Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Friday, November 24, 2006
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Thief Chat at UK Bump Keys
Lots of dodgy chat at UK Bump Keys forum (as you'd expect from a site dedicated to selling lock picking devices). Always interesting to know how crims operate.
Inside the Thiefs Office - Porches
and this from Urban Exploration...
"I had a friend who got done for 'going equipped' as he was carrying a large magnet in a clothes shop (if you don't know, the proper magnet pings those security clips in a flash). If you line a normal carrier bag with baking foil it also stops coded labels from triggering alarms. If you get caught with a bag prepared like that you can get done for 'going equipped'."
Inside the Thiefs Office - Porches
and this from Urban Exploration...
"I had a friend who got done for 'going equipped' as he was carrying a large magnet in a clothes shop (if you don't know, the proper magnet pings those security clips in a flash). If you line a normal carrier bag with baking foil it also stops coded labels from triggering alarms. If you get caught with a bag prepared like that you can get done for 'going equipped'."
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Mischievous Night
BBC - North Yorkshire - I Love NY - Confessions from a Mischief Night brat:
Monday, October 30, 2006
Goosnargh Cakes
Baking for Britain: Goosnargh Cakes from Lancashire
tasty these.
"225g unsalted butter
125g golden caster sugar (plus more for putting over biscuits)
350g plain flour
1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease two baking sheets.
2. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Sift flour over the creamed mix, add the coriander and caraway seeds, mix with wooden spoon until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
4. Using your hand work mixture together to form smooth paste. Take out of bowl and onto floured surface and knead gently so that dough is smooth and ready to roll out.
5. Roll out to about 1/4" thickness, and using a circular cutter (mine was a 2" one), cut out circular discs of dough.
6. Place the discs onto the baking sheets, and sprinkle with caster sugar.
7. Put the baking sheets into your fridge (having cleared all your chilled wine off one shelf to make room). Leave for 30 minutes/1 hour until well chilled.
8. Pop into oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until just turned golden brown. Keep an eye on them as the minute you leave the room they overcook.
9. Remove from oven and sprinkle with more caster sugar. Leave to cool slightly then transfer to a wire rack."
I used slightly less coriander, slightly less sugar in the mix and a pinch of salt. Also, lightly toasted the coriander seeds and cooked on lower heat for longer, as suggested in the comments.
Alternative recipe here...
http://www.azcakerecipes.com/goosnargh_cakes_recipe-3013.htm
tasty these.
"225g unsalted butter
125g golden caster sugar (plus more for putting over biscuits)
350g plain flour
1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease two baking sheets.
2. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Sift flour over the creamed mix, add the coriander and caraway seeds, mix with wooden spoon until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
4. Using your hand work mixture together to form smooth paste. Take out of bowl and onto floured surface and knead gently so that dough is smooth and ready to roll out.
5. Roll out to about 1/4" thickness, and using a circular cutter (mine was a 2" one), cut out circular discs of dough.
6. Place the discs onto the baking sheets, and sprinkle with caster sugar.
7. Put the baking sheets into your fridge (having cleared all your chilled wine off one shelf to make room). Leave for 30 minutes/1 hour until well chilled.
8. Pop into oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until just turned golden brown. Keep an eye on them as the minute you leave the room they overcook.
9. Remove from oven and sprinkle with more caster sugar. Leave to cool slightly then transfer to a wire rack."
I used slightly less coriander, slightly less sugar in the mix and a pinch of salt. Also, lightly toasted the coriander seeds and cooked on lower heat for longer, as suggested in the comments.
Alternative recipe here...
http://www.azcakerecipes.com/goosnargh_cakes_recipe-3013.htm
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Solfest - mind festival definition
Definition of 'Mind Festival'...
"An imaginary festival, a festival of the mind. Get snottered outdoors somewhere, close your eyes and listen to some music on an i-pod or whatever. Dance about, pretend you're talking to people and doing festy things.
I've done most of the big festivals in this manner over the years."
"An imaginary festival, a festival of the mind. Get snottered outdoors somewhere, close your eyes and listen to some music on an i-pod or whatever. Dance about, pretend you're talking to people and doing festy things.
I've done most of the big festivals in this manner over the years."
Monday, September 25, 2006
Friday, August 25, 2006
Solfest 2006
- "We've had reports of a tall, thin gentleman in a stripey green top hat shouting offers of drugs"
- baby chill out tent had man utd carpet
- Camper van next to giant letters spelling "GOAT SEX?". Inside van, legs could be seen disappearing into the roof area, "that's where they keep the goat" said Z
- Middle of the night in the family camping area, music had all stopped, very quiet then a parrot-like voice (female) struck up...
"Honesty is the best policy...fuck you!"
"it's all blah, blah, blah...fuck you!"
"Fuck you!"
"Just fuck you!"
"It's four, five times now...fuck you!"
etc
Then...
"WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT UP! IT'S HALF PAST THREE IN THE MORNING, THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A FAMILY CAMP SITE AND THERE'S KIDS IN HERE"
Silence
- 4 proper townies & one kid dressed as a pirate -
"Ey, Benjamin, we gan in the maze?"
"Nah, maze is shite!"
- Who decided that Peruvian clothes would be the default counter culture look?
- Pirate day, 10 am. Not much piratical activity as yet except one guy with skull and x-bones hat and a donkey jacket waving a couple of twigs. A sinister effect slightly spoilt by his Betty Boop pyjamas.
- On a day when the fancy dress theme was pirates or fairies, we were passed by one fella in pink leotard and crash helmet. Also saw a guy dressed as Mr Incredible and a couple of bad spidermen. I put on my pirate hat and was challenged to a fight by a small child in a gorilla outfit.
- B was followed round by a menacing 3 year old girl who kept trying to push him over. She had a blank stare and a fairy outfit.
- 9 am Sunday - Cumbria - farmer's field in a cold wind - a woman in pink, with pink hair and pink fairy wings walked towards the Mongolian yurt....
- Very few non-white people here
- Pirates wore the clothes of the people they robbed. I look like one who hijacked a car full of scruffy townies
- B in a red rain cape in his pushchair looked like a jelly monster. At one point he woke up, yawned, stretched and fell straight out of the pushchair onto his face, cos he wasn't strapped in.
- Food - Peacecake cafe - Camel's Arse (tagline something like "if it's good it came from the arse")
- Purple trousers, kilt, afghan goat herder hat, cat stevens beard - probably works in a bank back home
- An old wandering violinist singing a song called "I wish I was a taliban", which he seemed to make up as he went along, for 3 overexcited women in Morrocan pork pie hats.
- "Is that a little baby?"
"No, its a pig, they just dressed it up - dufus!"
- "Just go off and have fun. Stop shouting at each other"
- "Have yeww gort airnee veeegarn cayke?"
"No"
"Aaarl just have an arrple thern"
- baby chill out tent had man utd carpet
- Camper van next to giant letters spelling "GOAT SEX?". Inside van, legs could be seen disappearing into the roof area, "that's where they keep the goat" said Z
- Middle of the night in the family camping area, music had all stopped, very quiet then a parrot-like voice (female) struck up...
"Honesty is the best policy...fuck you!"
"it's all blah, blah, blah...fuck you!"
"Fuck you!"
"Just fuck you!"
"It's four, five times now...fuck you!"
etc
Then...
"WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT UP! IT'S HALF PAST THREE IN THE MORNING, THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A FAMILY CAMP SITE AND THERE'S KIDS IN HERE"
Silence
- 4 proper townies & one kid dressed as a pirate -
"Ey, Benjamin, we gan in the maze?"
"Nah, maze is shite!"
- Who decided that Peruvian clothes would be the default counter culture look?
- Pirate day, 10 am. Not much piratical activity as yet except one guy with skull and x-bones hat and a donkey jacket waving a couple of twigs. A sinister effect slightly spoilt by his Betty Boop pyjamas.
- On a day when the fancy dress theme was pirates or fairies, we were passed by one fella in pink leotard and crash helmet. Also saw a guy dressed as Mr Incredible and a couple of bad spidermen. I put on my pirate hat and was challenged to a fight by a small child in a gorilla outfit.
- B was followed round by a menacing 3 year old girl who kept trying to push him over. She had a blank stare and a fairy outfit.
- 9 am Sunday - Cumbria - farmer's field in a cold wind - a woman in pink, with pink hair and pink fairy wings walked towards the Mongolian yurt....
- Very few non-white people here
- Pirates wore the clothes of the people they robbed. I look like one who hijacked a car full of scruffy townies
- B in a red rain cape in his pushchair looked like a jelly monster. At one point he woke up, yawned, stretched and fell straight out of the pushchair onto his face, cos he wasn't strapped in.
- Food - Peacecake cafe - Camel's Arse (tagline something like "if it's good it came from the arse")
- Purple trousers, kilt, afghan goat herder hat, cat stevens beard - probably works in a bank back home
- An old wandering violinist singing a song called "I wish I was a taliban", which he seemed to make up as he went along, for 3 overexcited women in Morrocan pork pie hats.
- "Is that a little baby?"
"No, its a pig, they just dressed it up - dufus!"
- "Just go off and have fun. Stop shouting at each other"
- "Have yeww gort airnee veeegarn cayke?"
"No"
"Aaarl just have an arrple thern"
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Vegetarian Mince Pies
from here
"When I started vegetarian cooking, you couldn't buy mincemeat that didn't have meat suet in it; the same applied to bought mince pies. If vegetarians wanted mince pies, they had to make their own using vegetable suet. Recently, however, I've come to the conclusion that this extra fat isn't really necessary at all; it's just a hangover from when mincemeat actually contained meat. You can make a wonderfully juicy, spicy version without any added fat, or even sugar - the sweetness of the dried fruit alone provides enough.
The only disadvantage of this fresh, light mincemeat is that it doesn't keep for ages - it will last up to a week in the fridge, no longer. This amount of mincemeat is enough for 36 pies, though the pastry is only enough for 12, so you'll have plenty left over to make more.
"When I started vegetarian cooking, you couldn't buy mincemeat that didn't have meat suet in it; the same applied to bought mince pies. If vegetarians wanted mince pies, they had to make their own using vegetable suet. Recently, however, I've come to the conclusion that this extra fat isn't really necessary at all; it's just a hangover from when mincemeat actually contained meat. You can make a wonderfully juicy, spicy version without any added fat, or even sugar - the sweetness of the dried fruit alone provides enough.
The only disadvantage of this fresh, light mincemeat is that it doesn't keep for ages - it will last up to a week in the fridge, no longer. This amount of mincemeat is enough for 36 pies, though the pastry is only enough for 12, so you'll have plenty left over to make more.
125g currants
125g raisins
125g sultanas
50g unsweetened cooking dates, chopped
50g candied peel, chopped
50g natural glace cherries, sliced
50g flaked almonds
half a tsp each ground ginger, grated nutmeg and mixed spice
1 ripe banana, mashed
4 tbsp brandy, whisky or rum
375g shortcrust pastry (or pastry made from 250g flour and 125g fat)
Mix all the ingredients except the pastry in a large bowl. Thinly roll out the pastry, cut out rounds to fit your tartlet tins, fill each with a good spoonful of mincemeat, cover with a smaller pastry disc and prick. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7, then bake the pies for about 10 minutes."
Perfect Apple Pie
From http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6239.0
Perfect Apple Pie
Ingredients (use vegan versions):
6 cups of thinly sliced apples
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 pie crusts
9 pie pan
Directions:
Heat oven to 425°F, in large bowl combine all filling ingredients; mix lightly. Prepare pie pan by placing one crust into the bottom on the pan. Fill pie pan with apples and place pie crust on top. press edges of crust together and cut 3-4 slits in the top.
Bake in oven at 425°F for 40-45 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown.
Serves: 8
Preparation time: 20 min to prepare, 40 min to cook.
Perfect Apple Pie
Ingredients (use vegan versions):
6 cups of thinly sliced apples
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 pie crusts
9 pie pan
Directions:
Heat oven to 425°F, in large bowl combine all filling ingredients; mix lightly. Prepare pie pan by placing one crust into the bottom on the pan. Fill pie pan with apples and place pie crust on top. press edges of crust together and cut 3-4 slits in the top.
Bake in oven at 425°F for 40-45 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown.
Serves: 8
Preparation time: 20 min to prepare, 40 min to cook.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Liverpool Lullaby
My mum used to sing this to me!
Liverpool Lullaby
by Stan Kelly
Oh you are a mucky kid,
Dirty as a dustbin lid
When he finds out the things you did
You'll get a belt from your da
Oh you have your father's nose
So crimson in the dark, it glows
If you're not asleep when the boozers close
You'll get a belt from your da
You look so scruffy lying there
Strawberry jam tats in your hair
Though in the world you haven't a care
And I have got so many
It's quite a struggle everyday
Living on your father's pay
The bugger drinks it all away
And leaves me without any
Although we have no silver spoon
Better days are coming soon
Now Nellie's working at the loom
And she gets paid on Friday
Perhaps one day we'll have a splash
When Littlewoods provides the cash
We'll get a house in Knotty Ash
And buy your dad a brewery
Oh you are a mucky kid,
Dirty as a dustbin lid
When he finds out the things you did
You'll get a belt from your da
Oh you have your father's face
You're growing up a real hard case
But there's no one can take your place
Go fast asleep for Mammy
Saturday, June 10, 2006
World Cup Recipes - Day 2 - Trinidad & Tobago
Trinidad & Tobago v Sweden
Tweaked from a recipe at Trinidad and Tobago Caribbean Child-cooking
The method is slightly vague here, but I'm hoping it becomes obvious as you go along.
Mushroom Chicken
Ingredients
* 1 lb boneless chicken breast, cut up in strips (veggies can use Quorn chicken-style fillets etc)
* 1 oz margarine or butter
* 1 small onion, chopped finely
* 2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
* 1 cup mushroom slices
* white sauce - skip the instructions for making this from scratch and just buy a packet of white sauce mix from your local shop
* 1 - 2 teasps of Trini rum (any old miniature of rum will do here, I reckon)
* 1 chicken bouillon cube (that's a stock cube - probably can use a veg stock cube instead, veggies). I'm assuming you need to add this in stock form, not just crumble it into the dish at the end!?
* a little curry powder
* salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1) Melt butter in heavy sauce pan
2) Add onion, garlic, mushroom slices and chicken pieces and saute until chicken is cooked , about 15-20 mins
3) Add remaining ingredients (careful with the white sauce, you might not need a full packetworth of the stuff - just add till it looks/tastes right).
Serve with rice
Friday, June 09, 2006
World Cup Recipes - day 1 - Ecuador
Poland v Ecuador
From 'Galapagos and Ecuador Guide'...
Llapingachos: Little smashed potatoes pancakes with achiote (a natural red color seed) stuffed with cheese, served with thick red sausages, eggs, lettuce, avocado.
LLAPINGACHOS (Potato Cakes) Recipe
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and sliced
- 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) butter
- 2 medium onions, finely chopped
- 2 cups Munster cheese, shredded lard, butter, or oil
- salt
HOW TO PREPARE:
Boil the potatoes in salted water until soft. Drain and mash. Heat the butter in a skillet and saute the onions until they are very soft. Add the onions to the mashed potatoes, mixing well. Shape the potatoes into 12 balls.
Divide the cheese into 12 parts and stuff each of the potato balls with the cheese, flattening them as you do so into cakes or patties about 1 inch thick. Chill in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.
In enough lard, butter, or oil (with or without annatto as you please) to cover the bottom of a skillet, saute the potato cakes until they are golden brown on both sides.
Serve with peanut sauce.
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