Just back from a quiz to raise money for the Penkhull Mysteries day. Some very hard questions, when was Port Vale football club formed, where does the Boat race start on the River Thames. What age was Joan of Ark when she died? Our team didn’t do badly, but we were 6 points behind the winners.
I did win a raffle prize, I usually do for some reason. I guess I get some luck occasionally. I enjoyed the evening, enhanced at the break by chip butties. People had fun and I think we raised a reasonable amount of money from the evening. X
My friend took me out this afternoon for lunch. We went to a pub called the Star at Stone and had a pleasant lunch. It’s on the Trent and Mersey canal and sits next to the towpath so it’s reachable from the water as well as the road. The decor is quite rustic and a nice mash up of old chairs and oak tables.
On the way home we drove home through the countryside on a road that parallels the main road but is more twisty and interesting. The sun was low and shining on the sides of buildings giving them a beautiful glow. A definite pick me up after days of grey mist.
What’s the most money you’ve ever spent on a meal? Was it worth it?
I went to a Chinese restaurant recently in my home town. We spent a little more than usual. Possibly double the cost than I usually pay? I don’t go out very often anymore unless it’s for a coffee or tea. It was a real treat and gave me a chance of using chopsticks for a change.
The food came in a few courses, starter, then soup, various main selections with rice, then a tasty dessert. Unfortunately I can’t remember the names of the various dishes. But they were all well presented, colourful, and well spiced. It was definitely worth it. I don’t have any photos of the food. It was too nice to waste time on taking pictures.
Went with a friend to our local Thai restaurant tonight. I had some starters of spare ribs, chicken wings and battered king prawns then a papaya salad and some sticky rice.
We’d been out to my exhibition at Spode and for the first time in months I felt like visiting somewhere different. I’ve not been out for a long time but there was a friendly welcome as usual. It was good to have a laugh and relax.
I went out for afternoon tea with some lovely ladies. It was a spur of the moment thing but I was really pleased to be invited. It’s not something English people do everyday!
The meal included various small sandwiches, mini quiche, a scone with jam and clotted cream, a mini Victoria sponge and a mini chocolate brownie.
And lashings of cups of tea or coffee (normal or decaff). The result was a delicious and tasty meal.
The Quarter cafe is at the Spode Site at Elanora Street, Stoke upon Trent. I think there is another one in the city centre (Hanley). You have to book the tea you can’t just arrive. Service was really good, the waitress was very helpful.
I like cooking curries from scratch. I’m no expert though so I just make it up as I go along. I like vegetable curry so I’ll use butternut squash as a basic ingredient.
You have to take off the skin and deseed the squash. Then chop it into cubes. Meanwhile I put some oil in a pan and gently fry my spices. Mild curry powder, some crushed garlic, a bit of chilli (dried or powdered) and a bit of cinnamon or garam masala to give the curry a richer flavour. Sometimes I add this later so the taste is more noticeable.
Then I sautée (add a small amount of water to the oil) some chopped onion in the curry mix together with the squash. This takes a while to soften so I cook it on a low heat with a lid on.
As it softens I add other vegetables, like pak choi, mushrooms, beans, a bit of broccoli or some cabbage. I might add some potato chopped up. I keep an eye on the water content so it doesn’t dry out. I will also add tinned tomatos or tomato paste. As I say I just add in what is available at the time.
Before it’s fully cooked I usually do a small amount of boiled rice (brown or white) and serve the curry and rice with plain yoghurt.
I hope this makes sense, it’s not a recipe as such.
I always season with salt at the end, I don’t cook with it, as it gets absorbed into the food, and you can’t taste it as much but it can raise your blood pressure.
Memory of a picnic on the beach this summer. The tide was out. There was soft sand to sit on. We had a simple meal of salad and melon for dessert. What makes it memorable was that it was a beach we visited a few years before and I didn’t think we would be able to go back. It didn’t matter that it was overcast, or that the beach was quite crowded, it made me feel happy. That’s why it’s good to go back to this memory. Nothing bad happened and it was really enjoyable. I need good memories.
Mallaband-Brown 