Potato Salad
I had one of those moments today – you know the kind – where a lightning bolt struck my brain and I thought, “Egad! That food that I love so much – I can make it!”
After a brief sortie into Google Land, I had a potato salad recipe. Between being thrown up on, doing washing, getting covered in pulped zuccini, taking baby photos and videos, and making potato pulp and bean pulp for Louisette’s near future, I made potato salad for the first time. The ingredient list sparked wildly out of control, and I ended up with something only tangentially related to the recipe I’d found. The meal began around 3 in the afternoon, and wasn’t done until 8pm. It was exquisite.
Yes, I know that photo makes it look like it’s already been eaten. It hadn’t at the time, I swear.
I like the way the vegetables are cunningly disguised so there’s barely a hint of green.
So here’s MY recipe (minus interruptions):
Potato Salad (for a meal for four people)
4-5 medium potatoes
8 or more bacon rashers (more bacon is more betterer)
4 eggs
One-third of a cup mayo
One-third of a cup sour cream
One avocado
Fresh green beans
Mushrooms
Spring onions
Sage
Chives
- Boil water – with eggs in it from the beginning of the heating process.
- When the eggs have boiled for four or five minutes, take them out (peel one and cut it in half to check all is well) using tongs (to keep the water).
- Meanwhile wash, peel , and cube potatoes.
- Put potatoes in the hot water. Rinse eggs under cold water a few times (so there’s no dark ring around the yolk).
- When the water boils again, boil potatoes for 15 minutes and then drain them and put them into the serving bowl and in the fridge for one hour (or freezer for ten minutes) or longer. Or shorter. Or don’t use the fridge, because it’s probably bad for it.
- Meanwhile, cut the bacon into squares and fry it.
- While it’s frying, cut up all your veggies and peel and cut up the boiled eggs.
- Put eggs, bacon, and veggies in with the potatoes.
- Mix mayo, sour cream, sage, and chives together, then add to potato bowl and mix it all up. Add more ingredients if necessary, and check taste.
- Wipe the rim of the bowl if you’re that kind of person.
This takes about an hour altogether, and is fairly labour intensive. It looks better if you save the bacon and avocado (especially the avocado, which tends to vanish) and put them in a separate layer on top.
The Avengers movie
If you’re any kind of self-respecting geek, you’ve probably already seen this more than once (or, alternatively, if you’re a lady fond of her eye candy). To the delighted relief of the geekmunity (who have been burned before), this is a great film. For those who know the name of Joss Whedon (writer and director), that was no surprise, but it was nonetheless a delight.
The Avengers are QUITE a disparate group, ranging from non-altered human to demigod in powers, and from billionaire philanthropist to time-refugee soldier by profession. In a not very surprising twist, they don’t get on.
They REALLY don’t get on.
Whedon very cleverly uses the manly bickering to give us action, comedy, and backstory all at once. You really can watch this film without having seen any of the rest, and it actually works – a tremendous achievement. The writers had to balance several films’ worth of backstory and character with a veritable smorgasboard of main character types: they did it. Choosing Iron Man as the main hero was a crucial move, and solved many problems. I liked the villain, too (mostly because he looks human and his issues are very human, so I easily understood his thoughts and his motivation).
There are literally dozens of brilliant moments – extremely funny lines (some that I missed due to laughing at previous lines), good solid action sequences with enough originality and character to keep even me interested, and a few moments of blazing heroism (my personal favourite was a moment at Loki’s first public appearance – and it wasn’t by one of the Avengers).
Thematically it wasn’t all that strong – the main theme is developed through all the manly bickering, and it warms the heart to see the Avengers briefly get over themselves in order to save the planet (….we hope…..), but it’s not something that really hits the heart. There’s another, minor theme in the way the villain is convinced that what the human race really wants is to be ruled. Again, it doesn’t pack an emotional or thoughtful punch – but let’s be honest: this is a comic book movie, designed for awesome action sequences and, hopefully, a lot of laughs. It delivers both in bucketloads.
I already want to see it again.
“Hulk. . . smash!”
Giant walking steam elephant
Need I say more?
That First Chapter
Chuck Wendig at his blog says:
. . . the first chapter serves as an emblem of the whole. It’s got to have a bit of everything. It needs to be representative of the story you’re telling — other chapters deeper in the fat layers and muscle tissue of the story may stray from this, but the first chapter can’t. It’s got to have all the key stuff: the main character, the motive, the conflict, the mood, the theme, the setting, the timeframe, mystery, movement, dialogue, pie. That’s why it’s so important — and so difficult — to get right. Because the first chapter, like the last chapter, must have it all.
—————————————————–
I read the above just after writing this myself:
The best opening gives you an immediate and normal-life-of-your-protagonist goal that showcases the active agency of the protagonist, something of their character, something interesting (hopefully) about their normal life (eg the minor incident is harnessing a dragon). . . while simultaneously being so simple that no exposition is needed to follow what is happening. Oh, and something goes wrong in the minor incident that will lead you into the major goal of the book.
This is, of course, why novelists go mad.
The Tombs of Atuan
This is the story of Tenar, who is said to be a priestess reborn. As a result, she is taken from her family at a young age and brought up in a temple complex, taught to be the mistress and guardian of the Undertomb and Labyrinth. No-one else is allowed in all the dark places, on pain of death. The rest of this review is at Comfy Chair, where I get paid for it.
Free sample (when, at the age of six, Tenar has taken up her role as the reincarnated priestess):
The child said nothing. Manan turned around and went away. The glimmer died from the high cell walls. The little girl, who had no name any more but Arha, the Eaten One, lay on her back looking steadily at the dark.
Rating: G, and recommended for any age that likes reading.
Spice Rack
I wanted one so bad.
I got one.
Glass canisters, stickers and all cost $15. I love you, Target.
The Favourite Toy
This week CJ and I decided on a toy we intend to be Louisette’s favourite, and (once the danger of SIDS has passed) sleep-time toy. She really liked a particular monkey toy because it was a comfortable size, easy to hold on to, and nice to chew on. I didn’t like the monkey’s face, so I used it as a model to find something that had it all: no TV brand name, washable, portable, and suitable for a five or a fifteen-year old as well as a baby. It took a long time, but we found Eeyore, and although it’s been less than a week Louisette is already fond of him (we bought three so the creation of dependence doesn’t horribly backfire when Favourite Toy is lost out a car window or has just been thrown up on and needs a wash). As parents, some of your plans come to naught – but some do actually work.
In other news, Louisette has been crying with frustration at every breastfeed (I breastfeed, then give her a full bottle feed, morning and night) so if she continues crying at every single feed for a week, I will let her (and myself) stop.
This amazing photo was taken at my baby-only playgroup this week:
Eurovision
Oh, Eurovision! How I love you.
Eurovison is a Europe-wide* contest for unsigned musical artists. It is astonishingly, spectacularly bad. In some ways it is amazingly predictable. In other ways it is. . . not.
Some of my favourites included the terrifying snake woman apparently giving birth on stage, the snow ninjas, the easybake babushkas (who did extremely well despite/because of their tremulous dance moves), the sailor girl (not funny or weird – just the best song; it did very badly), the vampire sailors (why sailors? Wait for it. . .), and “Oh dear I really have drunk too much and I’m seeing a gay space knight jiggling about and backflipping – plus I’m seeing double.” Moldova was trippy once again, too.
I won’t tell you who won (unless someone asks; then I’ll put it in the comments), but it was one of the above.
Louisette was enthralled:
We playing the Eurovision drinking game – mostly with lollies. This is what we ate in a matter of hours:
And this is how. . .
Drink/Eat for any of the following:
- Any casual racism/country stereotypes
- Any on-stage costume changes
- Anyone pretending to play an instrument
- Three or more nonsense syllables/intelligible English (eg lalala, I wuv oo)
- Use of wind machine
- Anyone dressed all in white
- Key change
- Not quite getting that big note
- Someone winking at the camera
- Obvious technical problems
- Cartwheels and Back-flips. And wire work.
- Awkward jokes
- Presenters /Performers hitting on each other
- Performers/presenters getting drunk before the end
- Michal Jackson inspired moves
- Space/futuristic type costumes
- Silly hats
- Countries voting for their neighbours or obvious political votes
Until next year Eurovision. . . don’t ever change.
*Some North African countries are also involved. And Israel. Why? Because.
Assorted
Video of working difference engine, as designed by Charles Babbage.
Photos taken in India in 1912 (including the royal visit). This is Lal Dighi, Calcutta:
And an article carefully explaining why gravity is a good idea, in memory of a wealthy eccentric.
