Experimental Cookery 2021: Chicken Bihari Kebab

Another one from the recipe book that came with the spice kit, this was another quick (ish) and easy meal to produce. I say quick-ish because it consisted of two quick steps separated by a full day. So preparing the meal wasn't any great effort, but it does require remembering to marinade the meat the day before you want to eat - something I forgot last week.

In terms of the result, this one was fine, but...

Both LC and I felt that this would have been considerably better if made closer to summer, and probably on the barbeque. Which isn't a criticism of the meal as such, just something to remember for the future.

Additionally, we were both somewhat surprised at just how mild the flavour on these was. We had expected something rather stronger. Again, that's not a criticism, just an observation. We'll certainly have these again, subject to the above note.

And that's pretty much that. There are two more recipes in the booklet, both of which I'll tackle next week, and then it will be a case of using up the remaining spices gradually over time. All in all, a good Christmas present, despite the delay in using it!

Funsize's Lockdown Birthday

As the previous post implies, Funsize has recently turned three. Whereas the first birthday saw us borrowing a hall and hosting a big party and the second year saw me taking the day of work for a daddy-daughter trip to the aquarium followed by a visit from many family members, this year was celebrated in lockdown.

The day started before the previous one really ended - it proved difficult to put FS to bed on Saturday, after which LC and I spent some time decorating the downstairs and laying out presents. Which meant we were already up against it, as going to bed after midnight is no longer as enticing as it was (and it was never all that enticing, if I'm being honest).

On waking, FS's immediate request was to have cake. She had been excited to help me in the kitchen on Saturday, only to be cruelly denied the ability to actually taste the cake we'd made, and again she was to be denied. Such a shame.

However, her disappointment was to be short-lived as we took her downstairs, whereupon all those efforts hanging bunting and blowing up balloons were worthwhile. And then she spent an hour or so tearing apart wrapping paper. Good times.

We then headed out for an early lunch, which we purchased from a McDonalds drive-through. I have no excuse.

From there we headed over to the Scottish Owl Centre, which is one of very few things that are still open. Fortunately, the weather was bright and sunny, albeit cold. Also fortunately, this is something the FS has very much enjoyed before, so we knew it was a decent choice. And so it proved. We enjoyed about an hour and a half of looking at the owls, including a talk from the keepers, before FS gradually decided it was time to move on. Then a quick play on an extremely busy playpark (not surprising on the first day of really decent weather in ages), and then home.

At this point we were then able to arrange a short playdate with one of the FS's friends. Obviously, the travel restrictions meant that family weren't able to visit, which is a real shame, while lockdown meant there was no chance for a party. But what is still allowed, we did. It's obviously no substitute, but it was also very welcome for all that.

Then FS helped me decorate the cake, something she'd been desperate to do all weekend, and then it was time for the Zoom and Skype calls to both sets of grandparents - and two lots of blowing out candles. (Poor thing - FS really wanted to try the cake, and after the first candle blowing she still couldn't! But it was, eventually, worth the wait.)

Then a birthday buffet, which I over-catered rather spectacularly, an evening watching "Spies in Disguise" (which is a reasonable way to spend a couple of hours, if you already have Disney+), and then bed for a very tired but very happy three-year-old.

It was a good day, though at the end of it LC noted a little sadness about it all - obviously, the lockdown meant no opportunity for a real party and also no chance to see family in person. For all concerned, but especially the two sets of grandparents, that's hard to take. And as good as the technology is, it again is just no substitute.

I totally understand that, of course. However, the major mitigation of that is that she's still young enough that she probably won't remember any of this, and resilient enough that when it's all over and done with she should just pick up where things left off. So rather than focusing on what she missed out on, it's okay to focus on what was possible. And it was a good day.

But here's hoping it is the only birthday she ever has to have in lockdown.

Experimental Cookery 2021: Chocolate and Strawberry Dessert Cake

For Christmas I received "Mary Berry's Simple Comforts". Shortly thereafter LC and Funsize took a look through the book and the latter decided that this particular cake was the one that she wanted for her birthday (probably due to the strawberries). So on Saturday I made the cakes and then yesterday they were decorated with strawberries and cream:

The cake was easy to make and decorate - the hardest part was knowing exactly when to stop whisking the various components (and remembering to fold in the various items carefully!). The result looks pretty close to the picture in the book. It's wider and therefore shorter, due to my using a bigger cake tin than was indicated, but that's no bad thing.

In terms of taste, it's lovely. As might be expected from a fairly dense chocolate sponge, vanilla-infused cream, and strawberries. The only downside is that we probably have a bit much for three people and a cake that will only last for two days (fresh cream...). Still, I'm sure we can rise to the challenge...

I would certainly at least consider having this again. The only doubt I have is provoked by the fact that we don't have cakes very often - there are really only two occasions in the year when I might make this, and I'm somewhat inclined to try something new rather than repeat myself.

Day 50: Update on... Stuff

I didn't formally set goals for this year, but I figured it was worth an update anyway. So...

• Books: By Day 50 I should expect to have completed 8.22 books, so I'm a little ahead of target here. I am, however, fast running out of reading material.
• Weight: This is down very slightly from the start of the year, so I'm cautiously happy with progress here.
• Blogging: Likewise, I am pretty happy here - I'm pretty much on target both here and on the Imaginarium.
• Redecorating the Spare Room: My major task for my holiday last week was to repaint that room, including two coats for the walls (due to a colour change). The room still needs the carpet replaced, which will occur once lockdown finally ends, and some more furniture, and then we'll be ready to move Funsize in. All in all, that's pretty promising.
• Tadpole #2: There are now just under two months to go. We're probably about as ready as we can be. Though there is still one non-trivial purchase to make - one of the few things you can't reuse is the matress for the crib, so we'll need to get a new one.

Generally speaking, things are going about as well as could be hoped. It has been a stressful few months, but things do seem to be gradually improving. I'm currently looking forward to three key things (other than the above): getting the vaccine, the end of lockdown, and getting some better weather.

And that's that, really.

Restart Brexit?

I see that the Independent today has an article with some Tories calling for the government to restart Brexit talks. Social media has therefore gone into a whirlwind of people laughing at Brexiteers and the government, and the notion of "Get Brexit Done", and so on and so forth.

The thing is, of course the government should be restarting talks, in at least some form. In fact, they should never have stopped.

Three reasons:

Firstly, the notion of "Getting Brexit Done" was always a nonsense. Yes, leaving the EU was an event, and ending the transition period was also an event. But the reality is that we remain intimately tied to the EU in a wide variety of ways, large and small. Some of those are ties that we want to retain long-term, some we may wish to allow to diminish... and there are some that have ended that we might well want to renew. So we should talk.

Secondly, it is a fact that the eventual withdrawal agreement was negotiated and signed off with almost indecent haste, especially towards the end. That inevitably means that it is flawed in a variety of ways, with some parts not working for us, some not working for the EU, and some not working for either party. So of course talks should continue, to see if improvements can be made for mutual benefit.

But thirdly, the EU remains our closest and most important neighbour, and unless it ceases to exist as an entity it will always remain so. And, despite our recent issues, it remains an ally. As anyone who has a neighbour knows, it is much better to have a good relationship with them than to have a poor one - and an antagonistic relationship can be all sorts of awful. So we should talk, and keep talking.

#9: "The Star Wars Book", by Pablo Hidalgo, Cole Horton, and Dan Zehr

Experimental Cookery 2021: Tandoori Chicken, and Mint & Coriander Chutney

Two more from the same spice kit as previously, these are both more or less as the name implies.

The Tandoori chicken was easy to prepare, but did involve a long marinade step (which meant it was delayed a day). The chutney proved to be much easier than I had initially expected, as a stick blender did almost all of the work.

In terms of result, the Tandoori chicken was very nice but would, I think, be better if finished on a barbeque. Certainly, I plan to do this again in summer when that will be a possibility. The chutney was okay, but really needed more mint and coriander - it was just a little bland. To be honest, I'm not sure I'll bother with that one again.

And that's that. There will be another recipe from this pack next week...

#7: "Sharpe's Revenge", by Bernard Cornwell
#8: "The Alchemist", by Paulo Coelho (a book from The List - seventeen to go)

Whedon

I had really hoped that the Joss Whedon allegations were untrue. It helped that I could largely ignore them, having next to no interest in either version of the "Justice League" movie.

However, even at the time it was obvious that there was something really not right in the filming of "Angel" series 4, and so when Charisma Carpenter made her statement it had the unmistakeable ring of truth. Given that other stars of "Buffy" have now come out in solidarity, it very definitely looks like a pattern of behaviour.

Damn.

The upshot of that is that I'm now no longer interested in any future project that has Whedon associated in any major capacity. I'll still give him the credit for what he has done - I'm still a fan of "Buffy", "Angel", "Firefly", "Toy Story", and "The Avengers". Having red in your ledger doesn't erase the black. But as for new projects... no. Just no.

It's also worth noting that there has been talk of a "Buffy" reboot for several years, and there is always talk of a "Firefly" reboot/restart. But in both cases I was never interested without his significant involvement, and now I'm not interested if he is involved in any significant way.

Time to let those IP die, I'm afraid.

Experimental Cookery 2021: Chicken Curry

For Christmas 2019 (!) I received a kit of spices for various chicken dishes. This has sat in a cupboard until recently, when I decided I really had to start using it - and the chicken curry was the first of the recipes.

This proved to be a quick and easy recipe - soften a base of veg, add the spices and form the sauce, then add the chicken, and then simmer.

The result was highly successful - I liked it, LC liked it, and Funsize raved over it, coming back for seconds and indeed thirds. So we'll be having it again!

Next up is tandoori chicken, which also looks good.

The Pink Tax... and it's reverse

In case you haven't heard the term before, "the pink tax" refers to the relative pricing of some items when marketed to men versus women - most commonly shown in the form of the pink version of the item being sold at a higher price than the identical blue item. Which is, of course, crazy - both that so many manufacturers do that, and that they are actually able to get away with it (presumably because women do indeed buy the pink item).

Examples of the pink tax are many and varied, of course. Possibly the most egregious was the "woman's pen", which was simply a pen made in pink, but with the price doubled. Another common example are razor blades, which are slightly different for the sexes, but in many cases largely interchangeable. And then there are cases where the items being sold generally are different - but where the "male" version of the tool is coldly functional, the "female" version is less functional but of greater aesthetic appeal... and significantly more expensive.

As I said, the whole thing is crazy. But it does, at least, seem to be getting a little better. (Though, to quote a recent TV show, actually talking about racial issues, "it always gets better. But never enough, and never quickly enough.")

Anyway, the reason I mention this is that yesterday while at Tesco there was an item I needed to pick up, and they very definitely had a pink and a blue version. Surprisingly, though, and just for once, the pink version was the cheaper - largely because that one was reduced to clear while the other was full price.

The upshot being that I proceeded to buy the pink item. For two reasons: (1) I'm never actually going to use said item in public, and (2) I honestly don't care anyway. Pink and blue are both perfectly good colours, and we would really benefit from breaking our obsession that one is for boys and the other for girls.

But maybe that's just me.

#5: "White Oleander", by Janet Fitch (a book from The List - eighteen to go)

#6: "Tome of Beasts II", from Kobold Press

Credit Where It's Due

It's fair to say that the UK government's handling of the Covid-19 crisis has been absolutely abysmal - a monstrous death toll, disastrous economic consequences, and vast amounts of public money given to chancers largely for no results. In general, the Scottish government have been doing better, though as I said in another post it's a difference of degree rather than type.

But where the vaccine roll-out is concerned, I feel I do need to give credit where it's due - after a slow start, the UK government have reached a very good rate of delivery, such that there's some genuine hope for the future. (Although there is one massive caveat - I'll get to that momentarily.) And, on the topic of vaccine delivery, I'm afraid the Scottish government just isn't doing as well, nor indeed is it doing well enough. And, again, it's a difference of degree rather than type, which means that the same caveat applies.

(That caveat concerns the increased delay between doses, where they were approved for a 3-week delay, the manufacturers recommend a 3-week delay (although it should be noted that they are obliged to do so), and yet the government has elected for a longer delay of up to 12-weeks. That's one hell of a gamble, and we must all desperately hope that they've got it right - the consequences if not are too horrible to contemplate.)

So I feel I must offer a very cautious congratulations to the UK government on this part of the process. And ask that the Scottish government please up their game.