Unemployed

So

I'm now Unemployed.
It's a little strange to think I won't be going to work on Monday.
I was let go because I was on a casual contract and the work load dwindled
on the positive side if and when the work picks up again they would love to have me back.
I'm trying to look at it as an opportunity to put my self out there and try out new things.

Hoping to get a hospitality job over the festival which starts next week but it's getting very close and I haven't heard back yet.

I've been having a great time since I became unemployed though!
Friday was my last day at work so we went to the pub for lunch, and when i left Mandy and Debbie gave me a huge bag of lollies toblerone and chocolate pictionary! Ah they know me so well.

Friday night we had slow cooked goat for tea, mmmmm, put it in the slowcooker before i went to work so it was so tender it was impossible to cut, had to just pull it apart. A couple of friends came over and helped us demolish it and licked the cauliflower cheese bowl clean!!

On Saturday it was Debbies birthday so I'd arranged to go rock climbing at Vertical Reality an indoor rock climbing place in Holden Hill. Liam hurt his shoulder so directed me from ground level. On my first climb I wondered why i was doing this as the height made me feel shaky and scared but on my 5th climb I was thinking right just put my leg there and straighten, when Leg responds to brain with "Errm No way!" I knew my muscles had had enough and gave up.
It was a really good day but not something I would do every weekend.

We came home and chilled out with a nice Giesen Sav Blanc. and threw together a salad from the leftovers and hot chicken from the chicken shop across the road.

Must check if our lottery tickets won the 14million!

Here's hoping

s.x

Geoffreys Next Day Beef Curry

I phoned my brother Geoffrey to get his curry recipe, he traded for our fish pie recipe. He kept telling me that it would taste best after it had been in the fridge for 24 hours and he was right!
When it was cooked it was a bit bland with a spicy kick, nice flavour but not a strong curry. I thought I hadn't added enough spices at the beginning and Geoffreys advice was that once you had added everything else THAT'S IT you can't add any more spice. Then when I had it for my lunch it had transformed into this big tasty curry! So next time I will perhaps manage to avoid the temptation and put it all into the fridge for the next day!!!


I just have to say how much better the meat from the butcher was, it might have been that the supermarket stuff was frozen and defrosted but WOW! I don't think I've cooked with both types at the same time before, the butcher meat was nice big chunks with no fat at all, nicer colour and generally nicer in every way. The supermarket heart smart was scrawny, stringy, little bits. but it was all cooked together and in the end it all tasted the same.

Ingredients
500g Heart Smart Beef cubes (from the Supermarket then frozen and defrosted)
500g diced Beef (from the butcher across the street)
1 can coconut milk
2 large potatoes
1 large carrot
1 red onion, chopped
quarter of a pumpkin
quarter head of cauliflower
2 hand fulls of green beans
1 green capsicum
1 handful of sultanas
2 heaped teaspoons Chili powder
2 heaped teaspoons Cumin
lots of shakes turmeric probably about 1 heaped teaspoon.
tip of teaspoon fenugreek powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cardamon
1 teaspoon Keen's mild Indian curry powder (Because I found it in the cupboard when I was hunting for spices)
2 teaspoons Garam Marsala

Chop vegetables into good size chunks
Brown meat off in frying pan in small batches and set aside.
Fry off onion and try to scrape up meat brownings.
Put all spices, except Garam masala, into fry pan, if it looks too dry, add more cooking oil (I added oil twice) until it forms a paste.
Cook up spices for about 5 minutes.
Stir meat through paste, add hard vegetables like potato and carrot stir through paste.
Put into slowcooker with onion
Pour coconut milk into fry pan, bring to boil while scraping brown bits off bottom of pan. Pour over meat and hard veg.
Cover and cook on high for about and hour, then add soft Veg.

I wasn't sure the pumpkin would cook fast enough so I steamed the pumpkin and Cauliflower till starting to soften and then added them.
When I added the soft Veg I sprinkled the Garam Masala powder over the top and stirred it all through.

While that was cooking I made Turmeric Rice in the Rice cooker and Dhall in the blender and wondered at how I ever got along without all these appliances!

After another hour the rice was done and the potato was still a bit hard so I left the ricecooker on warm and let the curry cook for another hour (or till I had done all the dishes)


Potato now soft so we served up with Dhall, naan and mango chutney!

Dhall
this sort of follows the recipe in Curries from the sultan's kitchen a wonderful old book we picked up at a booksale

Tin of lentils
2 cloves of garlic
salt
pepper
lemon juice
milk
pinch of chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Blend lentils in blender,
Fry off garlic.
Add spices and fry for a few minutes
add lentil paste and fry for 15 minutes adding milk to thin
squeeze lemon and season to taste.

This came put really well will defiantly make again