Sunday, April 08, 2012
Invalid diet
Following yesterday's post, the Falcon Vista jigsaw was completed this morning. Rather easier than I expected until I got to the 50 or so pieces of unadulterated sky. There were slight gradations of colour but they were hard to pick up, even with the halogen lamp, and was reduced to trial and error. An activity which is not as bad as it sounds when one is running down of an evening, rather like an IT person turning to testing and documentation to fill in time on a slow Friday afternoon. Both activities which most of those expected to do them find hard to take as seriously as their management would like.
The lack of regularity added an extra frisson in that from time to time one realised that a mistake had been made and that some unpicking was necessary. On this occasion the various unpickings went smoothly and the jigsaw ended happily. Except that is when I came back an hour or so later to admire my handiwork and realised that the last piece of sky was both a colour clash and a poor fit. Luckily, my luck held and I was able to identify the piece with which to swap in a matter of seconds.
In between times resumed kitchen activities. First item was a invalid version of pork soup, that is to say not involving either pearl barley or white cabbage. Simmer half a tenderloin with a finely chopped onion for several hours. Add two nests of Blue Dragon (our local Costcutter does stock stuff from Sharwoods but not their noodles) egg noodles, topping up with just enough water that the noodles are decently covered. Simmer for a further 8 minutes and serve. A little bland but entirely eatable. Second item was a return to cheese scones, something I used to make quite regularly on Sunday afternoons at one time. Just a few calories: 12oz flour, 3oz butter, 4.5oz cheese, pinch of salt, pinch of cayenne pepper and half a pint of milk. Made up into a dozen scones which had vanished into the two of us (not three because of the gluten) by around 2130, that is to say about three hours later. The only mistake was that I had forgotten that the recipe suggests too much milk so I had to add some flour to the dough to dry it up a bit. Half an ounce eaten raw in a gesture to childhood, a time when raw cheese scone dough was a forbidden delicacy, it being alleged to upset the stomach.
The lack of regularity added an extra frisson in that from time to time one realised that a mistake had been made and that some unpicking was necessary. On this occasion the various unpickings went smoothly and the jigsaw ended happily. Except that is when I came back an hour or so later to admire my handiwork and realised that the last piece of sky was both a colour clash and a poor fit. Luckily, my luck held and I was able to identify the piece with which to swap in a matter of seconds.
In between times resumed kitchen activities. First item was a invalid version of pork soup, that is to say not involving either pearl barley or white cabbage. Simmer half a tenderloin with a finely chopped onion for several hours. Add two nests of Blue Dragon (our local Costcutter does stock stuff from Sharwoods but not their noodles) egg noodles, topping up with just enough water that the noodles are decently covered. Simmer for a further 8 minutes and serve. A little bland but entirely eatable. Second item was a return to cheese scones, something I used to make quite regularly on Sunday afternoons at one time. Just a few calories: 12oz flour, 3oz butter, 4.5oz cheese, pinch of salt, pinch of cayenne pepper and half a pint of milk. Made up into a dozen scones which had vanished into the two of us (not three because of the gluten) by around 2130, that is to say about three hours later. The only mistake was that I had forgotten that the recipe suggests too much milk so I had to add some flour to the dough to dry it up a bit. Half an ounce eaten raw in a gesture to childhood, a time when raw cheese scone dough was a forbidden delicacy, it being alleged to upset the stomach.
# posted by Jim @ 3:10 AM 
