Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Lamb Stew and the Kitchen Sink

Tonight, I feel the need for comfort food. Hence the lamb stew. Boy calls it a kitchen sink meal for good reason. It's a one-pot meal, and I'm not sure which army I was catering for, but I hope they're not going to be late. I have got a HOOOGE potfull as they say here in Norfolk.

Today, did not start well. I was half an hour late for my tutorial with my CP tutor. I was late because I'm a complete muppet; I completely got my times wrong. The 5 minutes we chatted was enough to put me back on track. This week has been a string of 'woe-is-me' meetings with my Course Leader, Student Adminstration and Support and the Critical Studies director, to explain why I haven't done my dissertation and to access the support from the College, which will mean I can finish my final year, this year. I've now got extentions for my dissertation of four weeks, which I'm hoping I won't need. I'd rather not have it impact on the rest of my coursework.

This afternoon, a group of us went to see Pan's Labyrinth at Cinema City. It was better than the reviews suggested. Excuse me as I cycle through my superlatives while trying to find something not clichéd. It was amazing. Everything that a fairy tale ought to be, scary, dark, compelling, with a real sense of menace. Guillermo del Toro juxtaposes the fantasy of the Labyrinth against the reality of Franco's Spain and the result is mindblowing. I did initially want to take Boy along, but the violence is brutal and explicit. It's one of the few occasions I've felt it necessary to restrict his viewing, but there are subtleties that he'll miss at this point. Go and see it!

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:16 am

    Honey your Chilli recipe really got me going...I've printed it out for a future go...but lamb stew is such an old favourite in my place...(only when we're rich though 'cos decent cuts are so much dearer, pound for pound, than, say, pork...)

    Talking of which, what do you do with belly pork?

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  2. Anonymous9:03 am

    Cogidubnus ~ let me know how you get on with it. I'm pretty sure a Mexican would sneer at it, but we really like it.

    Boy doesn't particularly like pork that much....perhaps it's truer to say that he doesn't like the way I cook it. He finds it too dry and tough. But he likes gammon and bacon. I have never really tried cooking with belly pork before, I've been a bit wary because it's so fatty. Any ideas?

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  3. Anonymous7:12 pm

    Ooo I love lamb stew especially at this time of year and after seeing your chilli post I've been thinking of making it ever since

    Nigel slater has a lovely recipe for belly pork...see here (hopefully if i've done it right, if not I'm sure resident techie IM will sort it out)



    Recipe



    yum yum pigs bum (or in this case belly)

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  4. You did good Monkey, the link worked a treat. Mmmmmmmm....I think I'll have to give it a go next week. Thanks for that.

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  5. Pan's Labyrinth is on my 'To See' List.

    And Cinema City is a lovely cinema - you are making me nostalgic for Norwich again.

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  6. Anonymous9:25 pm

    Sanddancer ~ Cinema City is currently happening at the Playhouse, as it's being re-furbished. Take 5, has moved permanently to Tombland and continues to serve well scrummy food, for bugger all. I'm not sure when Cinema City will start up again, I'm not sure they know either.

    I hope you manage to get to Pan's Labyrinth while it's in the cinemas, I think it's worth seeing on the big screen.

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