Simple cooking tip – when working with celery

When you are using celery in salads or cooking I suggest you peel it with a vegetable peeler.  This will remove most of the stringy bits and leave you with a much better texture.

Apologies to all you experts out there who know that doing this is a good idea!

Today’s cryptic crossword clue – solution tomorrow

Words from ones who’ve taken vows about love (5)

Source of clue – Otago Daily Times


For the solution and explanation, click here

Solution for 29 June cryptic crossword clue

A number of puppies, say, born in a trash can (6,3)

Solution – litter bin

A reasonably straight forward charades type clue which includes an abbreviation.  For more about different clue types, see the sidebar under the StumbleUpon button.

A number of puppies is an example of a litter of young animals.  You also have litters of kittens and pigs.  So here "say" is indicating that "a number of puppies" is an example of the solution word rather than a direct definition of it.

You add something representing "born in" to litter and you get the solution.  "Born" is represented by the letter "b" and "in" is added to get "litter bin" which is another term for "trash can".


Congratulations to Angela at Tracing Rainbows who was the first to guess the answer.

Avignon and Botero sculptures

This post is a combination travel and art one.  Avignon in Provence is a fantastic place to visit.  Particularly just on either side of the high season.  And one of the many stunning things there when I visited were some large Botero sculptures.

Botero is not French.  He is Columbian.  He was born in the early 30's.  As you can see from the sculptures he liked depicting people as larger than life.  No stick insects for him.

His work is found all over the place.  But it seemed to be particularly quirky popping up in the ancient medieval town of Avignon just a stone's throw from the Palais des Papes – or Papal Palace.  For a long time Avignon was where Popes lived for about 70 years rivalling the Pope's based at the Vatican in Italy.

The other famous thing about Avignon is its bridge.  We all sang "Sur le pont d'Avignon" – but the bridge is actually the St Benezet bridge and it only now goes part way across the river.

Food on Friday: Chocolate!

ON

 Need I say more?  Food on Friday this week, is about CHOCOLATE.  I suspect there are many chocoholics reading this.  So if you have a nice post about the joys of chocolate, types of chocolate or recipes involving chocolate, please link them up in the Mr Linky box below.

I will visit your posts to leave a comment.  I may not be able to do too many at once.  I suspect a great chocolate craving is going to hit me.

Update:  If you would like to see the Pinboard I have created for these links, please click here

Here is the list of what goes well with chocolate (might have been easier to have a list of what doesn't go!):

almonds	honey
amaretto	ice-cream
brandy	liqueurs
butter	macadamias
caramel	marzipan
cherries	milk
chestnuts	muscat
cinnamon	oranges
coconut	pastry
coffee	pears
cognac	pecans
cream	pistachios
dates	port
dried fruit	prunes
eggs	raisins
figs	rum
hazelnuts	sour cream
	sugar
	vanilla
	Walnuts

Today’s cryptic crossword clue – solution tomorrow

A number of puppies, say, born in a trash can (6,3)

Source of clue – Otago Daily Times


For the solution and explanation, click here

Solution for 28 June cryptic crossword clue

Understand the leg-pull and become agitated? (3,3,4,2)

Solution – get the wind up

If you "understand" something, you can be said to "get" it.  "The leg pull" can also be termed as a "wind up".  Both colloquial phrases to mean playing a practical joke on someone.

If you put those 2 things together you get "get the wind up" which is another phrase which means become nervous or agitated.

I find it interesting that 2 versions of "wind" are used here which not only mean completely different things but are pronounced quite differently too.

Klee – An early "modern" artist

The artist Paul Klee died on this day in 1940.  This painting "Two Tents" is one of my favourites.  Klee was born in Switzerland but did much of his work in Germany.

He created about 9000 works of art – which is impressive.  Here is a selection of his work:

Do you hear it?

Today’s cryptic crossword clue – solution tomorrow

Understand the leg-pull and become agitated? (3,3,4,2)

Source of clue – Otago Daily Times


For the solution and explanation, click here

Solution for 27 June cryptic crossword clue

Senseless joke precedes one (4)

Solution – gaga

A fun clue today.  If you are "gaga" it used to mean out of your senses, or senseless – this is before the word was associated with Lady Gaga.

A "gag" is a joke and another word for "one" is "a"

So if "gag" precedes, or is put before, "a" you end up with "gaga".

Flight of the Conchords

The Flight of the Conchords self-style themselves as New Zealand's fourth best folk duo.  Typical of their laid back Antipodean humour.  In fact they starred in an award winning series on HBO of the same name and got a bit of a cult following in the US.

The shows were quirky and featured comic songs written by the 2 stars Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement.  I particularly enjoyed Innercity Pressure and The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room).

They were recently honoured in the Queen's Birthday honours which is quite something for young blokes.

This is their website. 

Reminder: Check out the collection of Books in the June Edition of Books You Loved

If you would like to check out the great collection of books in June's edition of Books You Loved, click right here.  The July edition will start about the 9th July and the June edition will remain open for new links until then.

Today’s cryptic crossword clue – solution tomorrow

Senseless joke precedes one (4)

Source of clue – Otago Daily Times


For the solution and explanation, click here

Solution for 26 June cryptic crossword clue

He’s enthralled by zodiac sign in reference book (9)

Solution – thesaurus

This is what is known by cryptic aficionados as a container clue.  For more on different clue types see the sidebar under the StumbleUpon button.

So "he's" "enthralled by" indicates that "hes" is found within the solution.  And Taurus is a zodiac sign – it had to be a 6 letter one so that reduced the possibilities to 4.

And a "thesaurus" is a type of reference book.

T + hes +aurus = thesaurus.

The Thorn Birds

I thought I would post about some well-known older books that you may not have read for a long time.  The Thorn Birds is by Australian author Colleen McCullogh.  This was her first international best seller in 1977.  It sold over 10 million copies worldwide – quite something for the time.  It was subsequently made into a mini-series in 1983 with Richard Chamberlain in one of the lead roles– of course that wasn't as good as the book in my opinion.  With the exception of Harry Potter, the visual representation of books seems to always disappoint.

It is a magnificent saga set in Australia's sprawling outback.  The story is epic and intense.  I do recommend a re-visit to it if you would like a cracking read.

Today’s cryptic crossword clue – solution tomorrow

He’s enthralled by zodiac sign in reference book (9)

Source of clue – Otago Daily Times


For the solution and explanation, click here

Solution for 25 June cryptic crossword clue

NE town used to be nothing unusual (10)

Solution – Washington

This is one where you build up the answer from the second part of the clue and then, if you were me, had to check whether Washington was actually a town in the North East.  And it is, in Connecticut.

"used to be" = was

"nothing unusual" is the letters in "nothing" scrambled up ie an anagram.

Was + hington = Washington

For more on different types of clue in cryptic crosswords, look at the sidebar under the StumbleUpon button.

Beef stroganoff – an oldie but definitely a goodie!

Beef stroganoff is an old favourite of ours.  I like to use cheap cross cut blade steak so I cook it all for a bit longer at a moderate temperature to get the meat nice and tender.

I cut the steak up into thin strips. I add paprika, cayenne, turmeric and a packet soup (like spring vegetable) – just for its thickening qualities.  And a cup or so of water.

After 45 minutes or so, I added a punnet of sliced button mushrooms, a little porcini powder and a handful of dried pasta (I used penne).  Right at the end of the cooking I stirred in some sour cream.

For another recipe, click here

Form over substance??

For another cartoon, click here

Split Enz

Tim Finn of Split Enz was born on 25 June 1952.  Split Enz were a successful New Zealand band in the 70's and 80's.  Although they "split" up, the members of this band went on to form Crowded House amongst other successful bands.

I think my favourite Split Enz song was "I See Red" although "True Colours" and "History Never Repeats" were also good ones.

Today’s cryptic crossword clue – solution tomorrow

NE town used to be nothing unusual (10)

Source of clue – Otago Daily Times


For the solution and explanation, click here

Solution for 24 June cryptic crossword clue

A noisy and disorderly place in which Pooh played? (4,6)

Solution – Bear Garden

This is one of the "literally so" clues.  They are quite rare.  The whole clue can be taken to mean the solution or you can break the clue into 2 sections.

A "bear garden" is a term for a place or function that is noisy and disorderly.  It came from a long time ago when they used to enjoy the "sport" of bear baiting.  The places where that and other rough sports were played were called "bear gardens".  Of course we wouldn't tolerate this sort of thing in modern times.

And "Pooh" is a reference to Winnie the Pooh who was a little bear and like other young ones, he played in a garden.

For more information about Literally So clues, see the sidebar under the StumbleUpon button.

Russian salad with beetroot and potato

I have made this salad for several years and always called it a Russian salad for some reason.  It is quick and easy to make and best of all, delicious.

First you need to have cubes of cooked potato and beetroot to hand.  I boil my potatoes in cubes – quel horreur in many cooks minds but I find it more convenient to cube the potatoes when they are raw – and they then cook in less than 10 minutes.  I put 2 or 3 whole cloves of garlic in with the potatoes when they are cooking.  I drain them when just tender and fish out the garlic cloves which I then smush up with the side of my knife.

I like to roast the beetroot – which takes a while – but canned beetroot also works just fine.

It doesn’t matter what size cubes the potato and beetroot are – the less time I have the bigger they get!

I put in some finely diced red onion – up to ½ an onion.  Do this as small as you can.

Mix everything together while the potatoes are still warm (it helps the flavour to develop).  Add mayo – quantity to your taste.  Sometimes I use half mayo and half crème fraiche or sour cream.  Add lashings of salt and pepper – again to taste.  But we are very fond of pepper.  I prefer white pepper but either is fine.

If you have it to hand, sprinkle a bit of chopped parsley or spring onion on top for colour.

For another recipe, click here

Simple cooking tip - getting roast chicken golden

All you wonderful cooks out there, don't read this!  For those of us still learning, here is another simple cooking tip. 

To get a nice golden colour on a roasted chicken, rub turmeric and oil onto its skin before cooking.  Turmeric doesn’t have much of a flvour but it is great for adding vibrant colour to dishes.  Use plastic gloves unless you want yellow fingers.

And as a pleasant add on, turmeric is supposed to be great for your health in all sorts of ways.

Today’s cryptic crossword clue – solution tomorrow

A noisy and disorderly place in which Pooh played? (4,6)

Source of clue – Otago Daily Times


For the solution and explanation, click here

Solution for 23 June cryptic crossword clue

Steel structure only demolished under pressure (5)

Solution – pylon

A relatively straight- forward one. Not that any cryptic clue is really straight forward.

The solution is a word that means or is an example of "steel structure"

And it is made up by the second part of the clue

"only demolished" means that the letters in "only" are "demolished" ie scrambled up

And you find them "under pressure" that is – underneath (or after) the letter "p" for pressure.

For more explanation of anagrams and abbreviations in cryptic crosswords see the sidebar under the Stumbleupon button

Mt Soho venue and winery - Arrowtown

I was lucky enough to go to a fancy conference dinner at the Mt Soho Winery in Arrowtown.  The venue is adjacent to the Michael Hill golf course.  I didn't even know it was there.

The venue was stunning.  A lovely courtyeard for pre-dinner drinks.  And the dinner itself was a fully served affair in a very large room with 2 long narrow tables.  It shouldn't have worked as a seat plan but in fact added to the convivial atmosphere.  I imagine that they have spectacular weddings there.

In another wing of the building was a large ballroom with a dj.  So all tastes were catered for.

I can't speak for their wines.  In fact I am not generally a fan of Central Otago wines (blame this on not being a red wine girl).  But I believe their pinot noir is supposed to be good.

The Beatles in Auckland – 1964

Those were the days, my friend…. Ooops wrong group. The Beatles came to Auckland only once – on this day in 964 - and I got to see them – or rather a glimpse of them when they came out onto the balcony of the Royal International Hotel.

Today’s cryptic crossword clue – solution tomorrow

Steel structure only demolished under pressure (5)

Source of clue – NZ Herald

For the solution and explanation, click here

Solution for 22 June cryptic crossword clue

Cheap cigar egoist smoked (6)

Solution – stogie

As anyone from the US will know a "stogie" is another name for a cigar – usually a cheap one.

What does an egoist have to do with a cigar? Well if you "smoke" the word "egoist" in the sense of scrambling its letters you get "stogie".

"Smoked" is an unusal indicator word for an anagram but here is cute because it is also relevant to cigars.

For explanations of different clue types see the sidebar under the StumbleUpon button.

Spicy mince lettuce cups

I loved the way this spicy mince looked against the green of the lettuce. I made up the recipe but I think it is a bit similar to a larb. It is in the Thai style tradition.

And you know I love my Thai food.

What I used:

Beef mince (ground beef) – I used about a pound and a half or 750g – which meant there was enough for leftovers

Vegetable oil for frying

Garlic cloves – finely chopped

Thumb of ginger – finely chopped or grated

½ red onion finely chopped

Tomato paste

1 tblsp yellow or other curry paste


Seasonings:

Lemon zest

1 tsp sichuan pepper (ground)

1 tsp ground white pepper

1-2 tblsp soy sauce

1 tblsp fish sauce

1 tblsp of golden syrup, pam sugar or brown sugar

Good splash of Worcestershire sauce

A few drops of sesame oil (watch out, it's potent)

1 tblsp of hot chilli relish

And to add in the last 2-3 minutes of cooking

1 long red chilli – deseeded and sliced across ways

1 spring onion or scallion, sliced

1/8 approx of a red capsicum (bell pepper)

½ cup of finely shredded lettuce


I would suggest you get all ingredients ready before you start. The quantities I used were based on our love for spicy food. Adjust to your own taste.

Basically you just fry up the first lot of ingredients until the mince is browned, and then add the seasonings. Turn down to a simmer and just before serving add in the last lot of ingredients to keep them a bit crunchy.

Serve in 1 or 2 lettuce cups. For a quick meal just have bread rolls on the side – or you could do rice or noodles.

Enjoy.

For another recipe, click here

A nice poster - love the colours - and the message is pretty good, too.

John Logan Campbell

John Logan Campbell died on this day in 1912.  Who the heck was he, I can hear you wondering.  He was a prominent businessman and politician in New Zealand.  He came to NZ in 1840 from Scotland.  He is most remembered for his magnificent gift to the people of Auckland – Cornwall Park.  He is buried on the summit of One Tree Hill which is in Cornwall Park.

You may wonder why you can't see a tree on top of One Tree Hill.  An activist attacked it in 2000 and the tree had to be removed.  Discussions are ongoing about what sort of tree should replace it.  At the rate things are going that might be resolved in the next decade or so.

Today’s cryptic crossword clue – solution tomorrow

Cheap cigar egoist smoked (6)

Source of clue – NZ Herald


For the solution and explanation, click here

Solution for 21 June cryptic crossword clue

Pulled political pamphlet showing wrong date on the outside (9)

Solution – attracted

This clue is both a container and anagram one.  Let me explain.

A "tract" is another name for a "political pamphlet".  And if you look in the middle of "attracted" you can see "tract" in there.

But "tract" is said to be "showing wrong date on the outside" – this means that the letters in date are "wrong" ie should be scrambled up and then put around or on the outside of "tract".

And if you do that you can come up with "attracted" which can also mean "pulled" as in The juggler pulled a crowd or attracted a crowd.

For explanations of different clue types see the sidebar under the StumbleUpon button.

Food on Friday- Cocktails/Mocktails

ON

This week, for a bit of fun I thought it would be nice to collect cocktail and mocktail recipes!  I will not be held responsible for any resulting hangovers, however.

Just put your link to a post about cocktails/mocktails into Mr Linky.  I know there are some great ones out there. 

Remember some of the old fashioned ones like Brandy Alexander, Harvey Wallbanger, Sidecar, Champagne cocktail, Mai Thai, Banana Daiquiri, Singapore sling and so many more!

Update:  I have now made a Pinboard for these links.  Click here to see it.