Sue's inane ramblings

Hello fiends, I am attempting to post from my iPhone... Hope it works.

Am back from the brink of civilisation. Not that I bear any I'll will to Birmingham proper, but the 3-day course I have just been on was located in a thoroughly dismal no-mans-land beside the airport. It would be like going on a trip to 'london' only to find yourself staying in a hotel on a roundabout near heathrow.

My number one gripe is that there were NO pavements anywhere... The walk from hotel to course venue involved navigating waste disposal plants before trekking along the grass verge of various A roads, dodging fox poo. The view from my hotel room was like an illustration from a post-apocalyptic fantasy novel.

Number two gripe was that I have been completely deprived of vegetables for three days. Every single eating venue on offer seemed to specialise in 'deep fried'. And the corporate lunches clearly had a deal going with Mothers Pride (ugh ugh ugh!)

Thank god I am meeting up with Sara lou in a few mins... all will be better... gastronomic healing is the order of the day.

Last night I got back into London and went straight to a White lies gig at Brixton. Or, more accurately, I time-travelled to 1986. It's impossible to listen to White lies without wanting to punch the air or dancing like Molly Ringwald. It's like Simple Minds fronted by Julian Cope...

Anyway I like Brixton because I can always get a good view thanks to the marvellously steep rake. What I do not like is finding myself at a gig with a idiotic children throwing pints of beer from the balcony. I have only just washed the stink of beer from my hair... And now my coat needs dry cleaning. If I could have got hold of the little fuckers there would have been violence.

So enough of my middle-aged grumbling... I am clearly too old for gigs. What are you lot up to?

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

While I was in the shower my mind continued with the "if so and so were a XXX..."   and I decided to re-cast a handful of you lot as pets.
     
So here are my assertions... (I shall slink off and duck now)

• If sara_louwere a pet, she would be an elegant, fussy siamese cat that makes you feel privileged when it wants to be on your lap
• If steerwere a pet, he would be an over-enthusiastic springer spaniel who charges around licking everybody in a shockingly fickle manner
• If rosamiculawere a pet, she would be a fine-plumed ragdoll that refuses to act like a pedigree and sneaks out for nights on the tiles with swaggering toms
• If childericwere a pet, he would be a long-limbed afghan hound... prone to poncing around with ideas above his station, but ultimately still a dog 
• If zoo_music_girlwere a pet, she would be a photogenic show dog who gets her hair done at the pooch parlour once a week
• If mia_oiawere a pet, she would be a talking budgie who knows far too much and shows you up when your parents come round
• If gylfinirwere a pet, she would be a golden retriever who bounds around when you are happy and nuzzles you with mournful gaze when you are depressed
• If ms_siobhanwere a pet, she would be a blowsy lap cat who looks at you askance and then headbuts you to let you know that you are a stupid inferior being but she loves you anyway
• If moral_vacuumwere a pet, he would be a sarcastic parrot
• If sushidogwere a pet, she would be a restless capuchin monkey that endlessly invades your kitchen cupboards and has a penchant for shaving her fur into fascinating patterns
• If kissmeforlongerwere a pet, she would be a silent black cat with fastidious habits and an unnerving tendency to stare at you with one eyebrow raised 
• As for me...  I suspect I might be a lazy, middle-aged labrador who hogs the sofa and loves you forever as long as I am fed
   

Hello dear fiends, I am back after two whole days of no internet... (retrospective waaaah!)
  
How are you all?  I'm feeling a bit coldy and pathetic, but emotionally far more chipper than last week.  (I haven't fantasised about killing anyone for days.)
   
On Thursday I arrived home to find a sick cat.  Or to put it another way, a fiendishly prepared game of 'hunt the present'... 
  
After dealing with that I thought "sod it. I'm going to get into my pyjamas and kill some Nazis".  As I was getting changed I dropped my glasses and while groping around for them on the floor, lamenting the brand new layer of fat that has taken up residence on my midriff, I experienced a sudden moment of clarity...  I'm not Daphne, am I?
        
Still, it ain't all bad.  I had a lovely evening chez Rosa last night, where among the delights were new trademark "chavioli" (ravioli without its knickers) and the devil's own absinthe cake.  *Memory drool*  And met a few real-life LJ bods for the first time, which is always a pleasure.
  
So far today I have lit the fire and watched various sleb chefs dicking around on tv.  G and I played a game of "if [so and so] were a boy band, who would he be?"  We decided that Gordon Ramsay would be Robbie Williams, James Martin would be Blue, the forgettable faceless chappie standing in for him on Saturday Kitchen would be Northern Line and Nigel Slater would either be Stephen Gateley or someone earnest like Daniel Bedingfield.  I reckon Nigella would be The Pussycat Dolls and Delia the Nolan Sisters.
   
So... given the level of intellectual activity that is going on, I am thinking that today may just be writen off as a duvet day.
  
 
 

Oh dear fiends, I should not be allowed near my fellow man today.  On days like this it is for the best that nobody can hear my stream of consciousness.  
   
I am filled with deepest loathing for every innocent mofo that comes into my path. (Obviously not including any of you lovely people.) 
 
Somewhere between the swamp of pomposity and the bog of fuckwittery, I seem to have lost the map. 
 
Is it bad when you start fantasising about long afternoons watching Countdown?

Posted via web from Sue's Posterous

Much as I hate to blog failures, I thought it would be only proper after my last post to mention that the "issue" related to agar agar + acidity is no myth.
 
Having wolfed down ludicrous amount of jelly since Friday, today's plan was to try and make this thing of beauty (http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fruit-recipes/elderflower-and-prosecco-jelly) using agar agar instead of gelatin. 
  
It is essentially a champagne jelly where the champagne is added at the last minute, so that the bubbles remain trapped in it amid masses of fruit.  I bought some pink fizz and gave it my best shot, adapting the method as per the instructions and (usual) quantities for agar agar.
   
The poured moulds looked promising...


 
But several hours later I knew it was not to be.  What I have made is a delicious and highly alcoholic gel... but not jelly.  If I try unmoulding it I get a big, ugly spatfest that looks like this...  I'm not sure whether doubling the agar agar would have worked, but possibly.
    

   
So....  um, damage limitation is in order.   G has suggested turning it into a trifle and kissmeforlonger  has suggested sorbet (a very nice idea, though not sure if it will work... any tips welcome). 
 
Boo hoo!  (But never mind, perhaps panna cotta will be more forgiving.)
    
   

Ooh, my agar agar jelly has set! 
     
As you can see, the first one came out of the mould wonky... so I accidentally snaffled half of it in one mouthful.  Most of the others came out ok, though a couple of them took a lil bit of damage.
      
The flavour is lovely.  The texture is very light - only-just-jelly...  it explodes into a fruit smoothie inside your mouth.  I might use a smidge more agar agar next time, for extra firmness.
    
This was a very simple first experiment...  
  
Ingredients were as follows:
600ml of orange and mango juice
300ml of water
60g caster sugar
3 tablespoons of flaked agar
Mixed berries
  
What I did...
1. I prepared the moulds with a thin coating of sweet almond oil (my moulds were fancy cake tins and coffee cups)
2. Divided the berries between the moulds
3. Dissolved the sugar into the liquids, then sprinkled the agar on and left for 5 mins. 
4. Heated the mixture to a light boil and simmered for 5 mins, stirring occasionally (until agar is dissolved)
5. poured into moulds and refridgerated
6. Waited an impatient hour and a half...
 
The first one refused to come out, and then landed with an unslightly splat.  For the rest, it helped to run a knife carefully inside the moulds to ease them out.  They came out ok but SOOOO delicate.  Moving them onto serving plates was tricky... a flat palette knife underneath ended up being the best utensil.
 
So G and I now have 6 jellies to get through before I can make my next recipe... 


 

Hello dear, gluttonous fiends.  Time for some more calorific ramblings.
   
First of all, I'm popping in to recommend a delicious, veggie-friendly recipe... 
http://www.allaboutyou.com/food/Cauliflower-Cheese-Souffles-Recipe/recipe
  
These are a total faff to make but they taste utterly gorgeous.  I made them last weekend as a starter for Sunday lunch (followed by ray wings and berry crumble).  Mmmm, should not type food porn while hungry.
 
On other matters, I have decided that I want jelly.  Furthermore, I want panna cotta.  Both of these usually involve gelatin, but I am resolved to try my luck with agar agar as a setting agent.  The various testimonials I've read indicate that it's less straightforward than gelatin.  Some things stop it from setting (e.g. if your fruity ingredients are too acidic).  Or it might set like a rubber tyre.  And many recipes are vague about quantity.  But if you get it right, you get a perfect jelly that comes out of fancy moulds like a dream.
    
Right now my fridge contains something that may become jelly... I will find out in an hour or so.   This is only experiment #1 so I'm not going to cry if it doesn't set.  (It can always go in the blender and become a fruit coulis instead.)
 
After this, top of my agar agar 'to do list' are these two recipes... 

• Prosecco and elderflower fruit jelly:  http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fruit-recipes/elderflower-and-prosecco-jelly  (apparently the prosecco stays fizzy in the jelly!)
• Vanilla Panna Cotta with Blueberry and Marsala sauce  http://www.delsole.co.uk/2008/04/28/vanilla-and-yoghurt-panna-cotta-with-marsala-wine-and-blueberry-sauce/  (am stil striving to relive the outstanding Panna Cotta I had at Mildreds)

Which is best?

Any other comment?

Twitter has gone into a sort of frenzy over who we should hate most. 
   
Maybe we need a death match between Jan Moir (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1220756/A-strange-lonely-troubling-death--.html)  and Ian from London Underground (http://www.jonathanmacdonald.com/?p=4024) to help us decide
 
I suspect the lovely Ian will find himself jobless by the end of the day....  meanwhile Uncle Fry's rousing tweets have caused the Press Complaints Commission website to crash.  Power to the people and all that...
       
 
 

 

Posted via email from Sue's Posterous

via etsy.com

This shop has lovely things... and is based in the UK, hoorah!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=32065295

Posted via web from Sue's Posterous

If ever an excuse were needed...

Posted via web from Sue's Posterous

1. loaf around online, uploading my photos and stuff
2. do laundry and other tedious backlogged chores
3. make salted caramels (now I have the required posh salt)

Today I have major grunp.
   
For illustrative purposes...
 

    
 
 

My new headphones fit inside my ears so perfectly that they are working exactly like ear plugs...   I'm now living in a little vacuum that no slobbery colleague noise can penetrate.  (I think he has tried talking to me several times, but I can't hear a thing... tee hee.)
  
Instead I am tapping my foot to the new Queen Muse single (which is an enjoyable piece of honest glam fluff.)
  
 

 

A few days ago I made a decision to stop my etsy shop. 
 
The main reasons being...
    
a) It turns out I am too bone idle to keep listing new things (it's quite a lot of faff)
b) I dislike having to think about the potential ROI when I buy yarn...
c) The ROI is always below minimum wage
d) I have a huge queue of things I want to make for myself 
e) I'd rather give gifts to friends than sell to strangers
f) I have a job already... 
  
So having made this decision, I was feeling quite happy about it and more than a little relieved to have knocked the whole experiment on the head.  
 
Except now I have just made my first sale...   yeek!
 
This ( http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=19612747 ) is about to be winging its way to someone in the USA...
   
 
 

Hello fiends, what are you up to on this fine-ish Sunday?  And more to the point, where the devil are you all?  It remains very sleepy in Lj Land...
    
I thought it was high time I popped in with an unashamedly shallow update on what I've been up to.   
  
 
The Shopping News...  
 
In the last couple of weeks I have committed heinous and un-called-for damage to my poor innocent bank account.   In fairness, I am a bit of a binge shopper.   I usually go the whole summer without buying anything and then get carried away at the beginning of Autumn when all the shops start selling lovely boots and tweedy things.   So I am now the proud owner of a purple duffle coat, a new handbag and purse, new jeans and (um) three pairs of boots...  including two pairs with shockingly low heels.    (The ones below are the exception and insisted on being photographed specifically for group worship).


  

While I was out shopping yesterday I found myself momentarily in a ghastly, awful shop called Madhouse.   Before making a hasty escape, I spotted some truly dreadful slogan t-shirts for sale.  Three examples being...

• Nice legs, what time do they open?
• Gay marriage is ok, as long as both chicks are hot
• You had me at I swallow

I am torn between horror that there are people alive and in my vicinity who buy such t-shirts and thankfulness that I don't happen to know any of them.
 

The Stitching News...
  
On Friday I had a day of total yarn heaven at the iKnit London weekender, along with two knutter friends.  This is an annual 3-day event for knutters which I will be blogging about properly here (www.susiefhandmade.blogspot.com).   But essentially it's a huge get together for yarn-fetishists. 

There were many aisles of gorgeous yarn, buttons and other nick-nacks and a curriculum of classes for learning weird techniques.   I attended a 3-hour class given by a fiendish knitting genius who explained the concept of cellular automata via the art form of knitting...  I can now knit fractals without needing a pattern.  Amazing stuff.  
 
Later I had an overexcited moment when I found a stall selling vintage knitting supplies (drool!)  I even got a book signed by sleb knitter Ysolda Teague (I was under the influence of my uber-fangirl companion, Charlotte).  There was a fashion show and party afterwards with  lots of lovely knitted things on show (and a few horrid things thrown in for good measure). 
 
After I got home, G took photos of me waving some Norweigian baby alpaca around like a crazy lady... 

In other stitchy news, I finally sewed the buttons onto my Dr Horrible Sing-a-long wrist warmers.  They're made of lovely cashmere and the buttons are vintage bakelite from the 1930s.  Suffice to say I LOVE them and want it to be cold immediately. 
  

 

Other Meanderings...
  
On Wed, G I had a lovely meal at Loch Fyne with steer, Caron, childeric  and  zoo_music_girl.   I had baked Sea Bream cooked with tomatoes, red onion and olives and it was entirely gorgeous.   The company was as witty and effervescent as ever...  I really should see those chaps more often.   

 Last Weekend I was in Brighton to celebrate my sister's 40th.  Her party was in a lovely bar right on the beach, which gave me opportunity to pop out and take this very grainy snapshot of the sea, lit up by the pier and a full moon...   

     

 

   
The next day was glorious and we spent it bimbling around the lanes and sea front.  
 
A few more seaside pics here... 


 

Lots more Brighton pics here...  http://www.flickr.com/photos/susanflockhart/sets/72157622272369724/


Well I think that's all folks.  A bit of a marathon post, and yet strangely nothing much to say ;-)  Oh modern world of pointless twittering, how do we love thee?