Simple Turkey And Potato Curry

I like having an easy life, or at least one that's as easy as my life can get, and to that end I'm always happy to find simple, cheap, preferably fairly healthy, one pot recipes that I can make in multi meal batches. This is definitely one of those recipes, everything you need for a tasty, satisfying meal is there and, thanks to inclusion of turkey mince, it's even pretty low in fat.

You will need:
1 tbsp vegetable oil (rapeseed oil)
500g turkey mince
1 large onion, chopped
2 chillies, chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 round tbsp medium curry powder
120ml water
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
4 salad tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp dried parsley
Large handful of fresh spinach

Method:
1. Heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat in a large saucepan, with a lid.
2. Add the turkey, spreading it out evenly over the base of the pan, and cook, without stirring, until it begins to brown.
3. Add the onion and chillies, stir and continue to cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften.
4. Add the ginger, garlic and curry powder, stir and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
5. Add the water and potatoes, stir to combine and cover with the lid. Turn the heat down to medium low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are almost cooked though.
6. Add tomatoes, stir, re-cover the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes.
7. Check the seasoning and add salt, if needed.
8. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the parsley and spinach then leave to stand, with the lid on, until the spinach wilts.

Notes:
I serve this up in a bowl on its own and it's great, but if you want a little extra serve it over boiled rice or with a naan bread. Want a little extra veg? Throw in 150g of frozen peas when you add the tomatoes.

It's Been A Long Week...

It's been one of those weeks were it feels like a large whisky, a couple of bowls, a ton of freshly brewed coffee and some doom laden music are called for.

Review: Braun MGK7020

I’ve been using the Braun MGK7020 for a while and I am finding it to be a fairly capable trimmer, that performs the majority of its many functions very well and has actually replaced several other separate products I had previously been using. For me I’ve found that the best functions are the clean shave, precision trim and nose hair trimmer, it performs these functions so well that it easily out performs dedicated products.

Considering this is actually a fairly compact device, it is very powerful and makes short work of both beard and body hair alike. The charge time on this product is remarkable, just 15 minutes and you’ll have enough power for a thorough trim, give it a 2 or 3 hour charge and it’ll last a couple of weeks worth of regular use.

Personally I have predominantly used this to groom and maintain my body hair and have had no real issues. The blades strike a good balance between safety and sharpness, being sharp enough to cut through even very fine hairs, but not being so sharp that you have worry too much about nicking yourself.

The only things that really let this product down are the adjustable combs, they are not really ideal for use on facial or body hair, they may perform better on head hair, but I have not tested this. I’ve found that where the provided fixed combs generally only takes one pass to get a fairly decent and consistent trim, the adjustable combs require 3 or 4 passes to achieve the same level of results. The available lengths on these combs are also clearly intended to maintain designer stubble, or body hair, rather than an actual beard, as the longest setting is only 21mm. My beard is quite short, tidy and regularly trimmed, but is still more that twice this length.

Overall I’m very pleased with this product, considering the number of functions it has, I’ve found that it performs extremely well in most circumstances and would certainly recommend this to anyone looking to downsize their collection of grooming products.

Real Men Wear Cardigans

One of the few things I've actually been successful at over the past 12 months is losing weight. I've dropped about 10 inches from around my waist, having lost somewhere in the region of 5 stones, since this time last year.

I'd love to say it's made my more confident and given me a fresh perspective on life, but in all honesty I'm not sure that it has made all that much difference. I'm the smallest I've been since I was a teenager, and it's definitely lessened some of my aches and pains, but on an emotional level I'm still pretty much broken.

That said I have come away with at least one positive thing, I can totally rock a cardigan and no matter what anyone else says cardigans are metal as fuck.

P.S I still suck at taking selfies.

P.P.S Any clothing brands looking for a tall, slightly older, somewhat alternative, grizzled (ugly) looking model I'm totally available... and that's not at all because I now have a wardrobe full of clothes that are too big and can't afford to replace them so could do with some free stuff...

Insomnia Post #3

Sometimes, a lot of the time, I feel like my life isn’t really happening, like the whole thing is just made up. It almost feels like there’s a particularly boring, mundane and somewhat sad story, that was written by someone else entirely, that I have absolutely no knowledge or real understanding of and I’m being forced act it out in front of a mostly uninterested live studio audience.

Insomnia Post #2

How do people make friends these days? It’s been so long since I made a genuine connection with someone, I’m not sure I know how to anymore. I’m not even sure I remember how to hold a genuine conversation with someone.

Insomnia Post #1

My life feels like it’s strayed so far from the path I wanted that, not only can I not see a route from where my life currently is to where I want my life to be, I can’t even begin to fathom how a route between those two points could possibly exist.

Simple Apple And Blackberry Tart

As a general rule I prefer savoury foods, however, every now and then I fancy a little bit of something sweet for dessert. I like my desserts a little old school, I like them to remind me of my childhood and I personally can't think of a more nostalgia inducing, homely and satisfying dessert than apple and blackberry pie. Unfortunately I'm lazy and for the most part I don't want to invest the time and effort required to make a full on pie. That's where this recipe steps in, now I know this is technically a tart, but this is probably the quickest and simplest tart recipe imaginable.

You will need:
200g white sugar
50ml water
50g butter
6 medium apples, halved and cored
100g blackberries, frozen or fresh
1 sheet ready-made puff pastry

Method:
1. Add the sugar and water to a 20cm heavy-based ovenproof frying pan and cook over a low heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture turns a caramel colour, avoid stirring at this point as this will cause the sugar to crystallise.
2. Take off the heat, add in the butter and stir until well combined.
3. Arrange the apples in the pan, round-side down, put back on the heat and cook for 4 minutes.
4. Fill in any gaps between the apples with blackberries, cook for a further minute before taking off the heat and allowing to cool completely.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 200C.
6. Unroll the puff pastry onto a floured surface and prick all over with a fork.
7. Drape the pastry over the top of the apples and blackberries and trim with scissors leaving 2-3cm of excess around the edge.
8. Tuck in the excess pasty around the edges of the apples and blackberries.
9. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown.

Notes:
To make this a little bit more seasonal add 1 tsp of mixed spice to the mixture when you add in the butter. recipe, food, foodie, food blog, cook, cooking, cooked, home cook, home cooked, home cooking, home made, homemade, old school, nostalgic, apple pie, apple tart, tarte tatin,

Better Self-Care?

Is that when you decide to blow the budget by getting all fancy and upgrading your normal 27p ramen noodles, that you eat for dinner 5 days a week, by adding half a tin of slightly questionable tuna, a small handful of whatever green leafy vegetables you find in the back of the fridge and a 4 day old hard boiled egg?

Some Days A Guy Just Needs A Bit Of Filth In His Life

After what felt like a particularly long week at work, and some fairly healthy eating during said week, I decided to treat myself to a little bit of filth over the weekend. Saturday morning I made a full on cooked breakfast of a couple of Cumberland sausages with fried mushrooms, stewed balsamic tomatoes, fried eggs and a pot of honey sweetened Scottish breakfast tea. Lunch was a large bag of Burt’s roast beef flavoured crisps. Dinner was a homemade, including the base, ham and mushroom pizza with a bottle of beer. And I finished off the day with half a Terry’s dark chocolate orange and a small glass of whisky.

Simple Larder Bean And Cheese Burritos

It’s January and for a lot of people, myself included, that means short rations and making what little money you have left after the holiday period stretch as far as possible. This recipe uses very cheap ingredients that you’re likely to have lying around in your larder, store cupboard or pantry.

You will need:
2 cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tin chopped tomatoes, drained (can be substituted for chopped cherry tomatoes)
1 red onion, grated (can be substituted for grated brown onion or finely chopped spring onions)
40g chopped pickled jalapenos (can be substituted for 2 chopped fresh chilis)
200g of mature cheddar, grated (can be substituted for pre-grated cheddar)
1 250g packet of cooked brown rice (can be substituted for 250g of any type of cooked rice)
8 Wholemeal tortilla wraps (can be substituted for any type of wrap)

Method:
1. In a large bowl, using a fork or potato masher, mash the kidney beans with the spices until fairly smooth.
2. Add in the remainder of the ingredients and stir until combined.
3. Add a good sized portion to the top half of a tortilla, fold in both sides and then the top of the tortilla before rolling from the top down. Roll them as tightly as possible, tucking in any escaped filling as you go.
4. Wrap each burrito in foil and put in a 150° pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes, until steaming hot throughout.

Notes:
Wrapping them in foil prior to baking means that, not only are they great to eat straight out the oven, these are great to take as a packed lunch or as part of a picnic, put them in a thermal lunch pack and they’ll stay warm for hours. If you want to keep these to use at a later date skip part 4 and simply wrap them in foil, or alternatively cling film if to be heated in the microwave, and freeze.

Personal Goals Vs Earning A Living: The Working Persons Dilemma

I’m getting old, I’m already considerably older than my parents were when they bought their first house and had their first child, neither of which I’m anywhere close to attaining and both of which are things I would like to have at some point. As I become increasingly aware of my own mortality, and my body clock slowly winding down, I’m starting to want certain things from my life and from my career. To a certain degree a good number of the things are my own to achieve and will only be achieved through my personal hard work and perseverance, however, some of these are reliant on my finances and my finances are directly linked to my job and, therefore, my employer.

I have worked for my current employer for the last 8 years of my life and during that time, whilst I may not have always been a model employee (in part due to my general disregard for authority), I have been one of the most hard working, consistently performing and reliable employees in the company, a fact that is often noted by my direct superiors. Unfortunately this hasn’t seemed to make much of a difference when it’s come to career progression or getting pay rises. When I first joined the company I initially made some forward momentum, but this plateaued fairly quickly and I ended up at a dead end. Since then I have taken several lateral moves within the company, to attempt to regain some forward momentum, only to end up with a greater workload at the same salary and to discover yet another dead end.

For the last 3 years I have been working in the same role, operating under the assurance from middle/upper management that I will be getting my own team to manage and that accompanying this will be further training opportunities, a higher pay bracket and greater potential for career advancement, something that would give me the financial stability and additional income that I need to start achieving some of my goals. Seeing as none of this has materialised, and is showing no sign of doing so any time soon, has left me with a little bit of a dilemma. Do I take the secure route and persevere with my current employer, in my current role, continuing to put my goals on hold and hoping that their promises come to fruition? Or do I throw caution to the wind, risk losing it all and gaining the potential of becoming unemployed by handing in my notice and trying to find a new, better paid job?

Feeling Expendable

Today was my first day back at work after a well deserved Christmas break and I'm already ready for another. The way the company I work for treats their front line staff, the two facedness, general lack of caring and almost complete lack of thought is really starting to get to me. I've felt this building for a while, but, whilst I've been casually keeping my eye out for other opportunities, I've stayed put for the sake of convenience and job security. Unfortunately my general dissatisfaction is now starting to outweigh the convenience and it's getting to the stage where I think it's time I put some real thought and effort into finding somewhere that is better for me.

Simple Chicken Paella

This is another one of those simple one pot dishes, that uses ingredients you’ll probably already have in your fridge/freezer, that still hits that winter warming comfort food spot and will make a change from all the roasted meat, boiled spuds and sprouts generally served over the holiday period.

You will need:
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized chunks
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
200g paella rice
1 ½ tsp of smoked paprika
½ tsp of turmeric
1 red pepper, roughly diced
1 litre of chicken stock
100g frozen peas
Small handful of fresh parsley, torn
Pinch of black pepper

Method:
1. Pour half the oil to a large, flat bottomed, non-stick pan and heat over a medium/high heat.
2. Add in the chicken, cook until lightly browned, remove from the pan and set aside.
3. Pour the remaining oil into the pan, add in the onions and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened.
4. Add in the garlic and tomatoes, turn the heat down to medium and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.
5. Add the rice, paprika, turmeric and chopped pepper to the pan, stir through and allow to cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Return the chicken to the pan, pour over about half the stock and stir through, lightly scrape the bottom of the pan to ensure no flavour is lost.
7. Allow to simmer gently for about 15-20 minutes, until the rice is just tender, stirring regularly and adding more stock if it starts to dry out.
8. Add in the garden peas and parsley, stir through and cook for a further minute or so, until the peas are warmed through.
9. Season to taste with black pepper, it shouldn’t need any additional salt thanks to the stock, and serve immediately.

Notes:
If you want to add a little extra depth to the dish add in some small chunks of chorizo with the onions or add in a handful of cooked frozen prawns with the garden peas and parsley.

A New Year's Resolution Of Sorts

I'm regularly referred to as "the saddest person I know" by friends, family and the other people who know me. This year I thought I might try to remedy that, for the last few days I've been reading articles about simple ways to make yourself happier. Some of the things that appear in these articles simply aren't currently possible for me, others I don't have the time, drive or financial means to do and some would simply take too much effort, however, something that has appeared in most of these, and also seems to be something fairly simple for me and not particularly time consuming, is making time every day to write in a diary, journal, blog etc. or to simply spend some time writing down your thoughts, feelings and ideas. I don't know whether or not this is going to genuinely help, or even if I'm going to be able to find the time, or the inspiration, to write something every single day, but I'm going to give it a go. Hopefully the act of simply getting things off my chest, and out into the ether, will be somewhat cathartic and help me to become a little bit happier and maybe even allow me to achieve some of the other suggestions that regularly appear in the articles, for example gaining a more regular sleep pattern that allows me to get a full 8 hours a night.