Tuesday 30 April 2013
30 April - Solution for the last clue and the next cryptic crossword clue
Strength of beast of burden carrying
spades about (6)
Solution – muscle
Strength
= muscle
Beast
of burden = mule
Mule
is carrying ie contains s for spades and c for about.
Quits flat (4)
Hint – this
is a double definition clue
Pumpkin and Rhubarb Pie – savoury style
The
next Food on Friday is about
parsnips and pumpkin. I thought I would
start you thinking by showing you this Pumpkin
and Rhubarb Pie. This is not a dessert.
It is a savoury pie. In fact we
don't eat pumpkin in any sweet form here in my part of the world.
The
reason I made this pie was simple – I had leftover rhubarb, pumpkin and pastry
in the freezer – all needed using up.
First
I lined my dish with the store bought pastry – it was a sweet pastry as it
happens – I didn't butter the dish because there is so much in the pastry
itself.
I
forked it in quite a lot of places on the bottom and then put some baking paper
in it and topped it with some dried beans I use for blind baking. I baked it in a moderate oven for about 12
minutes and then took the beans out and gave it another 5 minutes.
While
the pastry was in the oven, I boiled up the kettle and poured boiling water
over my rhubarb (which was cut into about one inch lengths). Just leave it sitting in the water for about
4 minutes and then drain any excess liquid out nd add 1 tablespoon of sugar (I
actually added ¼ tsp of stevia powder instead).
I
peeled and cubed my pumpkin and then microwaved it with a sprinkle of water for
3 minutes (more if you have a larger quantity).
I
mixed the rhubarb and pumpkin together and added nutmeg, ginger, ground chili powder,
pepper and a splash of good balsamic vinegar.
Then
into the pie shell. I had some pastry
left over so I cut it into strips and made a bit of a lattice on top of the
pie. I brushed the top pastry with some
egg wash (just one whisked up egg).
Monday 29 April 2013
Beijing is the Capital of Where?
More
than 20 million people live in
Beijing (and, according to Katie Melua, 9 million bicycles) but although being
a capital city it is not the largest city in the country.
A
food speciality of the city is Peking Duck.
Beijing's
architecture is a mix of old and new.
So where is it?
Beijing is the capital city of China!
29 April - Solution for the last clue and the next cryptic crossword clue
Wily yachtsman’s beginning to get
vessel ahead (6)
Solution – crafty
Wily
= crafty (not as in artistic)
Yachtsman's
beginning – the beginning, ie first letter in "yachtsman"
Vessel
= craft
Craft
is ahead of y = crafty
Strength of beast of burden carrying
spades about (6)
Hint – this
is a container clue
The Tracks of My Tears – the Miracles
People say I'm the life of the party
Cause I tell a joke or two
Although I might be laughing loud and hearty
Deep inside I'm blue
So take a good look at my face
You'll see my smile looks out of place
If you look closer, it's easy to trace
The tracks of my tears.
The Tracks of My Tears by The Miracles is one of those songs I feel like I have always
known. In fact it dates from 1965 and
was written by the group – which was reasonably uncommon back in those days
where singers mostly sang songs written by others. It has been covered by many other artists
including Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton.
Sunday 28 April 2013
28 April - Solution for the last clue and the next cryptic crossword clue
Discovered calf in grass (8)
Solution – revealed
Calf
= veal
Grass
= reed
Put
the calf into the grass, you get revealed – which matches discovered.
Wily yachtsman’s beginning to get
vessel ahead (6)
Hint – the
second letter is r
Meatloaf in Capsicum Containers
For
some reason I thought it would be fun to do meatloaf by cooking it inside
capsicums (you might know them as bell peppers). And it actually worked out quite well.
The
meatloaf filling was made with equal quantities of lamb mince, chicken mince
and pork sausage meat. To that meat I
added some softened onion, garlic and chilli.
For other seasoning I added a splash of Lea & Perrins sauce, and, of
course salt and pepper.
I
had some leftover paneer cheese which I cut up into cubes and included in the
mixture. After all these has cooked up a
bit I let it cool and then mixed through some chopped spring onion (scallion)
and then spooned it into the capsicum, put a bit of grated cheese on top and
then cooked it in a moderate oven for about 45 minutes.
Saturday 27 April 2013
27 April - Solution for the last clue and the next cryptic crossword clue
Anteater chained, maltreated (7)
Solution – echidna
Echidna
is a type of anteater found in Australia
Echidna |
You
can also get to the word "echidna" by maltreating, or scrambling, the
letters in "chained".
Discovered calf in grass (8)
Hint – this
is a container clue
Port Douglas and the Great Barrier Reef
The
Great Barrier Reef is one of the
major wonders of the world.
When I
stayed in Port Douglas it was only a
day trip on a catamaran to go out to the reef and visit a pontoon which enabled
you to snorkel and go down in a glass submarine – a bit freaky. And do remember to make sure you get back on
board at the end of the day – you might remember that someone was left behind
by accident some years ago and was never found.
The
easiest way to get to Port Douglas is to fly to Cairns and then transfer by
road – it is only an hour or so's drive north of there. You are in a semi-tropical zone so you need
to check carefully what the best time of year is to visit – it would be too hot
in mid-summer and there is also a box stinger season – they are deadly
jellyfish so you want to avoid that at all costs. They do have stinger and shark nets on some
beaches but to be honest I didn't feel comfortable relying on them.
Australia
is a fantastic place to visit but it does have some natural hazards – like
stingers, sharks, venomous snakes and spiders – not to mention crocodiles. Of course if you stick to the cities you are
most unlikely to encounter any of those – but then you are missing out on the
elemental Australia.
Labels:
Australia,
Queensland,
Travel
Location:Auckland, New Zealand
Port Douglas QLD 4877, Australia
Friday 26 April 2013
26 April - Solution for the last clue and the next cryptic crossword clue
Willpower about to crack (7)
Solution – resolve
Resolve
= willpower
About
= re
To
crack = solve
Anteater chained, maltreated (7)
Hint – look
for the anagram
Food on Friday: Rhubarb
ON
When
I was a child the things we had growing in the garden included silverbeet,
rhubarb, feijoas and guavas. So we ate
today's ingredient for Food on Friday - Rhubarb
– quite often.
Rhubarb goes with:
Almonds
|
Apples
|
Blueberries
|
Butter
|
Cinnamon
|
Ginger
|
Hazelnuts
|
Honey
|
Pastry
|
Plums
|
Pork
|
Raspberries
|
Rosewater
|
Salmon
|
Soft
white cheeses
|
Strawberries
|
Sugar
|
Trout
|
Vanilla
|
Yoghurt
|
I
am looking forward to seeing how you use rhubarb in your dishes. Please just link them up via Mr Linky below. The best thing is to put your name plus the name of the dish in the first
box and copy the url for your post into the second.
Have
fun!
Thursday 25 April 2013
25 April - Solution for the last clue and the next cryptic crossword clue
Therefore gets expert to study
something from the baker (4,5)
Solution – soda bread
Therefore
= so
Expert
= dab, as in he was a dab hand at cooking
To
study = read
Put
them together you have soda bread which is "something from the
baker".
Willpower about to crack (7)
Hint – think
of an abbreviation for "about"
Shakespeare
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