February 2023 – Scribble & Scran

Sun and Snow

Ski Panorama - Grand Motte — Ski Panorama – Grand Motte

Absent for a couple of weeks on the blog, apologies, I’ve been on a small break, checking in barely with my writing. Feeling guilty, but at the same time I know it’s been well earned.

We’ve had 6 blue sky days in the French Alps, a small purpose-built village in the Tignes Resort that seems to have grown organically over the years. Val Claret, a mix of old and new self-catering chalet style accommodation. Literally ski to door. With lifts and a funicular that has had us whisked away to a mountain oasis of white and blue sky.

Each morning, greeted to a space blue, a 7am alarm sees the tip of the great rock that we can see from the window escape from the shadows. It starts with a silhouette of gold and gradually the rock face is golden. Its going to be a good day!

Although this is in the background, the new monolith of a super hotel sits in front of us. We can see folk dashing for breakfast along the corridor that joins the main building. Last year it was but a shell this year a fully functioning machine that’s part of the industry that makes the whole mountain resort possible.

I’ve new boots this year and as of day 6 and I can report that usual foot pain, and weird ankle muscle that I never knew I had, has made no appearance. The usual aches and pains of a fifty-year-old not used to solid exercise day in day out appear gradually. They are welcome and make me feel alive. The niggle in the back ever present. But The tonic of the blue, seeing my sixteen-year-old son and my wife ride the snow like they were born to do it is worth the pain.

We return home to so much growth in the garden, the shift in the light makes me feel like I’ve lost a lot of time, missed some opportunities. The guilt is there in terms of writing, that despite taking my iPad I made no use of the time I had away. The airport was not conducive to work and with 3am starts at both ends the brain really wasn’t functional so I was kidding myself that I might get anything done. I need to forgive myself, and remember I needed to step out of the race for a few days.

Monday morning and the routine begins again, looking at a different mountain, a different demand on my day. I’ve been missed, the projects are really starting to ramp up as we realise March is just around the corner. The professional, the learner in me want’s to dig deep and get into the new technologies. A reading list as long as my arm.

I reach to Notion to try and organise myself, it seems to be on it’s knees at the moment. My brain needs to work fast. A delay in loading pages to sort my actions and calm the panic isn’t happening. Last night I started looking for an alternative. Adding more to my angst. It’s manageable today but I now have doubts.

The doubts fester, they grow and I start thinking about everything I need to get my head round. The back bone of my system failing me is not what I need right now.

Friday, and the Notion delay is really starting to get to me. I feel I’ve spent more time trying to get it to work quickly than the value I’m getting from it. I think I will be resorting to my good old trusty BuJo jotter and OneNote. I can feel a click-bait kind of article coming on. Why I ditched notion for and improved my life by writing stuff down manually. Need to make that snappier 🙂

The weekend has some DIY planned for me, a job that I’ve been stalling on for months. My excuses run dry. It’s a job I don’t think needs doing, replacing a tap that’s already there for one with a shower head. It’s one of those jobs if it’s not broken don’t try to fix type things. I think I’ve been putting it off as I’m scared to touch it!

The #WeekendCoffeeShare is an informal weekly link-up hosted by Natalie the Explorer that serves as weekly heart beat and sort of of a mind-dump. Helps me reflect on my week, with a list of achievements, thoughts and rambles normally whilst drinking a beverage probably listening to music.

2302-05 Coffee Share

If we were having coffee we’d be tucking into a sweet and fudgy Halva Flapjack fresh out the oven. It’s a quick hello today.

Wow, five days into February already, buds are appearing left right and centre. The snowdrops are out in full force and the days definitely feel brighter. Sunday and a longer run today than normal as I had the time, my back is protesting. I’m not so sure about this exercise thing, but it does allow me to tuck into the flapjack!

I finished Dune (Frank Herbert) which has only taken me six months. Once I got going though it was a good read. Not what I was expecting. Can’t wait for the 2nd instalment on film, it might all become clear 😁

A writing piece this week, part of the class I attended. Thought I’d share it:

Spiced Yellow Peas and Chicken

It’s not quite finished and my son has asked me for a Boston Beans recipe. Something I normally cobble together with what we have. I should have written it down! If anyone has a good one, please pass it on 😁

If your a Star Trek fan I couldn’t help myself, Picard Season 3 trailer…wow and the Mandalorian to look forward to:

Picard Season 3 Trailer

Mando 3 Trailer

Spiced Yellow Peas and Chicken

It’s a cold Sunday in January, just that moment in the afternoon where the sky turns grey and then, in an instant, it’s gone dark before you’ve realised. There is a hard frost on the forecast, and something warming is a must. I’m cooking the Sunday night tea, with leftovers assured for a mid-week re-heat.

The night before, I even remembered to soak the split peas, alongside defrosting the chicken thighs that were languishing in the freezer. I smile as I reach for my favourite pan and thank the home cookery gods.

The split pea recipe is based on a find whilst I was snaffling through Persiana Every Day, the cookery book I’d gifted to my wife at Christmas. We’d tried it once as a vegan dish for dinner with friends and then repeated it several times. Adjusting it for the ingredients we had to hand and our meat-eating gym bunny.

As flexitarians we can go either way with this recipe. My son will look at the dish and think chicken. I’ll know it was the pulses, the combination of mild spice, the cauliflower leaves as a back note, the greens for colour and the silky taste of coconut milk combined with tomatoes that makes the difference with this dish.

In the kitchen alone, the tunes go on and before I know it the seeds start to jostle for position like they are sitting on a snare drum and desperate to escape. I add in a little oil, a diced onion, the diced cauliflower leaves that would normally be destined for the compost. They gently sizzle until softened. The diced chicken thigh next on a high heat, constantly turning and mixing through so as to not burn the onions. Then the spice, and in this instance it’s some leftover paste in the fridge but could easily be something from a jar on the spice rack. The aroma of heat, warmth and happiness hits the air.

Another minute as the spices jostle for authority, the pulses are added, a tin of chopped tomatoes, a tin of coconut milk, the stock cube, 300ml of water stirred through and brought to a simmer. The lid is placed on for a good twenty-five minutes or so. Time to organise the cauliflower rice meantime.

There’s a final flourish at the end, the addition of a bag of spinach which will wilt down in a matter of minutes. This time I add shredded kale, placing the lid back on for another five.

I really hope that you try this recipe, it’s a toe in the water with spice, coconut and tomatoes. If you want to tweak it around the edges, change the spiciness then you can. Add a little crushed garlic and ginger at the start. You could use fresh chilli either at the beginning or as a garnish at the end. You can really make this your own, great for re-heating mid-week or tubed up for the freezer and brought out to cheer up that rainy day.

I need to finish it off, actually put the ingredients down etc. The bare bones of the method is there.