Cool Services of 2006!

In 2006, a friend of mine convinced me that viral marketing is more important than any endorsement from Jonathan Ross, if you are trying to sell your product or promote your business to the masses. The theory is that if you heard something for the first time on the radio or on TV today, chances are that the same information is already half way around the world on the internet, decisions have already been made as to whether it's "good" or "bad" and as such, the same information is probably now just "old news".

As far as I'm concerned though, Jonathan Ross can sleep easy and feel free earn every part of his £18 million contract from the BBC. I will always need someone to sift through the crap and present a single dose of "what's new" preferably on a Friday night when I can wash it down with a bucket of ice cold Kriek. For me, the internet will always be a service provider, a way to save time or an educational resource. Here are some of the best sites discovered in 2006:

1. Shoot, the on-line gardening resource and care calendar (courtesy of a great Christmas present from Lando C). Based in the UK too, which is super helpful.

2. allTunes. Legal? Illegal? Who knows? Great value? Absolutely.

3. In-the-spirit - a decent cocktail recipe website, at long last.

4. del.icio.us - a social bookmarks manager for all those cool websites you want to go back to.

5. LOVEFiLM - the UK's no.1 on-line DVD rental company. Great if you are on the hunt of films of yesteryear. So far we've enjoyed some real classics - Breakfast at Tiffany's, Easy Rider, Man on the Moon, as well as movies I missed because our old local village video store only stocked the big names. At last I was able to see Rushmore, Beyond the Sea, The Libertine, etc.

Cool Stuff of 2006!

With the fireworks that brought in 2007 still ringing in my ears, it's a reminder to update this thing with all the best bits of 2006.

In 2006, I discovered:

1. Belle-Vue Kriek



2. The New Sushi Aisle at Tescos stocking Yutaka products




3. BlueQ, with heaps of groovy cool stuff. For Christmas, I was lucky enough to receive the cutest and tastiest lip-balm ever.



4. Family Guy




With the business really going nuts this year, both Lando C and I fell way off the music scene this year, only making one or two gigs and barely getting five minutes to tune into BBC 6 music. Nevertheless, I still made time for:

1. Rodrigo y Gabriela - the best gig of the year, nay! Decade!!!
2. The Raconteurs - a unthinkable but workable collaboration.
3. The Beatles new Love Album
4. Leicester's finest - Kasabian
5. The Vines, live at the Rescue Rooms, Nottingham.
6. Vetiver
7. Dan Sartain
8. Richard Hawley

Lando C cried like a little boy when he heard:

1. Wolfmother

There, there boy. Rock is back!

Menu For Lando C

Here is Friday night's menu for Lando C to try and give him a better weekend than his birthday which kinda ended with him talking to God down the big white telephone. And I know how much Lando C dislikes conversing with the Man.

Wasabi Sesame Tuna Recipe

1/4 cup soy sauce
3 teaspoons wasabi paste
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
12 ounces ahi tuna steaks, 3/4 to 1-inch thick (2 steaks)
1/4 cup sesame seeds


In a shallow dish, combine the soy sauce, wasabi paste and cracked black pepper; mix well. Add the tuna and turn until thoroughly coated on both sides.
Let sit for 10 minutes or plan ahead and let marinate overnight in a zipper bag or foodsaver bag.

Coat a pan with nonstick cooking spray and preheat over high heat. Place the sesame seeds in another shallow dish, add the tuna and turn to coat completely.

Grill the tuna for 1 to 2 minutes per side, or until browned or cooked to desired doneness. Slice thinly and serve with rice or stir fry.

Remember fish cooks fast and will be dry and chewy if overcooked.

Recent Reviews

"This came out fabulously! I live in a tiny NYC apartment, so no grilling for me, but I fried my tuna in dark sesame oil, which turned out just great. I served it with extra wasabi on the side and pickled ginger. — Feb 26, 2006"



That's a relief! I don't really do grilling either.

Carlton Cole

Carlton Cole

This is blues guitar legend Carlton Cole as a youth before he went blind.

I don't know who took this picture but it is a fine example of '70s cool.

Like A Red Rag To A Bull

Like A Red Rag To A Bull

Yep, this made my day. Raise those stakes Donna! You can do-eeeeet!

Massively Educational!

Spicy Lentil Soup

I found a good recipe for Spicy Lentil Soup after being completely blown away by the soup I had at Dub Tournae made by the Happy Pear company. I had to adapt it a little because we have no cardamom but I did have an aubergine that needed using up. It tastes great - although I am expecting one long trip to Windy City this evening!


INGREDIENTS:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped red onion
salt and pepper to taste
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups frozen chopped spinach
2 cups dry red lentils
2 cups water
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon curry powder

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat, and cook the onion until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in tomatoes, spinach, and lentils, and pour in water. Season with basil, cardamom, cumin, cayenne pepper, and curry powder. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender.

Transfer the soup to a blender (or use a hand held blender), and blend until smooth before serving.

Edamame

Further to eating bowls and bowls of wonderful Black Bean Edamame at Chino Latino's, I want to be able to grow my own Edamame. It's impossible to get seeds in the UK. I wonder if I can import them from Canada? Thompson Morgan seed specialists seems to have some but I am not sure how suitable the Ustie variety is for Edamame.

Maybe I should also read 'The Soybean Grow and Cookbook' by R.G Whisker and P Dixon as recommended by this handy website.

Also it's worth visiting these other seed sites, Chiltern Seeds and the Organic Gardening Catalogue.

Next stop, Alfalfa beans and Pea shoots!

Oyster Soup

We have fresh fish delivered to our house now every 10 weeks. At last someone came to our front door selling something I was interested in! Unfortunately, Lando C returned from our trip to Hayling Island with the Norovirus so the dozen fresh oysters I ordered were in danger of going to waste.

Thankfully I was able to make this soup which kept me in meals for about 3 days:

Oyster Soup with Fresh & Smoked Oysters

Ingredients:

16 fresh Oysters, and their liquid
7 oz Smoked Oysters, well rinsed in cold water, gently patted dry
6 slices Bacon, cut into thin strips
1 large Onion, dice into fine pieces
1 large Leek, white part only, sliced thin
1 large Red Potato, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup Whipping cream
4 cup Milk
1/2 cup bottled Clam Juice
4 cups packed young Spinach Leaves
1/2 tsp Salt
freshly ground White Pepper

Directions:

Cook the bacon in a 3-quart pot over medium high heat until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the onion and leek and cook until softened, about 4 minutes, stirring often. Add the potato, cream, milk and clam juice and bring to boil. Simmer, uncovered, until potato is just short of cooked, about 8 minutes. Add the spinach and fresh and smoked oysters. Cook just until fresh oysters are cooked, about 1 minute. Add additional clam juice if needed for consistency. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. Serve oyster soup in shallow serving bowls with fresh bread or your favorite soup crackers. Makes 8 cups.

Six Months In A Nutshell

It's gonna be a pretty large nutshell. Probably from an avocado or big mango or something.

I have been able to keep up the Flickr account (only just!) but generally it's been so manic, I have had very little time to sit back and reflect.

To illustrate just how manic it's got round here, in the last six months, I've:

1) Bought a house with Lando C and moved in
2) Acquired a rescue dog called Penn
3) Held a Canada Day party
4) Watched Lando C have a seizure and third degree heart block
5) Wasted three days at the worst ever Blues Festival
6) Retired from competitive ultimate
7) Been inspired by a trip to Dublin to give up eating meat
8) Planted a vegetable garden
9) Replaced the bathroom from hell
10) Enjoyed the new Superman movie
11) Visited and experienced Wonderful Copenhagen

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