Gastronomy: Bulgur and Bean Pilaf

This is a new recipe that we have recently tested out. It went well and has joined our list of "make agains".

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
½ cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
¾ cup chopped green bell pepper
¾ cup bulgur (uncooked)
1 cup water
2 medium fresh tomatoes, chopped
15 ½ ounce can of kidney beans, rinsed
½ teaspoon salt
1 dash ground red pepper
4 ounces monterey jack cheese, shredded

Method

1. Melt butter in a frying pan until sizzling; add onion, garlic and green pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisply tender (2 to 3 minutes). Add bulgur; continue cooking, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Add water, tomatoes, beans, salt and red pepper.


2. Reduce heat to low. Cover; cook stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until bulgur is soft and chewy. Immediately sprinkle with cheese. Cover; remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Variations:

Substitute 14 ½ ounce canned diced tomatoes, undrained for water and tomatoes.

Ingredient Tips:

* Most pilafs are made with rice. Bulgur is usually used like rice and makes an excellent pilaf or salad ingredient. If you've ever eaten tabbouleh or kibbeh, then you've had bulgur.

*Bulgur is a partially steamed, cracked wheat which cooks quickly. It is made by steaming, drying and crushing whole wheat kernels and is a Middle Eastern staple. The end result is a nutty flavoured, tender and chewy grain.

Serves: 6
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Source: Land O Lakes Magazine, July 2003.

Our variations to this original recipe were:

Cheddar cheese replacing the monterey jack.
Canned tomatoes replacing the fresh tomatoes and water.

Gastronomy: Stuffed Mushrooms

This is a staple recipe in our household, either as a meat-replacing centrepiece of a main meal or as an optional extra at barbeques.
It is also often our "bring along" for events outside of our home, since it is easy to construct in advance and cook on arrival.
Once again there are no real quantities to be given. Just go with what looks good.

Ingredients

Portobello Mushrooms (or similar large, open mushies of you choice)
A packet of Feta cheese (your preference for goat, sheep or cow milk)
Pine nuts
Coat and Cook (or breadcrumbs)

Method

1. Crumble the feta and mix in the pine nuts then "stuff" the mix on top of the mushrooms.


2. Sprinkle the top with "Coat and Cook" (Mr O calls this stuff breadcrumbs on speed) or simple breadcrumbs.


3. Bake or BBQ until cooked.

Honestly it is that simple.

Variations:

Try this with a bit of basil pesto smeared on the mushrooms first.

On the home front

It has been an interesting few weeks in the Oh Waily household.

Since returning to the house we have been having intermittent sleeping issues with the littlest member of the household. She has decided that one sleep cycle is plenty, thank you very much. During the day it becomes difficult to do more than one decent task per sleep and that gets to be wearing on a Mum who is used to being able to get stuff done while little one sleeps.

But she isn't done yet. Instead of being the I go to bed and sleep with ease baby, she is now the I want to stay awake and cry and cry and grumble and shout and harrumph baby. That one really stings. Now she takes half an hour to settle and then sleeps for only 45 minutes. Aargh.

I'm sure there are millions of quotations about motherhood and patience. They're right. Motherhood and patience are things that go together. Whether or not you like it.
For those who don't know me in real life, it is fair to say that on a list of my character traits patience would come near the bottom if mentioned at all.

Oh dear, what's that saying I've come across?

The whole purpose of religion is to facilitate love and compassion, patience, tolerance, humility, forgiveness.

Dalai Lama

With all due respect to His Holiness, I think it is fair to say that you could replace the words religion and facilitate in this statement to parenthood and teach. And it isn't the kids who are learning it either, I can tell you.

So that is what is happening on the small person front. On the bigger people front we have finally reached the point where Mr Oh Waily has submitted to surgery for his ongoing back pain. A prolapsed disc in his lower back has been giving him difficulty for a few years now, and the nice cortisone injections into the spine are no longer worth the effort. After 6 to 8 months of relief they wear off and he discovers that nothing has changed with the original pain. So, no long term solution there.
An updated MRI later and the orthopaedic surgeon said: "That's gotta come out." So yesterday Mr Oh went to hospital and had his disc removed and the vertebrae fused.
He is currently dripped up to the armpits, oxygenated up to the nostrils and has control of his pain medication. However he is much more lucid today than yesterday evening but still in some pain and discomfort, as you would expect. All going well he will be home for the weekend.

Nothing in life is guaranteed, but we are hopeful that this will bring about a positive improvement. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

A New Waily Blog

Like I don't have enough trouble keeping this blog in some degree of reasonable updatedness, there I go thinking a new blog would be a good idea.
Well it is actually a good idea.

I have been having great fun photographing Miss Oh Waily, and I really don't want to flood this blog with image after image of the little one. But I would like to be able to show multiple photographs and perhaps get some feedback on what I can do to improve my composition, technical skills, etc. See my Photography Challenge for details on this.

It is also in keeping with my stated goals for 2008. It will encourage me to blog regularly as I will want to constantly share my photographs, and it will also keep me focused on an aspect of my creativity that has so far been ignored.

Here are some examples of what I will be putting up over at t'other blog:



And:



Maybe even:


And of course I will be including other family members too:


If these few examples haven't totally put you off, then drop by at OWW Photography from this week onwards and I will try to continue sharing and learning. I look forward to seeing you there.

Photography: Still Life progress report

So it is only half way through the month and I have accumulated a few images for my self-imposed challenge.

It has been a learning experience for me doing this. I have learned that I really like looking at things close up. I like the detail to be found in objects, not necessarily an entire object in itself. Oh dear. I don't think my Powershot is going to be able to take that kind of penchant. Notch one up to the *buy the digital SLR and you can have any lens you like*.

To begin the challenge I did a quick bit of research into what "Still Life" actually entails. Dictionary.com defines it as,

the category of subject matter in which inanimate objects are represented, as in painting or photography.

While Wikipedia defined it as,

A still life is a work of art depicting inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural (food, plants and natural substances like rocks) or man-made (drinking glasses, cigarettes, pipes, hotdogs and so on) in an artificial setting.

That pretty much means I can take photographs of absolutely anything as long as it doesn't breathe. Great. Finding subject matter should be a breeze.

With a baby in the house it was a no-brainer that somewhere along the way I would be tempted by the toys and general paraphernalia that accompanies children.
This means you'll be seeing bugs and sailors and sheep.

Then there is the wonderful hand-painted soup tureen, bowls and spoons that we received as a wedding present. Or the vodka set. They are magnificent and I have loved them dearly. Now I just need to do them justice. That may be a little bit harder.

There is one thing I would like to ask for advice on and that is background. Personally I have a thing about clutter. I don't like it. I would like to produce crisp eye-catching still life images. What do you suggest I do about placement and background? Here is an example of what I have tried to do about eliminating the potential background clutter. Does it work? Do I need to get over the idea that stuff in the background is bad? Your opinions are appreciated.

The Dark Room - Minette Walters

This thrillercentres on the main character, Jinx Kingsley and her family.

Jinx is involved in a car crash that is believed by the police to be a suicide attempt. Her millionaire father has her placed into an exclusive and expensive private clinic to recuperate and recover not only from the accident but also from the amnesia she suffered as a result. Then follows the tale of her fiancé and her best friend wanting to run away together, their subsequent murder, her first husband's murder some ten years previously and the highly dysfunctional family relationships and individuals within the Kingsley household.

This is the first book by Minette Walters that I have read. It won't be the last.
I have read reviews that say this plot is weak and unconvincing. If that is the case, then I am looking forward to reading her first two novels.

The manner of telling this story is quirky in the version of the book that I have. It is told in chronological order, down to hours within the same day. There are sections that are dressed up as newspaper clippings and police reports. Then between all of that is the narrative detailing the lives, quirks and downright weird thoughts and behaviour of the characters.

I will agree with the reviewer who said that this plot was difficult to believe.
But the story still flowed and I found myself wanting to know which of the oddball characters were responsible for what actions. It has been a long time since I wasn't able to second guess the outcome from a storyline and this novel kept me in the dark right up until the very end. I didn't know whether to feel sympathy towards Jinx or to suspect her of some horrific things. The same could be said of many characters in this book. As information about each individual was filled out I would find myself thinking..."oh, so he must be..." or "ah, so she really did..." until I was jumping from one character to the other almost with each chapter. In the end, the longest held suspicion came to nought as it turned out that my ability to figure things out was completely off base.

In hindsight this was a strange story about strange people. I know there are dysfunctional folk out there, but surely they're not like this? In the end, though, I found the read compulsive enough to stay up past midnight once I was nearing the end of the book. The very end was soft, but the style and suspense made up for most of the flaws.

My rating: 3 out of 5

A browsing I shall go

I was visiting one of my Flickr regulars the other day and something made me click on one of the commenters. That took me on a little journey of discovery through the wilds of Flickr and out into the broad daylight of the internet too. Here is what my expedition unearthed along the way.

Take a visit to this photographic professionals website, I am particularly taken with the travel photographs. Her portraits from Tibet are wonderful, and if anyone can tell me what the third photo on the Morocco page is I would love to know. I'm not sure if it is vats of dye or spices.

Then there is Flickr stream from Malona. Amongst my favourites here are:

• spring dream


• inclined to you


• um die Ecke (2)


• up

And then there is this wonderful site about kilts. No not the traditional tartan thing that you see when the Edinburgh Tattoo is shown on TV around Christmas time. These are practical items, almost too good to use. Be warned though, there is video on the front page, with funny Mockumercials for the company's product.
As for the products themselves, I love the modesty system as seen on the Survival Utilikilt, and I think the Jean cut would make great street wear for the brave. And I am also enamoured with their blunt communication style...

“FAT BASTARD TAX” and "BEER GUT CUT" as two examples. For more gems of the same quality and attitude, take a glance through the FAQ page.

Finally there was the stopover at How to Meditate. A bit of peace at the end of a wander about the 'net. And for those who have been following the Renovations of our house, you will know just what a wonderful temptation it is to think about meditating. As the Why Learn to Meditate page says:

If we train in meditation, our mind will gradually become more and more peaceful, and we will experience a purer and purer form of happiness. Eventually, we will be able to stay happy all the time, even in the most difficult circumstances.

It is fair to say that engaging builders would fall into the "most difficult circumstances".

Happy browsing everyone.

Gastronomy: Fishfinger Roll-Ups

This is our homemade adaptation of a common ethnic food idea.
It was designed to be quick, easy, healthy and made up of items normally found in our kitchen cupboards.

Ingredients:

Burrito tortillas
Fish fingers
Lettuce
Carrots
Edam or Cheddar Cheese
Paul Newman's Ranch Dressing.

Method:

1. Fry the fish fingers until golden brown and cooked through. We don't usually need to use oil for this.


2. While the fish fingers are cooking, shred the lettuce. Peel and grate the carrots. Grate the cheese. Set aside.


3. Once the fish fingers are cooked, keep them warm while you place a soft burrito tortilla into a hot frying pan and allow it to warm through and brown slightly. Turn and repeat on the other side.


4. Arrange the fish fingers and other ingredients a few centimetres from the edge of the warmed tortilla. Drizzle a little bit of dressing over, then starting at one end roll up the tortilla, tucking the edge under as you go.


5. Serve immediately.

Serve: 1 or 2 tortilla per person.

Notes:

This recipe could quite easily have an ingredients list that reads:

• Your favourite protein source (chicken, fish, meat, eggs, beans);


• Your favourite salad vegetables (asparagus, avocado, tomato, bean sprouts);


• Your favourite cheese (cheddar, edam, maasdam, parmesan, feta);


• Your favourite dressing (thousand island, cheese, garlic aioli).

This recipe really doesn't need quantities, or ingredients, as it is so simple and is so easy to personalise. Our version is just here to stimulate your own ideas. Look to other cultures for rolled-up or wrapped foods inspiration - spring rolls, burritos, Peking duck, sushi, samosas.
Some of these can be adapted and re-invented by combining different fillings and wrappers. There are many variants of flat breads, and of course there is the humble lettuce leaf as a traditional wrapper too.

I love the simplicity of this concept of eating. If you have a favourite recipe that you use regularly, I would love to hear about it. We are always interested in new ideas and ways to make this easy snack / light dinner different and tasty.

Renovation - VII

The work continued apace just prior to Christmas. The builder tried to put pressure on everyone to have the extension in a finished state for us. Unfortunately the electricians were a bit of a let-down, but other than that everyone else made fair effort to do so.
Here is where we left you last time with items crossed out as completed:

the kitchen and dining area tiling
the living room area carpeting
the carport (concreting & roofing)
the pergola
the final electrical bits and pieces
the final plumbing bits and pieces
the final bits of painting and finishing
the clean-up
the fixing of anything that isn’t up to scratch (don’t get me started on this one)

And here are a few other things that I forgot to add at the time:

the tiling of the patio;
the moving of the air conditioning unit;
the removal of the temporary kitchen;
the creation of the fourth bedroom out of the ex-temporary kitchen;
the re-instatement of our front fence;
and whatever else I have forgotten.

And the builder has sent his progress claim stating 96% complete. The guy is a comedian in another life, I'm sure of it.

Anyway, here are a few pictures to give an indication of the progress made.
Kitchen missing doors on the laundry section and the appliances. But with dogs. :)


Kitchen with appliances and basically lived in. Only the glass splash back and range hood to come, and any fix-ups we think they should do.


Mr O installing cables for his music system under Miss O's direction. Carpet laid and protected from last minute painting.


Living area in its current incarnation. Decorating and fussing about with layout yet to be attempted.


So, that is pretty much it as it goes for the interior. The patio is currently under tiling construction and should be finished in a couple of days. Mr O has been hard at work setting up a small (but long and very heavy) retaining wall in the back garden, so I will photograph that in the next few days too. At the moment the garden is more weed and soil oriented, but we will eventually get to having green stuff that doesn't require pulling out by the end of summer, I am sure.

Until the next update, remember, don't renovate if you want to stay sane !

Making Money - Terry Pratchett

Moist von Lipwig makes another appearance in the Discworld series.
In this adventure we find him as the incumbent Postmaster General, bored with the routine and climbing the walls - literally. Then his cosy, and boring, life comes to an end with an offer from the Patrician of a new challenge as Master of The Royal Mint.
In a seemingly pre-planned trap, Moist is launched into the role as Master of the Mint and new owner of the Chairman of The Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork by the death of an astute little old lady, Topsy Lavish, née Turvy.

The Lavish family are renowned for being nasty and so it is with Cosmo and Pucci, the children of Sir Joshua Lavish, Topsy's previously deceased husband. They are not the sort to let the family bank wander off into the hands of a stranger, and so begins the scheming for the ousting of Moist. Of course Moist is reluctant to take up his new role, but a contract with the Assassins Guild puts an end to that idea and therefore he grabs the opportunity with both hands and his run-away mouth.

In the process of modernising banking the Chief Cashier, Mr Bent, takes a funny turn in more ways than one. Adora Belle Dearheart returns with a little something from her latest Golem Trust venture, and the question of Golem gender is put to the test by Gladys. Throw in a cameo performance by an Igor and you have a full complement of interesting ideas and situations.

It all comes to a climax with Moist up on suspicion of stealing the bank's gold bullion, Umnian golems, pineapple pies and the golden suit.

And at the end, the Ankh-Morpork economy moves from the gold standard to the golem standard.

***


This is probably the most grown-up feeling of Discworld stories that I have read for a little while. That may be because the last few I have read have been about Tiffany Aching and The Wee Free Men. But equally it may be because of the mention of black, leathery and rubbery items as well as Professor Flead and the Pink PussyCat Club.

It is also the first in the series where I have come across a couple of unfamiliar words that have sent me to my dictionary and then eventually on to Google. One of those is now a favourite, gongfermor, that I plan to slip into general conversation in the near future. As we have been renovating and there has been a Port-a-Loo on site for the builders, it shouldn't be too hard.

The story was easy going stuff. It wasn't particularly challenging, and at times I did wonder where it was all leading to. So I can't say that I found it engrossing or exciting as such. It did feel like we were getting a bit more insight into a few of the regular characters, including the Patrician and C.M.O.T. Dibbler, whom we find out the elusive first names of. And as usual you can count on excellent turns of phrase for a good giggle throughout. A few that caught my eye were:

Vetinari to Moist:

"The city bleeds, Mr Lipwig, and you are the clot I need."

Harry King to Moist:

"You're more full of bullshit than a frightened herd on fresh pasture, Mr Lipwig."

Vetinari in The Blind Letter office:

"'I think it is just a matter of getting into the mind of the writer,' Vetinari went on, looking at a letter covered with grubby fingerprints and what looked like the remains of someone's breakfast. He added: 'In some cases, I imagine, there is a lot of room.'"

Rating

Unfortunately I can't rate this at more than a two out of five, as much as I love the Discworld and Terry Pratchett's writing. It just didn't quite do it for me. My recommendation: borrow it from the library before you commit to buying it, that way you may just save yourself some money.

Merry New Year to You, Here Come The Goals

It is tradition at this time of year to contemplate what we have done with ourselves over the past fifty-two weeks and then to reflect on how life should look at the end of the upcoming twelve months. I've decided to be traditional, here is the result:

2007 in Review

Really the only thing that has mattered in the preceding twelve months was the impending arrival and then debut of Miss OhWaily , everything else was pretty insignificant.

Goals for 2008

I have decided that things should be split into categories, it makes me think a bit more about my roles in life. It's not my complete list, but it is the only one that I will be going public with. You really don't need to know what "X" stands for in the PPTM section. 8-O

Parenting

- Introduction of solid food;
- Begin potty training;
- Have a happy, healthy and active daughter;
- Get more sleep.

Creativity

- Blog consistently from now on;
- Follow through with twelve months of photography challenges;
- Finish Noah's Ark;
- Finish Fantasy Triptych;
- Finish Angel Proclamation.

Personal Pleasures, Treasures and Measures

- Read 24 books or more; (Quite an ask with broken sleep, a chinese laundry to run and a newly renovated house to clean up and garden to create.)
- Lose that extra "X" kilograms of weight that my daughter brought with her as a gift for me, and left behind once she arrived;
- Spend some time on family history research and break through one brick wall;
- Perhaps attempt an overseas holiday with the family, baby temperament allowing;
- Try one new recipe a week.

Work

- Create the new website;
- Update the content of the website;
- Improve the international marketing.

Now if I was being honest, the reality of my life means that many items on this list may be somewhat underdone this year, if done at all. It is a bit of a fantasy to see three large pieces of cross stitch finished in one year considering I haven't managed to complete one in five years. Still, goals are meant to be about taking a positive approach to life. Don't tell me about SMART goals, the A, R and T are all relative. ;)

How about you? Do you set goals each year? Do you split them into the different areas of your life, or lump them together? Do you over-extend yourself or under-challenge yourself?

Whatever your approach to this time of year, the Oh Waily family would like to wish you all a Happy New Year and all the best for a fantastic 2008. Carpe annum !

A New Year and a New Look

The look for 2008 will be Digg 3.

It is my first foray into a three column layout, so bear with me as I get to grips with the options this presents.
At the moment I appear to be locked out of changing widgets on Oh Waily, and I'm not sure when or if I will be able to get at them. This will mean a completely default layout until I can figure out what has happened. Once I get on top of the widgets, the place should begin to look and feel like home again.

Happy New Year to you all !!