Best staff dinner!....EVER!!

Working in hospo you have many staff dinners normally made with stuff around the kitchen that the chef's need to get rid of.
Recently at one of my Restaurants I came in and was starving, they hadn't cooked me dinner but the head chef rustled around the cupboards and found this for me which I took gratefully-Went down a treat.

A week later he started abusing me asking where it was, until I reminded him he gave it to me for staff dinner.

The self-fulfilling Prophecy

Guy Malyon (owner of One Tree Grill and good friend) just gave me this book to read called Outliers (by Malcolm Gladwell)

I've just read the first chapter and I'm hooked. Thought I would share a bit of it, so I dont forget this interesting book!

Outlier: Something that is situation from or classed differently from a main or related body.

In Canada for ice hockey the eligibility cut-off for age-class is January 1. So a boy who turns 10 on January 2 could be playing alongside someone who doesnt turn 10 until the end of the year. and at that age 12months makes a huge difference in physical maturity. This is the age where coaches start selecting kids for the travelling "rep" squad. The players that are bigger and more co-ordinated (which could be the difference of only a few months) will more likely get chosen, from there instead of playing an average of twenty games a season will play 60 or 70. he gets better coaching, his teammates are better, practices nearly three times as much as he would of otherwise. So in the beginning his advantage is only because he is slightly older then others, but by the time he turns 13 he really is better, so therefore he will more likely be picked for the junior A league. This happens with football in Europe, Baseball in America and schools all around the world!

The sociologist Robert Merton famously called this phenomenon the "Matthew Effect" after the New Testament verse in the Gospel of Matthew: "For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance. But from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." It is those who are successful, in other words, who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success. It's the rich who get the biggest tax breaks. It's the best students that get the best teaching and most attention. And it's the biggest nine and ten year-olds who get the most coaching and practice. Success is the result of what sociologists like to call "accumulative advantage."

What I'm pretty much try to explain is that these 'outliers' (successful people) dont just rise from nothing. They are invariably the beneficiaries of hiden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard to make sense of the world in ways others cannot.

If I'm not making sense, read the book!

Wicked website

Check out this site! http://www.recipelook.co.uk/

Easy to follow recipes made from drawn pictures!

Courtesy of Chloe

Tadpole cruelty?

Had a great dinner with Hannah and Bridget at their Dumpling flat on Monday, made borritos with whole peppercorns in the mince mix (peppercorns not a good idea). then a simple dessert of bashed gingernut and vanilla icecream.
But like all good evenings the conversation turned to tadpoles....The girls think you can just chuck some tadpoles into a jar or container of water and they will grow!!! they are not freakin sea monkeys!
anyway i googled how to look after tadpoles and this is what i found- very intersting, and alot more complicated then you think!

Frog tadpoles have gotta be the favorite pet of all time! I know more people who have dealt with tadpoles than goldfish... but then, maybe that sais more about the people I know than it does about pet owners in general. But I CAN tell you that raising tadpoles can be much more than just fun- it is easy and educational too!Here's what you need to know for dealing with tadpoles yourself.
1. First you'll need a suitable container, like an aquarium, fishbowl, plastic garbage bin, paddling pool, or garden pond. Be sure it has good shade---about 3/4 shade is ideal.
2. Tadpoles absolutely depend on having fresh, clean water. If using tap water, let it stand exposed to full sunlight for 5 to 7 days. This will allow the Chlorine to be removed by evaporation. If you don't have that much time, you can buy de-chlorinating drops at your local fish-carrying pet store. It is always a good idea to keep a little de chlorinated water on hand.

What do tadpoles eat?
3. Well, I hear they LOVE lettuce. Boil the lettuce for 10 to 15 minutes and then drain it. Chop it up a little, and then you can lay it on a tray to freeze it. For average home ponds, use an icecube tray- 1 cube every couple of days should be enough. For smaller tanks, just lay some flat on a tray and freeze it, and keep it in a baggie in the freezer. Give the tadpoles a pinch every few days. Remember: too much food will get the water all dirty, and too little will make the tadpoles get nutty and go after each other. If your water gets dirty really fast, slow down on the feeding...and be sure to replace the dirty water with some fresh spare water.
4. The length of frog development from egg to tadpole to frog usually takes between 6 to 12 weeks.But it is also temperature dependant, so during cold spells it may take a bit longer or even be suspended till the temperatures go up. So if it's cold and your tadpoles don't seem to be growing up very fast, it's no reason to panic.

all in all we have decided that they are gonna grow some tadpoles and have a race to see which one develops into a frog first, with this knowledge under my belt mine will be victorious. (think i'll call him Caesar...)

Pumpkin Rice Laksa Soup

Max and I cooked this wicked dinner for Lucy. Max and I helped her eat it.

How to make it (summary):

Hollow out the pumpkin, realise the pumpkin is only good for serving the dish in. Cut up a new pumpkin and put aside. Bash up lime leaves, chillies (deseeded) lots of ginger, garlic coriander and lemongrass and some spices. Put it in a pot with a little oil and your sliced onion, cook gently for 10min. Add pumpkin and stock (or water) stir, bring to boil, then simmer for 15min. Add rice and give it a manly stir. simmer till rice is cooked, take lid off and add coconut milk, stir, taste, season, add a bit of lime juice to give it a light twang!

serve in wasted pumpkin.

Occasional Gardner

Vegetables can be exciting! Caitlyn convinced me that it would be choice if we grew our own veges- and it is! (well it will be, they are still in the growing stage).

How to make your own garden:

1. Find a patch of ground that has already been used as a garden before

2. Dig it up and tell the weeds to find another home

3. Put a layer of top soil and scatter sheep pellets however much you think is nescessary

4. plant the plants, don't get seeds-they take to much effort.

5. Wait

6. Water them when you remember (stab holes in the bottom of a milk bottle-but make sure they are not to big otherwise the water will run out before you get to the garden).

7. Wait for freaking ages!

8. Plants take forever to grow!

9. Maybe just buy them unless you have a lot of patience and time.

Just a quickie

Did you know you can do this awesome and tasty spaghetti mix:
Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente
quickly hand whisk two eggs up slightly, put to side,
Chop up a Chorizo sausage and start frying them( they should be oily enough),
add cooked spaghetti and then add egg mixing vigorously so egg is scrambled, but mixed with the spag. then add whatever erbs you want and serve,
mamma mia!
Serves 1 (6min dinner)