Foodie Friday: Pointed Red Peppers Stuffed with Chinese Vegetable Fried Rice

Serves 4.

Ingredients:
2 pointed red peppers, halved and roasted
1/2 bunch of spring onions
1 packet long grain rice
2 packets of carrots
1/2 packet of mushrooms
1 packet French beans
1 packet of baby corn
1 courgette, sliced
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon chopped ginger

Method:
1 Place the rice in a pan, cover with water. Boil for 10 minutes then reduced to simmer, cover and cook for 40 minutes or until al dente.
2 Place a teaspoon of oil in a wok and slightly sauté the garlic, ginger and the whites of the spring onions.
3 Add the carrots and then cook the rest of the vegetables.
4 When the vegetables are soft, add the cooked rice stirring constantly. Season with soy sauce.
5 Spoon the rice into the peppers and cook in the oven for 10 minutes. Serve with sweet chilli sauce.

Note: I could not find a pic of the actual dish, so the one above is the closest possible. It comes from bonafoodie, which is another fab place to get vegetarian recipes. Check it out! (And keep cooking, Brianna!)

Wake Your Mind Up #4

Unplug your television for a week. Under no circumstances are you allowed to turn it back on. See how much free time you have in your evenings without it.

There seem to be plenty of ‘turn off the silly box’ events about, but there are ways, even legitimate ones, to get around the restriction.

For example, it’s fine to have a news fast or be rid of mind-numbing things that we watch just because we have nothing better to do, or because we can’t stand a silent room. But what about DVDs? Surely, settling down to watch a movie is okay, right?

Actually, for the occasion, it’s better not to do that either. Instead, go out to the movies. When was the last time you actually went out to watch a movie, rather than wait for it to arrive on satellite/Netflix/DVD? (For me, it’s some 5 years. Early parenthood cuts majorly into one’s social life; I’d jump at any chance to go out sans young one.)

Also, what about the computer? I’m far from the only person who has gone off TV and uses the computer as a primary means of entertainment. I wouldn’t find it hard at all to go a week without TV… but a week without the computer would probably send me into withdrawal.

Rather, make that without the internet. I do very few things offline. When I visit with my mother-in-law, I have to go 3-4 days without internet, and although I always pack the laptop with me, I hardly open it. Instead, I devour books. I can go through 600-700 pages in the course of one such visit, and I come back equally proud of my page count and eager to resume my online life.

I think the point of this exercise is not to stick to the letter of it but actually, voluntarily go a week without our favourite medium of transfused entertainment, be it the TV or the internet, to make room for alternatives requiring active participation. Reading. Board games. Outings. Gatherings. Anything but white noise.

Wordless Wednesday: Mama will make it all right

Not Midlife Crisis, Nor the Change of Life…

While doing a spot of tidying up, I came across a couple of little workbooks about life changes: The Life Guide: 179 inspiring, exciting, life changing things to do in 2010 and Life Change Planner: Ten steps to your best life, both from Psychologies Collections. I had a few chuckles, and even more ‘hmmm’ moments, rereading the experts’ tips and ideas, as well as my own notes, so I’m going to share them here, hoping to inspire others, as change-reluctant as myself, to go on and do it anyway… and to see what has changed for me since I was actively considering those things.

Wake your mind up
It may not seem like much, but this little list of everyday habits could bring about the most profound changes to your world. [...] The way we choose to dress, what we eat, what we watch can reveal a lot about our underlying preferences and beliefs – and can indicate where we might be able to make changes for the better.

Stay tuned.

Music Monday: Covers

We’ve been talking cover songs on E (more precisely, cover songs that are better than the originals), and the first ones that popped into my mind were these. Funny how women have no qualms about covering songs by men, but you don’t see the reverse too often…

Alanis Morissette covering Seal:

All Saints covering Red Hot Chili Peppers:

Lacuna Coil covering Depeche Mode:

Imelda May covering Soft Cell:

Egil and Asmund: Aran

Asmund began his story: There was a king called Ottar who ruled over Halogaland. He was married to Sigrid, daughter of Earl Ottar of Jutland in Denmark, and they had a son called Asmund. He was a fine big fellow, and while he was still young he was trained in all kinds of skills. When he was twelve he was considered a better man than any in the land.

Asmund had a good many playmates. One day they’d gone riding into the forest, Asmund saw a hare and set his hounds on it. The hare ran away and the hounds couldn’t catch it, but Asmund didn’t give up, and when his horse collapsed from exhaustion Asmund ran with the hounds after the hare. In the end the hare jumped off a sea-cliff. Asmund turned back to look for his horse but he couldn’t find it. Dusk had already fallen, so Asmund had to spend the night there, but in the morning a heavy mist had risen and he had no idea where he was.

For three days Asmund was completely lost in the wood, but then he saw someone coming towards him, a tall, handsome man, with a fine head of yellow silken hair, and wearing a scarlet cloak. It seemed to Asmund that he’d never seen a finer-looking man. They greeted each other, and Asmund asked the stranger’s name. He said he was called Aran, the son of King Rodian of Tartary. ‘I’ve been on a viking expedition,’ he added.

Egil and Asmund: Eagle-Beak

They got ready for the voyage and went back to King Hertrygg. Asmund greeted the king, who received him kindly and asked if he had met Egil One-Hand.

Asmund said he certainly had. ‘I’ve never met a braver man. He’s offered to take Rognvald’s place, and we’ll defend your country together.’

‘If you’re both willing to swear an oath of loyalty and take his place, I’ll accept this offer as a settlement,’ said the king.

Asmund said he was willing to do that, then Egil was called for, and they were put in charge of the country’s defences, and stayed there over winter.

At Christmas the king gave a feast, and on the first day he asked whether anyone there could tell him what had happened to his daughters, but no one could. Then the king repeated the offer he had made before.

Egil said, ‘This is a chance for a brave man to earn some money.’

After Christmas all the guests returned home.