Kristine Howard posted something via Flipboard.
As requested, my new sunnies. And Sydney’s crappy weather.
Month: May 2011
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Thermomix
Thermomix
I got a mysterious phone call from my friend Kathleen yesterday, saying she had something that would help me out with all my “foodie projects.” Hmmm. After some amusing miscommunication (I thought maybe she had a source for raw milk), she confessed that she’s now a Thermomix rep! I’d heard of these things before. They used them on Masterchef last year, and they’ve been getting pretty rave reviews. It’s hard to categorise them – they’re like a blender crossed with a food processor crossed with a heating element. You can’t buy them in shops; they’re only sold via personal demonstrations (which is what Kathleen is doing). Everyone who’s used one seems to rave about it. Unfortunately they’re pretty pricey, and our kitchen funds are earmarked for new countertops and a fridge. But I promised her I’d blog about it, so if you think you might be interested (and you’re in Sydney), leave me a comment and I’ll put you in touch! -
Slow Runners Club
Podcast news
No, not mine. (Sorry Ted!) Yesterday I was fortunate enough to be invited as a guest on the latest episode of the Slow Runners Club. Adam and Eddie have been coaching me online for the past month, so it was great to get to talk to them about my final weeks of marathon preparation. As I said on the show, I’m one of those people who loves to learn things from books, but in this sort of situation it’s nice to get advice from people who’ve actually done what I’m trying to do. Of course, it’s the Slow Runners Club so we rarely stayed on one topic for very long! It felt like just a fun chat with friends. You should give it a listen, and don’t forget to donate to the SRC fund for the Diabetes Action Team at the Chicago marathon. -
Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals #17: Pork Chops & Crispy Crackling
This is our 17th cooking/blogging experiment from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals. For this one we chose “Pork Chops & Crispy Crackling, Crushed Potatoes, Minty Cabbage, and Peaches ‘N’ Custard.” We picked it mostly because we had a lot of cabbage already, and it seemed like a good wintry dish. It was also pretty simple, which was good because I was cooking this one BY MYSELF. As we did last week, we adopted a “rally car” method where this time I cooked while the Snook read out the recipe, timed things, and took photos. Once again, it worked really well!
Substitutions: Our pork chops were a fair bit bigger than the ones he used. We couldn’t get “Maris Piper” potatoes, but we googled them and settled on Desiree as an acceptable substitute. We had plain cabbage instead of Savoy. Everything else was as-written!
Quick verdict: This was a simple, hearty winter meal without anything too fancy. The method for cooking the chops worked well, but the crackling was a disappointment. He doesn’t have you salt it at all(!), so it wasn’t as tasty as it should’ve been. The potatoes and cabbage were both good without being too much work. The dessert was another of his “quick assembly” recipes, and while custard and fruit are always good, it’s not exactly something you’d make to impress. Overall we both rated it 8 out of 10. You probably wouldn’t do this one for a dinner party, but it’s good enough for a cold Tuesday night. My final time was 33:17, so it’s another fast one too!
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Shared today on Twitter
Knitters – anybody going to SSK today? Thinking of heading over to Newtown this arvo…
@lemon_lime @kunaal84 Sure, will email you guys…
Just got phone call from a friend who is now a Thermomix rep! Anybody interested in going to a demo? Can put you in touch…
@stufromoz Google it. Like a blender that also gets hot? They use em on Masterchef sometimes, Heston Blumenthal, etc. Fancy foody gadget.
@stufromoz They don’t sell them in shops, only via parties. I think they’re expensive too. @mrs_sockvictim went to one…
Whoa! Power just went out for a second in Chippo. Anybody else??
Tonight’s Jamie meal: Pork Chops w/ Crackling, Smashed Potato, Minty Cabbage, Peaches cooked in 33min BY ME! http://twitpic.com/53l572
@venks79 Huh. This was our first ever. Just darkness for 1-2 sec, then back. Doesn’t seem to have affected anybody else. Maybe just us??
@knitabulous Yay! Good luck!! You’ll be AWESOME.
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Shared today on Facebook
How fun! Just recorded an episode of the Slow Runners Club as a special guest with @zenrunner and @edmarathon. Thanks, guys! 🙂
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Shared today on Twitter
I wore the dyed orange cardy. I like it! May still paint to even out few spots, but it’s much better than cream. http://twitpic.com/52xvmc
@SMinney Yeah, everybody at work seems to like it. They all thought the blotchiness was intentional!
@squozen Hahahaha, I was gonna say…
@SMinney Addictive. I had to leave it at home today lest I get distracted at work. 🙂
@SMinney I was already using my iPhone for a lot of crafty things; this just gives me more screen room!
@mrs_sockvictim Hahahaha, that was quick! How’d you get it??
RT @venks79: Seen a dark blue sedan involved in an accident at corner of Centennial Ave & Elizabeth Pde, Lane Cove at 3pm, 26th May? Msg …
@knitdra @mrs_sockvictim She sold it to me! 🙂 🙂 🙂
@drkknits I know. Rodd sent me a link about it ages ago. I think I shared it on Reader…
@drkknits Hahaha. It helps that I am apparently the person that everyone in the world sends their wacky ukulele links to.
Our end-of-month beers tonight featured a blatant Sam Adams rip-off. Seriously? “John Boston”? So bad it’s funny. http://twitpic.com/535hkq
@brodrigu 4X is a fairly well known Australian beer from Queensland. It’s piss, but I don’t think its a knockoff.
@supercres After I shared it, I found a MeFi thread with a link to an essay from the author. I read the book myself and was repulsed.
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Shared today on Facebook
Solo 2:1 R/W at lunch. Felt great! Picked up the pace a little. .
Nice 2:1 R/W with the Snook. A bit crampy; too many beers last night!