Out with the Old and In with the New

With the temperatures soaring high in the early 20Cs taking a drive with Gingersnap and Colossus on Saturday seemed to be the perfect idea. Even better then that our drive took us over to the tiny little town of Catrine in North Ayrshire where we made a stop at the Catrine House ice cream parlour for some award winning traditionally churned yummy goodness!


And then on our way back we popped into a garden centre where I picked up this little beauty for my front window. I've named her Bonnie, as in banks of Loch Lomond and I have a feeling that she and I are going to be very good friends.
The shamrock hasn't been thrown out, but that's only because I haven't had the time. I'm thinking we need to start with a clean slate tomorrow. After all, Bonnie's going to need the space on the windowsill!

Cooking Curry and Making Friends

Last week, one of Rain Man's friends called to asked if she could "borrow" me to help her figure out the mysteries of the Indian spice rack. She had a couple of recipes that she was dying to try out but wanted some "expert" help with picking the ingredients. Accordingly, Blondie and I met up at the Indian store where she proceeded to pick up almost everything in sight and that wasn't nailed down. Really, I'm not sure when she's ever going to make samosas (from scratch) or appams or idils or half the other dishes for which she liberally gathered raw materials. But that's not the point. Besides, we had a mission - Lamb Curry was on the menu and we were ready to cook. As I assumed the role of culinary supervisor and spice grinder, Blondie chopped, grated, sliced and diced with a vigor that only a novice cook can muster. I recognised it in my own cooking style!

 

After combining everything, we left it to simmer on a low heat and went off for a pint to the pub. On our return an hour (and a few pints) later, we found a smooth and tasty curry waiting for us.

It was half way through dinner that I actually remembered that it was Diwali, the Hindu new year and the festival of lights. When I shared that with Blondie and described how back in India all the houses would be decorated with little oil lamps from top to bottom, she got up and ran around lighting all sorts of little candles. Just like India, she beamed triumphantly.

Looking around, I had to admit that although we certainly wouldn't have had a bunch of vanilla and cranberry Ikea candles in India, essentially it was just like home. I was celebrating and sitting around a table sharing good food and toasting to a new friendship.

That, is certainly a good reason for a celebration!

Introductions

I've been so busy with updating the travel blog and getting out job applications that I forgot to show off pics of the my purty new flat. 

There's still a lot of work to be done to get it looking the way I want. But this is a start and I'm so very happy with the place.



And speaking of, now would be a good time to introduce my flatmate, Rain Man. So called because of his inability to watch a movie without shouting out the next line in the dialogue. Or mumbling it after I have given him the So-That-One-More-Time-And-You-Die-A-Long-And-Painful-Death stare. It all started when he got very upset when he tried to do this with Independence Day and lost miserably to me. He then proceeded to sulk for the next 3 days until he beat me in Rain Man. I then made fun of him for knowing all the lines in a Tom Cruise movie. Whatever! You're short! was his witty comeback in reference to the fact that I had to buy a little step to reach the middle and top shelves in the kitchen and (properly) look into the washroom mirror.



And thus was the start of what I hope will be a beautiful friendship.

Move Over Martha

In an attempt to refocus my energies into something other than my rapidly deteriorating and rather sad unemployed existence, I felt that it was time to draw upon my inner Martha. I'd already ransacked the surrounding charity and second hand shops for odds and ends for the apartment like spice racks and towel holders and door mats. Then, I managed to locate an Indian store and over a few trips back and forth I stocked up on anything and everything I would possibly need to cook any sort of Indian meal; Garam masalas, ginger garlic pastes, dahnia and jeera powders and of course good 'ol Kashmiri chillies. For some absurd reason there were no moderate sized bags and I was compelled to buy the ginormo industry sized packet. Ah well, guess I was going to be using them chillies in a lot of my cooking whether or not the recipe called for 'em!

Once stocked up, I began with the experiments. Never been one to enjoy the whole cooking and culinary process in general, I figured I had nothing to loose and everything to gain. I'd already done pretty well with the chicken curry and potato tikkis over the weekend, so the next time Beans was over, I tried out Sai Bhaji (spinach in gram dal) paired with Kori Sukka (spicy dried chicken) and served with rice and rotis.

Indian food wasn't the only thing I was trying out. Flexing my culinary skills a little further I attmpted Italian sauces and all sorts of combinations of pastas with beef or chicken. Some of it like the penne with chicken and spinach in cream sauce turned out yum. Others such as the tuna with yellow and red peppers in spicy thai sauce - not so good. Never again!
My Martha-esque persona wasn't limited to the kitchen. I was also trying to shape my habitate to my own specifications. The room as I had inherited it came with some nice and simple furniture, but little character so to speak. There was much to be done to get it away from looking like last year's Ikea catelogue and more like something with a little more me in it. A few weeks and some basic alterations later, it was a we bit better. Not quite there yet, but I'm in no rush.