Usidore, Wizard of the 12th Realm of Ephysiyies...

Gandalf The Grey or Usidore The Blue? I have my suspicions that they may be one and the same. Could this be yet another unrevealed secret name? Perhaps one of such immense power and portent that to merely acknowledge it could bring about the end of existence as we know it.

Simple Chickpea And Chorizo Stew

This is another one of my simple, cheap, one pot recipes that I've put together with the intention of batch cooking in advance and making enough to last all week. This recipe is hearty, warming and entirely suitable for the current bout of cold weather we're enjoying, whilst still being fairly healthy and providing a decent amount of protein.

You will need:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 small onions, chopped
200g chorizo, chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into roughly 1.5cm chunks
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp cumin
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can of chickpeas, drained
250ml chicken stock
200g washed baby spinach

Method:
1. Add the oil to a large saucepan and warm over a medium heat.
2. Add the onions, chorizo and sweet potato then cook about 5 minutes, until the chorizo browns and the onion starts to soften.
3. Stir in the garlic, paprika and cumin then cook for a further 2 minutes.
4. Pour in the tomatoes, chickpeas and stock, stir and cook for 10 - 15 minutes, until the sweet potato is tender.
5. Remove from the heat, stir through the spinach and allow to stand until the spinach wilts.

Notes:
Simply serve alongside a buttered, crusty bread roll for a hearty and healthy meal.

Once A Fatty Always A Fatty

I’ve just eaten an entire toasted steak and cheese foot long from subway and I’m already regretting it...

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.