Advent meme thing - days 19-21
Day 19 → A talent of yours
I don't do talent. I do jack-of-all-trades. I'm pretty good at quite a few things, usually very good at picking things up, but never a shining star at anything in particular.
Day 20 → A hobby of yours
Wargaming. I bought the book Forest of Doom in 1983 or thereabouts, and I'm now sitting on a pile of toy soldiers big enough to squash an elephant. I enjoy painting up the models and pitting wits against people when playing em on the table, as well as having a bit of a fetish for buying new and shiny toys. I don't make my own, but I do like converting things. And tentacles.
I play once or twice a week regularly, and always have models on my table to work on in front of the telly. Even now, after 20 years, I'm finding new things to play with, and new things to do with little metal and plastic men.
I've been primarily a GW player for years, but have become dissatisfied with a lot of their stuff recently (not the literature or the actual models, more the rules, pricing and attitudes). Especially with the discovery of both Privateer Press and Battlefront in the last few years. I even started a second LJ account to rattle on about what I've been doing rather than clutter this blog up with it: http://beatenzone.livejournal.com/ There's pics of painted models on there, if you want a rummage. Some better painted than others.
Day 21 → A recipe
Cajun Jambalaya.
2 chicken breasts. Half a Matteson's smoked sausage. 3-4 rashers bacon. (All chopped into bite size pieces.)
Red pepper. Onion. 2-3 stems celery. 4-6 cloves garlic. Tin of tomatoes. (All chopped into smaller than bite size pieces.)
Cup of (easy cook) basmati rice. 2 cups of boiling water.
Dash of sweet chilli sauce. Dash of Worcester sauce. Knorr veg stock cube. 4 bay leaves.
Emeril's Bayou Blast
2 1/2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
I use a nice sized cook pot for this. I think mine's a 22cm (3.3litre) Le Creuset Cocotte, and this recipie fills it to the brim. Needs to have a lid!
- Fry the garlic, onion, pepper, celery in either Fry-Light or a little olive oil. Until things are turning translucent.
- Add tomatoes, rice, water, crumbled stock cube, sauces, and bay. Stir it all up, and bring to a simmer.
- Put lid on pot. Stir occasionally. Cook for about 8-9 minutes until the rice is almost done.
- While that's going on, mix up the Bayou Blast, and coat the chicken with it. Just mix them up in a bowl together.
- The rice will cook almost exactly with the water that's available. A minute or two before the rice is done, you want to add, and stir in, all the meat. The meat will cook very quickly while the rice finishes, and be nice and moist.
- Once the meat and rice are cooked through, it's ready to serve. And it doesn't need any accompanying dishes, as everything goes in the one pot.
It's actually quite straightforward, and is absolutely awesome food.
In the interests of dieting, we've tried swapping out the chicken for Quorn chunks, and dropping the sausage. About half a bag will do for this recipie. Any more will overwhelm the other ingredients.
Original recipie I found used Andouille sausage, but I've never found it in the shops, so Mattesons it is. Original also uses shrimp, but I'm not a fan, so bacon.
I don't do talent. I do jack-of-all-trades. I'm pretty good at quite a few things, usually very good at picking things up, but never a shining star at anything in particular.
Day 20 → A hobby of yours
Wargaming. I bought the book Forest of Doom in 1983 or thereabouts, and I'm now sitting on a pile of toy soldiers big enough to squash an elephant. I enjoy painting up the models and pitting wits against people when playing em on the table, as well as having a bit of a fetish for buying new and shiny toys. I don't make my own, but I do like converting things. And tentacles.
I play once or twice a week regularly, and always have models on my table to work on in front of the telly. Even now, after 20 years, I'm finding new things to play with, and new things to do with little metal and plastic men.
I've been primarily a GW player for years, but have become dissatisfied with a lot of their stuff recently (not the literature or the actual models, more the rules, pricing and attitudes). Especially with the discovery of both Privateer Press and Battlefront in the last few years. I even started a second LJ account to rattle on about what I've been doing rather than clutter this blog up with it: http://beatenzone.livejournal.com/ There's pics of painted models on there, if you want a rummage. Some better painted than others.
Day 21 → A recipe
Cajun Jambalaya.
2 chicken breasts. Half a Matteson's smoked sausage. 3-4 rashers bacon. (All chopped into bite size pieces.)
Red pepper. Onion. 2-3 stems celery. 4-6 cloves garlic. Tin of tomatoes. (All chopped into smaller than bite size pieces.)
Cup of (easy cook) basmati rice. 2 cups of boiling water.
Dash of sweet chilli sauce. Dash of Worcester sauce. Knorr veg stock cube. 4 bay leaves.
Emeril's Bayou Blast
2 1/2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
I use a nice sized cook pot for this. I think mine's a 22cm (3.3litre) Le Creuset Cocotte, and this recipie fills it to the brim. Needs to have a lid!
- Fry the garlic, onion, pepper, celery in either Fry-Light or a little olive oil. Until things are turning translucent.
- Add tomatoes, rice, water, crumbled stock cube, sauces, and bay. Stir it all up, and bring to a simmer.
- Put lid on pot. Stir occasionally. Cook for about 8-9 minutes until the rice is almost done.
- While that's going on, mix up the Bayou Blast, and coat the chicken with it. Just mix them up in a bowl together.
- The rice will cook almost exactly with the water that's available. A minute or two before the rice is done, you want to add, and stir in, all the meat. The meat will cook very quickly while the rice finishes, and be nice and moist.
- Once the meat and rice are cooked through, it's ready to serve. And it doesn't need any accompanying dishes, as everything goes in the one pot.
It's actually quite straightforward, and is absolutely awesome food.
In the interests of dieting, we've tried swapping out the chicken for Quorn chunks, and dropping the sausage. About half a bag will do for this recipie. Any more will overwhelm the other ingredients.
Original recipie I found used Andouille sausage, but I've never found it in the shops, so Mattesons it is. Original also uses shrimp, but I'm not a fan, so bacon.