The New Trend of Desk Cats

Dillon is always available at home to decorate the office desk whilst blogging (see Blog Writing Gets Sabotaged by Dillon) and while I am at work, there is TC to fill the gap.  Basically a desk is not a desk unless there is a cat sat on it.

TC (or Technical Cat) is the cat who lives on the campus I work on.  He has done for years and he belongs to no one and everyone so leads a happy and healthy life hanging out where and when he choses.  He spends a fair amount of time slouching around in our department and this afternoon he decided that my desk was the place to be, despite the fact that he has his own chair right next to my desk. Perhaps we all need a cat mat now on our desks as well as a mouse mat?!

Basically TC is part of the team and very much loved by all the students and staff alike.  He wants for nothing and is an independent, free spirited cat that knows how to get us humans to work for him.  In return, he keeps the work environment mentally happy and healthy!  I swear he is also responsible for recruiting many a student too as he now seems to be included as part of the tour for prospective students who think it is pretty cool and relaxed of the university to have a cat on its payroll!

A Whole Vegan Avenue

I have been to Germany and it is actually a beautiful country but that was in my youth and to be honest, I haven't had a huge passion to go back since.  However, I might have just found a great excuse. 

Berlin (which I haven't visited) has 16 vegan restaurants and now it is home to the world's first vegan avenue!  Read more about it on the Happy Cow Blog including a very teasing video tour of the world’s largest vegan grocery store chain (Veganz). 

What a Clever Little Kid

If only adults had the same level of awareness as this little one.  I'm hoping his comments went on to influence his mum too.  By the very fact that she was moved to tears, I imagine they did. 

Blog Writing Gets Sabotaged by Dillon

Dillon, the cat from next door, decided that he needed some attention and that this was far more important than any blog post writing.  I couldn't really argue due to the fur covered obstacle in front of the keyboard.  Needless to say I wasn't able to finish the post I was writing until it was time to pop next door and feed him (his dad was away on holiday).

It's "Gone Off"

There's a saying around these parts, that when the surf is really good it is "going off".  For example, "it's going off in Aggie", or "Fistral is going off", etc.  I've never worked out what it is going off of..... the scale maybe?  This phrase has sometimes been the source of much amusement when used sarcastically, especially when the waves are not in fact "going off". 

 

Anyway, after a few good days of favourable wind and swell conditions mid week, the waves have now drifted away to nothing.  The sea resembles a mill pond.  It's a case of going, going, gone.  It doesn't ever get any flatter than this.  It's still beautiful though.

 

 

At first glance these waves below look quite nice, but on closer inspection you realise that they are only 6 inches high.  They're still fun to "mind surf" though, and hopefully there will be some grown up waves breaking here again soon.  Watch this space.

 

 

It's Not Hard to Use Chard

Last Autumn I planted what I remembered to be 'a bit' of chard.  It didn't do huge amounts over Winter but has now proceeded to explode in a rainbow of excess leaving us with the nice 'problem' of finding '101 Ways to Use Chard'.  So far, it's not been that hard; after all chard is tasty stuff. 
 

In the last week we have had two chard culinary creations. 

Firstly we tried 'Chag Aloo'.  If you are a connoisseur of Indian cuisine you would no doubt be aware of the spinach and potato dish of 'Sag Aloo'.  Well we decided to use chard instead of the spinach (Sag) and thus Phil created a 'Chag Aloo'.  The earthy robustness of chard stood up well in this mildly aromatic non-traditional version and it was well worth a repeat for future chard use. 

The second creation was more in my remit of cooking, being the oven baking, Mediterranean cook in our household.  I wanted to create a lasagna using the earthy intensiveness of the chard as one of the layers.  I thought the sweetness of roasted squash, parsnips and carrots, with rosemary chucked in for good measure, would be an interesting complimenting layer.  These layers together, with a 'cheesy' herby sauce on top, combined to make another tasty use of our rainbow chard.
 

Chard and Roast Veg Lasagna - Serves 4
1 parsnip

2 carrots

1 small squash

Few sprigs of rosemary

Olive oil

Salt and pepper
Optional other flavourings (see below)

Big pile of Swiss chard

Bit more oil
Couple big tablespoons of plain flour
Couple of tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes
A few grates of nutmeg
Soya milk (at least a cup)
Splash of balsamic vinegar
Splash of Braggs Liquid Aminos (or soya sauce is okay)

Lasagna sheets
Oregano
Some more nutritional yeast flakes

Chop the veg up into smallish even bits and chuck in a roasting tin with the rosemary, salt, pepper and olive oil.  Roast until soft and slightly browning having stirred a couple of times during cooking.  This usually takes about 30 minutes in our oven at 200 degrees C.  Once cooked, take the bigger sprigs of rosemary out but if any leaves are left in that's all good.  Mash up roughly.  Now at this stage you could add any other flavours in you like.  I added a bit of sun dried tomato paste, a bit of smoked paprika and a wee bit of garlic paste (don't tell Phil!).  Have a rummage in your cupboards and fridge and see if anything you have may add to this mashed concoction.  Be inventive basically.

Meanwhile roughly chop the big pile of chard and pop it into a big pan with a splash of water in the bottom.  Cook on a medium heat, stirring to make sure it isn't sticking, until it has shrunk down and tenderised.  This will only take a few minutes.

Make a cheesy sauce at any point whilst everything else is cooking!  Heat some oil up in a small pan and before it gets too hot, stir in the flour, nutritional yeast and nutmeg until it forms a ball. Cook for a minute stirring constantly then carefully (as it may spit) little by little add in the soya milk.  Keep stirring to incorporate the soya milk each time until the desired thickness is obtained (I'd say the consistency of a pourable custard is about right).  I like to add in a splash of balsamic vinegar and Braggs at this stage.

Now build your creation.  I use a loaf tin but you can build it up or across in a shallower, wider dish if you prefer.  Oil the dish and then put down your first layer of lasagna.  Then add a layer of roast veg, then another lasagna sheet, a layer of chard, and another lasagna sheet.  At this stage I add in a small layer of sauce and then continue with the layers.  Then slather the rest of the sauce on top.  I then stirred in some oregano and additional yeast flakes into this top sauce layer.

Cook for about 30-40 minutes (200 degrees C) until slightly brown on top and bubbly.

Enjoy!

PS.  Whilst the oven is on make the most of it and cook up other delights such as cakes and biscuits.  It's more environmental that way!

Spare a Thought for the Badgers

If you have enjoyed watching the antics of the badgers in our garden, please spare a thought for those not so fortunate badgers who are now facing the badger cull, due to kick off in Somerset and Gloucester soon.

An Opposition Day debate on badger culling as a means of preventing bovine TB will take place in the House of Commons today.

In no shape or form do I agree with the cull.  Science aside, for me culling is immoral.  Would applying the same principal to humans be acceptable to those who agree with the cull and if so then surely humans deserve culling for spreading disease too? 

For more information please visit the link below and watch the video.

http://www.badger.org.uk/Content/Home.asp

The Wave of Disapproval

The weather has been fantastic recently.  Now all we need is good surf.  When I say 'we' I really mean Phil as he is the surfer in the family.  However, as anyone who lives with a surfer will know, no waves means no smiles. 

Northerly onshore winds have seemingly hit our north coast 'forever' (as Phil put it last night) and, with a lack of any sizeable swell, both have conspired to keep Phil from his proper wave fix for a while now.  Let's just say there is currently a distinct wave of disapproval from our household about recent conditions.

I have also noticed a scientific correlation between lack of waves and the sudden urge from Phil to buy a new addition to his quiver of boards.  This is another interesting part of living with a surfer.  Apparently you need a different type of board for all the different types of waves.  Now I understand this to a certain degree.  Longboard equals smaller waves and shortboard equals bigger surf but no, there is much more to it than that I'm told.  This is the reason that anybody contemplating shacking up with a surf dude should prepare themselves for the fact that you will have an assortment of said varieties of boards sprinkled around at least 5 rooms of your house.  The mystery is with why the urge to buy a new board coincides with a period of no waves.  What type of board do you need for that type of wave?  Or is it more a case of lack of surf 'boardom' leading to a sudden rise in surfboard browsing?

The good news is that there is a possible improvement in conditions predicted for tomorrow or Wednesday.  Smiles all round then.  And in the meantime, our bathroom will currently be safe from an expansion of the surfboard collection....for now.



Sunshine good, surf bad



Slugs, Snails and Kitty Cat Tails

So the cabbage seedlings are transplanted into one of our beds now but will they survive?  The weather is currently very favourable and with ample sunshine, water and the occasional seaweed or comfrey feeding there is no reason to doubt this.  However, we have two other particular threats to the survival of these seedlings in the back garden.  One is the slug/snail population that home in on our tasty produce.  The other is next doors cat Dillon.  Don't get us wrong, we love Dillon.  He is a lovely old boy and we even look after him when our neighbour is away.  We just wish he wouldn't then come and repay us by pooing in our vegetable beds.  So the solution? 

Well we use Nematodes for biological control of the slugs and snails.  This is coupled with going out by torchlight to collect the blighters up at night.  We collect them in a bucket, with a tasty assortment of surplus vegetation and then the next day we take them for a drive.  There is some scientific evidence which suggests you have to take them at least a mile away to ensure they do not return so we take them along the end of the headland before releasing them in a slimy but happy pile to explore the wonders of the open land. 

 

As for Dillon, well we have to just erect temporary fences to keep him off of freshly dug beds and just remind him that, although he is welcome to visit for cuddles and reminders of overdue feedings, we would prefer him to find alternative toileting arrangements.  He doesn't seem to mind too much.  Now if only we could purrsuade him to eat the slugs and snails instead of his other carnivorous diet, it might just solve a few issues!

 

 

More Badger Antics

Woke up this morning to discover the bird table leaning against the fence.  Luckily I had the camera set up last night so I could review how this might have come about.  My money was on one of the badgers.  Of course it was!