Libraries Rock

Posted on by

The family went to one of our local libraries today. We came away with a small pile of children’s books, which the girls began to read as soon as we arrived home. I could count the number of times I have visited a library in my adult life on one hand, and I do not really understand why. I suppose I enjoy the physical act of purchasing; being the first one to open the book and smell the newness; knowing that the experience will be stored in my own collection, probably never to be touched again. Not things one can experience with library books.

And yet I read quite a bit. With a multitude of other forms of entertainment all vying for my precious free time, I still manage to squeeze in a book here and there, and always seem to have at least one book in reserve, waiting for its turn. For our daughters, it is a different story.

Most evenings we read a book to them before they go to bed, which works out to over 150 books year. Even with buying second hand books, and borrowing from my work, we are forced to reread books quite a few times. The girls need new stories to enjoy. And that is where the library comes into the story, so to speak. I cannot fathom why we have not used this source of literature before now. I do know that we shall be making many more visits in the future.

Steamed Aubergine With Chili Sauce

Posted on by

Continuing with my current interest in tasty side-dishes, my next experiment took me to the realm of the aubergine. I like aubergines a lot, though I am not so keen on the amount of oil used to soften them. I found a decent looking recipe on the website withaglass, which used steaming as an alternative method to frying. I was also curious about Chinese black vinegar, which I had neither used or seen previously.

This recipe is definitely one I shall use again. There is a subtlety to the taste that the chili oil and vinegar lend to the dish that sets it apart from anything else I have tasted.

Ingredients (serves two):

1 medium aubergine

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 teaspoon Chinese black vinegar (Chinkiang, easily found in Asian shops)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon chili oil preferably containing flakes; I used my home made Taberu Rayu, but I think any chili oil with the addition of chili flakes will do

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Cut the aubergine in two. If you have a separate steamer, the author advises to steam the aubergine for 5-10 minutes over a high flame. Cut the aubergine into bite-sized pieces and serve either hot or cold with the chili sauce aside (as a dip) or pour the sauce directly over it (this is the way I preferred it).

Korean Mung Bean Sprout Salad (Nokdu Namal)

Posted on by

I have been making quite a lot of food recently. More specifically, searching for interesting recipes and trying to emulate them (I believe the term is “cooking”). Easter has come and gone, which gave us a delightful four days’ holiday, and much of that time Jo or I spent preparing for the traditional Easter lunch and testing out new and tasty (or sometimes not so) recipes.

One thing that strikes me when I attempt something new, is the amount of time it takes to create something that is, more often than I would wish, not really worth the effort. I am not saying that they become a failure, or disliked, but they do not add anything new to something I could do without the effort of reading/obeying the recipes.

So I am starting to look at simpler recipes, ones that I normally overlook, to spice them up a bit. And so, my first venture into less time-consuming cooking began yesterday with Korean Mung Bean Sprout Salad. The ingredients did not really offer any surprises, and the end result was pretty much how I had expected it to be. The main ingredient, sprouted mung beans, is something that we do eat on occasion, though it was exactly what I wanted: an easy, tasty, quick side dish that would lift a simple main dish.

Preparation: 15 minutes
Ingredients (serves two):

150 g/about 5 oz mung bean sprouts
1 teaspoon soy sauce (or more if you use low-sodium soy sauce)
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 small clove garlic
(salt)
ground pepper
1 green onion
toasted sesame seeds

Blanch the mung bean sprouts in boiling water for a minute. Quickly drain and, if you wish to serve the salad very cold, rinse it with very cold water. Drain once more.

Crush the garlic and chop it finely. Mix it with the soy sauce, the vinegar, the sesame oil, the ground pepper and the salt (if you need it).

Put the sprouts in a big bowl and combine with the dressing. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped green onion.

This salad can be served very cold or at room temperature.

Is It A Bird? Is It A Plane? No, Neither.

Posted on by

During the years that Jo has worked in the travel industry, she has been granted numerous special offers and discounts. These have included car hire, flight tickets, train tickets and hotel stays. And a hotel discount was exactly what we exploited last night when the family went to Arlanda for a one night mini-break in an old Boeing 747 that has been converted into a hostel.

We opted for the luxurious cockpit suite and adjoining first-class cabin. The cockpit itself was only just large enough to house a king-sized bed and small TV screen. The living quarters held eight original airplane seats lined up on either side of the cabin, with a couple of temporary beds slotted in where there was space. A reasonably large TV was placed at one end of the room, though curiously it ended up being at a 90 degree angle to the seats, making it uncomfortable to watch.

The en suite bathroom was rather difficult to navigate. The natural curvature of the outer wall likened it to an obstacle course. You had to duck to get through the door, then you were faced with either leaning to the right or backwards in order to have a wee. To take a shower with the shower head still in its fitting required pushing yourself against the inner wall to get a decent amount of water streamed onto your body.

The architecture of our living room gave me the feeling of spending an evening with a technologically advanced Bilbo Baggins. And, because of my fear of flying, it must have been the first time I have entered an airplane (sober) without feeling anxious.

It turned out not to be such a cheap holiday after all. Despite our room costing a third of the normal price, I had neglected to take into account the eight hundred crowns it cost for Arlanda Express tickets that took us there and back to Stockholm.

It seems like I have painted a negative picture of our night away from home. If the truth be told, we enjoyed ourselves immensely. It was a unique experience, made all the more memorable because of its quirks and the oddities that come with converting a plane into a hotel.

Forty Five Years On This Planet

Posted on by

Two days ago I became one year older, reaching forty-five. Every year for the last decade I have been telling myself that I have, with luck, only come halfway through my life. I think those days are coming to an end, and now it is more a case of coming two-thirds of the way. If I can avoid poisoning myself to premature death with alcohol, getting run over or crashing in an airplane, or if I am able to keep any serious illness at bay, another thirty years or so sounds a plausable length of my lifetime.

So, my birthday came without any special need to advertise it, nor celebrate it in any more a complicated way than with the family and their presents for me. And this year they did very well in their choice of gifts, that were taken from my not-particularly-long wish list.

Needless to say, I was extremely happy with The cool vegan trainers, Harrington jacket, and Donkey Kong Jenga (that’s right, Jenga exists in video-game themed format). I was also taken by the Nintendo messenger bag (gold lettering, my friends). In the aftermath of my frugal celebrations, it is difficult to decide which of these I favour above all else. Of course, I do not have to make such a decision. All my presents were well received and much appreciated, and I look forward to (potentially) thirty more.