Curry fail
I've spent the past hour making chicken curry for tomorrow. When I tasted the sauce, I thought, 'Wow, this really lacks something, that garam masala we got in New Zealand must be rubbish' and so I added some more along with more cinnamon, stirred it around and let it cook another five minutes.
Tasted it again. Still not right. As I reached into the spice cupboard to take out the garam masala again, I realised my mistake. The shiny tin containing what I thought was garam masala in fact contained ras el hanout.
Er, yes.
I found the real garam masala and stirred it in, chucked in some more ground almonds and the rest of the yoghurt to balance the flavours and now it tastes right.
Cawood and Riccall
As it was a sunny afternoon, we decided to have a random drive. I've been wanting to go back to Hemingborough Church for a while now as it has some great 14th century memento mori, but when we got there the church was closed while a new heating system is being installed. So we went to Cawood instead, which is famous chiefly for its castle and for its links with highwayman Dick Turpin, who forded the river here on his flight from London to York.
The camera is absolutely on its last legs - we'll have to get another at the airport next week - so please excuse the artistic blurriness going on in some of the images.
All Saints Church, Cawood - 12th century, very atmospheric inside.
This is all that remains of Cawood Castle, formerly the summer palace of the Archbishops of York. The gatehouse is 15th century, built by Archbishop John Kempe; the redbrick building is a 16th century addition. Cardinal Wolsey stayed here on his way to York to take up the archbishopric but was arrested for treason before he could be enthroned.
The lane that runs along the side of the river.
The gardens of the houses along the lane. The River Ouse is prone to flooding and the water often covers these gardens completely by several feet.
Riccall is a little village on the road to Cawood. St Mary's Church is a lovely 12th century building (also closed, ho-hum) - very typical Norman tower and the 'wings' look like 15th century additions.
The thing that really impressed me was this doorway, c.1160, which includes Norse-influenced beakheads (the Vikings landed all along this part of the river on their way to York). Unfortunately I couldn't get any closer so I didn't get a good look at the symbols carved into the doorway. The photo doesn't do it justice - it's quite stunning.
I'm still ridiculously excited by aitakute's TK/CC fic. I've been thinking about it all day. EEEE!
ETA: People from my hometown are idiots.
Tasted it again. Still not right. As I reached into the spice cupboard to take out the garam masala again, I realised my mistake. The shiny tin containing what I thought was garam masala in fact contained ras el hanout.
Er, yes.
I found the real garam masala and stirred it in, chucked in some more ground almonds and the rest of the yoghurt to balance the flavours and now it tastes right.
Cawood and Riccall
As it was a sunny afternoon, we decided to have a random drive. I've been wanting to go back to Hemingborough Church for a while now as it has some great 14th century memento mori, but when we got there the church was closed while a new heating system is being installed. So we went to Cawood instead, which is famous chiefly for its castle and for its links with highwayman Dick Turpin, who forded the river here on his flight from London to York.
The camera is absolutely on its last legs - we'll have to get another at the airport next week - so please excuse the artistic blurriness going on in some of the images.
All Saints Church, Cawood - 12th century, very atmospheric inside.
This is all that remains of Cawood Castle, formerly the summer palace of the Archbishops of York. The gatehouse is 15th century, built by Archbishop John Kempe; the redbrick building is a 16th century addition. Cardinal Wolsey stayed here on his way to York to take up the archbishopric but was arrested for treason before he could be enthroned.
The lane that runs along the side of the river.
The gardens of the houses along the lane. The River Ouse is prone to flooding and the water often covers these gardens completely by several feet.
Riccall is a little village on the road to Cawood. St Mary's Church is a lovely 12th century building (also closed, ho-hum) - very typical Norman tower and the 'wings' look like 15th century additions.
The thing that really impressed me was this doorway, c.1160, which includes Norse-influenced beakheads (the Vikings landed all along this part of the river on their way to York). Unfortunately I couldn't get any closer so I didn't get a good look at the symbols carved into the doorway. The photo doesn't do it justice - it's quite stunning.
I'm still ridiculously excited by aitakute's TK/CC fic. I've been thinking about it all day. EEEE!
ETA: People from my hometown are idiots.