But you know I'm OK here sitting at home
Jan. 2nd, 2013 10:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ventaIn between Christmas and New Year, I...
Went to the sales. I bought a few things I genuinely needed (thermal tops, snuggly gloves for cycling) and one thing I did not, but loved. I have no idea in what way I am going to make use of the latter - still, if I ever get my Steampunk on I now own just the belt for it.
We had plans to visit Kew with some friends who'd snagged free tickets - all of us had envisaged a nice, crisp winter walk. Blue skies and crunchy frost featured heavily. Naturally, what we actually got was dismal drizzle so unrelenting that we dutifully walked about a bit, then hid in a conservatory, then made a break for the café, then gave up and went to theirs to watch films instead. The evening saw a fabulous party, where I got to catch up with many people I haven't seen in far too long.
I also spent an entire day pottering in the kitchen. Which was lovely. Mostly, I made things which will ultimately end up in my nice lunches, and put them in the freezer. This included some sort-of pies for which the recipe appears in the Just Bento cookbook, which are mostly notable because the crust is yeast-based and yet didn't go disastrously wrong. Top tip: if you have a bad history with yeast cookery then when you get to the proving stage, put clingfilm over the bowl and draw round the dough with marker pen. Then when you're obsessively wondering if it's getting bigger like it ought, it's a lot easier to tell.
A few people have asked me of late whether making bento boxes has to involve so much advance preparation and complicated recipes. Of course not; it's just that faffing about all day cooking stuff and stocking the freezer is my idea of a good time. And I glazed a ham, because most homes should have such a thing in them at this time of year.
On New Year's Eve I headed into central London in the afternoon, and did something extremely exciting, of which more later. Then went to celebrate with tea and cake in Foyles' café.
We saw the new year in with some friends; they always hold a party, but this year were extremely late notifying people (apparently having a six-month old baby is quite distracting) so were rather low on guests. Anyway, said six-monther slept peacefully while just four of us chatted, ate pizza, and played a few hands of Supercars Top Trumps and Coup: City State. The Top Trumps were mostly for irony value (with my vintage 70's cards) - and having not played it in around 30 years I'd forgotten what a very poor game it actually is. Anyway, we were rescued by the arrival of the Seths, and we gently chatted our way through til midnight.
Whereupon I was horrified to learn that Jools' Hootenanny isn't broadcast live. Apparently everyone else knows this.
In recent years, I have reinstated a family tradition, and January 1st begins with a lazy brunch and the televised New Year's Day concert from Vienna. Ordinarily I don't have a hugely high tolerance for the Strausses (Strice?), but am willing to accept them if they come with side-orders of ridiculously opulent gilded concert halls, ballet dancers, and breakfast.
This year, brunch featured bagels with big slices of ham and poached eggs on them. A sort of unmuffiny eggs Bene-oh, can't be arsed with the Hollandaise. I am looking for a better name for this dish :)
And today I was back at work. First Great Western celebrated this momentous event by putting my ticket price up and cancelling the train I was hoping to catch. My bike expressed its distaste at having been locked up by itself for a fortnight by hiding an enormous quantity of water in its saddle, then carefully disgorging it while I rode to work.
Went to the sales. I bought a few things I genuinely needed (thermal tops, snuggly gloves for cycling) and one thing I did not, but loved. I have no idea in what way I am going to make use of the latter - still, if I ever get my Steampunk on I now own just the belt for it.
We had plans to visit Kew with some friends who'd snagged free tickets - all of us had envisaged a nice, crisp winter walk. Blue skies and crunchy frost featured heavily. Naturally, what we actually got was dismal drizzle so unrelenting that we dutifully walked about a bit, then hid in a conservatory, then made a break for the café, then gave up and went to theirs to watch films instead. The evening saw a fabulous party, where I got to catch up with many people I haven't seen in far too long.
I also spent an entire day pottering in the kitchen. Which was lovely. Mostly, I made things which will ultimately end up in my nice lunches, and put them in the freezer. This included some sort-of pies for which the recipe appears in the Just Bento cookbook, which are mostly notable because the crust is yeast-based and yet didn't go disastrously wrong. Top tip: if you have a bad history with yeast cookery then when you get to the proving stage, put clingfilm over the bowl and draw round the dough with marker pen. Then when you're obsessively wondering if it's getting bigger like it ought, it's a lot easier to tell.
A few people have asked me of late whether making bento boxes has to involve so much advance preparation and complicated recipes. Of course not; it's just that faffing about all day cooking stuff and stocking the freezer is my idea of a good time. And I glazed a ham, because most homes should have such a thing in them at this time of year.
On New Year's Eve I headed into central London in the afternoon, and did something extremely exciting, of which more later. Then went to celebrate with tea and cake in Foyles' café.
We saw the new year in with some friends; they always hold a party, but this year were extremely late notifying people (apparently having a six-month old baby is quite distracting) so were rather low on guests. Anyway, said six-monther slept peacefully while just four of us chatted, ate pizza, and played a few hands of Supercars Top Trumps and Coup: City State. The Top Trumps were mostly for irony value (with my vintage 70's cards) - and having not played it in around 30 years I'd forgotten what a very poor game it actually is. Anyway, we were rescued by the arrival of the Seths, and we gently chatted our way through til midnight.
Whereupon I was horrified to learn that Jools' Hootenanny isn't broadcast live. Apparently everyone else knows this.
In recent years, I have reinstated a family tradition, and January 1st begins with a lazy brunch and the televised New Year's Day concert from Vienna. Ordinarily I don't have a hugely high tolerance for the Strausses (Strice?), but am willing to accept them if they come with side-orders of ridiculously opulent gilded concert halls, ballet dancers, and breakfast.
This year, brunch featured bagels with big slices of ham and poached eggs on them. A sort of unmuffiny eggs Bene-oh, can't be arsed with the Hollandaise. I am looking for a better name for this dish :)
And today I was back at work. First Great Western celebrated this momentous event by putting my ticket price up and cancelling the train I was hoping to catch. My bike expressed its distaste at having been locked up by itself for a fortnight by hiding an enormous quantity of water in its saddle, then carefully disgorging it while I rode to work.
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no subject
Date: 2013-01-03 12:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-03 12:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-03 02:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-03 02:53 pm (UTC)Top Trumps is actually not terrible - though not exactly challenging - as a four person game. Once two of you have gone out, it gets pretty suicidal, though.
Coup, on the other hand, is pretty good.
no subject
Date: 2013-01-03 03:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-03 03:26 pm (UTC)I have a proper post about my recent games-shopping expedition half-written, coming soon to an LJ near you :)
no subject
Date: 2013-01-03 03:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-03 08:49 pm (UTC)