annanotbob2's Diaryland Diary
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Only 4 and a recipe, a really good recipe
- What I should be doing is writing out the parents' form for the funding review tomorrow but I can't quite face it so I'm not and you can't make me. I did it in rough already with the help of N the manager and I can copy that up at some point tomorrow. Which is when the review will be upon us. Send positive vibes pleeeeease.
- Today was Bloke's birthday and I didn't get him a card or a present because a) I haven't got any bloody money and b) he's forgotten mine three years in a row so fuck him. I did relent and made a delicious lunch which I invited YD and GS to. I made Italian lamb - recipe below, honestly if you eat meat, make this - it's just the best - with just plain runner beans and new potatoes, as it's rich and only needs simple accompaniments, followed by Eton Mess, which is strawberries, raspberries, whipped cream and big bits of meringue stirred together just before serving. Then I persuaded Bloke to come to the beach for a swim which he never does, because he never does anything and I can't be responsible for him as well, though I'll give him a nudge on his birthday. He hasn't been in the sea since 2005, but bloody loved it and stayed in for ages, bastard. Then, again after a nudge from me, he suggested a place he'd like to walk where there are lots of birds, along a little river, or stream or something I'd never heard of just a couple of miles away - very nice. I know, I could be nicer to him but I'm not, so there we are.
- This was written in Jan 2006 and nothing much has changed. "I would be posting pictures but I can't find my camera so I haven't taken any for a while. I may have packed it away with the rest of my stuff at work but if it's not there, it's probably been nicked out of my bag while I'm at work. I ought to feel pissed off about this but don't, for some reason. Maybe I am learning not to get agitated until it's unavoidable. I never really take into account the fact that people might nick things. The back door is always open, I only lock my car when it contains something that belongs to someone else, I leave my bag around etc. People have been telling me I'm mad for years but I've only ever had my purse nicked twice and no one's ever come into the house - or if they have they've retreated pretty fast without taking anything. I've saved myself so much grief in terms of having the fear of burglary controlling my actions. I know people who don't leave the house without locking every window as well as all the doors. Just watching them preparing to vacate the premises makes me lose the will to live. Either I've been lucky or the risk of burglary is grossly distorted. A couple of purses and a camera seem a fair exchange for just not thinking about all that from one year to the next." And my camera hadn't been nicked then either. I shut the big downstairs front windows here before I go to bed as it's a rough area, but that's about it to be fair, there's nothing in here with any resale value - if there was I'd have sold it by now, but there isn't.
- I'm going to art at the hospice again tomorrow. I haven't been for ages as it's fortnightly and I lost track of it but I bumped into the art teacher when I went to pick up my T shirt for the sponsored walk and he encouraged me to come back - to the extent of getting out his diary to check when he'd be back from his annual leave. Tomorrow. What I want to do is a massive copy in beach litter of this medieval picture of sailors who think they have landed on an island so set up a fire and start cooking, but they've actually landed on a sea monster.
When I say massive I mean about a metre and a half wide by about two and a half high. I'm not sure what I'd use for the red background - maybe Sainsburys bags actually - see how good writing is - ideas pop up as soon as you say you don't have them.
Start the day before. Then there's nothing to do on the day except sling it in the oven in a heavy pot with a tight lid. If you forget to start the day before it's not the end of the world, but give it as long as you can.
Ingredients:
Shoulder or half shoulder of lamb (they'd sold out of this today so we got a leg and it was fine)
3 fat cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 bunches of parsley, finely chopped
zest and juice of 2 lemons
teaspoon of dried chilli flakes
5 tablespoons of breadcrumbs (the recipe says to dry these in a very very low oven, but I don't always remember)
7 tablespoons of olive oil
small jar of pitted green olives
salt and pepper
Get the butcher to de-bone and chop up a shoulder or half shoulder of lamb. They'll do this at the counter in Tesco's if you haven't got a butcher.
When you get it home, trim off as much of the fat as you can and put the pieces of meat into a big bowl. Add all the other ingredients except the olives and mix it all together using your hands until every bit of meat is covered with the herby, shiny, crumby stuff. Cover the bowl and leave it overnight or for a few hours. To cook, tip the whole lot into your heavy pot, mix in 3 tablespoons of water, cover and put in the oven at gas mark 3/325F/170C/150C fan, for three hours. Check every now and again that it's not too dry - if it is, add a couple of tablespoons of hot water (I forget to do this sometimes and it gets a bit dry but still scrummy). Mix in the drained olives just before serving. It's very rich and delicious so I like to serve it with boiled new potatoes and a strong green salad - rocket or something. Don't know what rocket is in American, but it's very tasty.
12:14 a.m. - 23.07.18
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------