We also checked out a couple of cookware shops in the town centre. Before heading for home, we called in for a couple of beers at the Grapes, a pleasant and welcoming pub.
Two days earlier (that's Boxing Day, a.k.a. the "Feast of Stephen") we spent the afternoon walking along the river Cam. We headed north on the west bank from Water Lane and walked up as far as Baits Bite Lock where we crossed over and made our way back south as far as Fen Ditton. By then we were ready for a rest and so sought out a pub. We wound up in the Blue Lion which seemed like a nice place in spite of initially serving us two undrinkably sour pints. Suitably refreshed after an hour or so, we continued home.
Two days earlier (that's Boxing Day, a.k.a. the "Feast of Stephen") we spent the afternoon walking along the river Cam. We headed north on the west bank from Water Lane and walked up as far as Baits Bite Lock where we crossed over and made our way back south as far as Fen Ditton. By then we were ready for a rest and so sought out a pub. We wound up in the Blue Lion which seemed like a nice place in spite of initially serving us two undrinkably sour pints. Suitably refreshed after an hour or so, we continued home.
23 December, 2007
On the Threshold
Phew! It's finally up and decorated. Allow me to introduce El Gordo: Steve & Lisa's Christmas Tree 2007. He's a big boy (hence the name) so we have to hope he won't encroach too severely on the kitchen door. Regardless, he's a big part of the Christmas atmosphere that I aim to (re)create each year. Along with "paper chains" (made of metal foil these days), lights in the window, the crib/creche and other decorations. This year (as last) glass tree ornaments have been held back for fear of the havoc Robbie might wreak but our annual special ornament has pride of place, as ever.
As anticipated last time out, on Wednesday evening we had a wonderful time at the Pharmacology Christmas Party in the great hall at Clare College. A champagne reception was followed by a sit-down dinner of smoked salmon terrine followed by honey glazed duck breast in a peach sauce and then another terrine, this time of chocolate and Cointreau. You'd better believe it tasted as good as it sounds! The evening was rounded off in the College cellars with music and dancing until the wee small hours. What better way to confirm that the season of celebration is well and truly under way!
As anticipated last time out, on Wednesday evening we had a wonderful time at the Pharmacology Christmas Party in the great hall at Clare College. A champagne reception was followed by a sit-down dinner of smoked salmon terrine followed by honey glazed duck breast in a peach sauce and then another terrine, this time of chocolate and Cointreau. You'd better believe it tasted as good as it sounds! The evening was rounded off in the College cellars with music and dancing until the wee small hours. What better way to confirm that the season of celebration is well and truly under way!
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