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I think Nigella should be proud - but probably she wouldn't give a fig. Encouraged by my success with "roast" lamb, I progressed on to a chunk of beef with gravy and a passable Yorkshire pudding in the frying pan. I’ve refined the roasting technique a little by putting halved onions, skin on, in the bottom and placing the plate with meat directly on top of them. The “roast” potatoes I cook first in the microwave, then crisp up in a little oil in the wok while the meat and onions rest and keep warm in the recently vacated microwave. Gravy zapped last thing accompanies the food to compensate for it’s rapidly getting cold the minute it is served.
I wasn’t confident about having a go at bread in the wok, but eventually decided I might just as well. The best options we’d found in local bread were either nice chewy texture but too sweet, or nice flavour but so light it had no texture. So, I thought nothing ventured nothing gained ... The first batch of buns (baps really) tasted very nice but were a bit hard and tough. The second had nice texture but were a bit under cooked and stodgy. The third batch looked good but didn’t taste as nice. They were okay with pumpkin soup though. I’ve decided I will try making bread once a week until I either crack it or get sick of it. Will keep you posted, I’m sure you’re all waiting with baited breath!
Everyday English
Having been a “do your own ironing” family since the kids were at high school, and given Owen has done most of the cooking for the last few years, I find I’m enjoying looking after the domestic front (apart from the ironing) and getting into the cooking and shopping. However it is rather isolated, and it seems a bit of a waste not to be doing something more, so I’ve recently agreed to take a few conversational “everyday English” sessions with a small group of staff (who are hoping to go overseas) at one of the hospitals. One of Owen’s colleagues felt I needed something to do – and he has a friend who works at the hospital … I was a bit terrified at the prospect, but it is really good fun. The only down side, it had to be in the evenings after work (for them) and it’s pretty cold coming home at 8pm. It’s good to have a little something extra to do – before the novelty of being a domestic goddess wears off.
Coffee shops
While we’re happy to drink instant coffee at home, it is nice to be able to go to a coffee shop and have nice “proper” coffee as a treat now and again. To this end we’ve been on the lookout for good coffee places around town. After initially thinking they were few and far between we’ve lately stumbled across several.
The upmarket coffee shops have amazing décor but expensive coffee. It tends to be lukewarm, rather weak, have a layer of super sweet syrup on the bottom or a thick layer of whipped cream on top. Sometimes all of the above.
I still think the best we’ve found is at the little bakery near where we live. It’s one of a chain of bakeries found all over town and quite a few of them sell coffee. It’s drip filter coffee but it’s nice and hot as they heat the milk in the microwave, and they have the nicest selection of cakes we’ve found. It’s also a quarter of the price of the upmarket coffee places.
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