[passes Pitcher][silent sympathy]
Same here, with the slight variant of being in a thoroughgoing Slough. I did put the fear of God into a canvasser earlier, which was briefly cheering. He won’t do that (on receiving no answer, hammer urgently on the door a second time) again in a hurry. Not sure whether it was my fury or my negligee that frightened him worse, to be honest.
Ooh
An Fury in an Negligible…
Must be worth 10 points, at least
The chain is still on the door at Carinthia Towers
Carinthia.xx
Hmmm. That does not sound like a happy Chatelaine, dere. [Huggity] [discreetly tops up Pitcher]
G xx
I’m ok, really, Gus , just abit weary after a couple of rough nights
Cooking will commence shortly , which will warm things up !
Carinthia.xx
ha! Grate Minds, dere. Making some bread, the remains of the previous loaf having hung around long enough to be going a bit mouldy, which is unusual.
But I then fear that a passing cat might set up as a Sparrer Disposal Operative, and I don’t just mean Mrs B. There’s Patch-Faced Oaf and the Malevolent Tortoiseshell around a lot as well. To be fair to Mrs. B., she gets very angry about crows, pigeons and magpies but I have never seen her bird-hunting. Rodents is another matter [she said bitterly]
Garlic Chicken & Mushroom with Fried Rice here
Carinthia.xx
Hmmmmmm.
We have left over chicken; rice is easy; garlic is good; is there anything to stop me from adding them to each other and frying them?
Nothing at all, Fishy
Don’t cook the rice all the way through if you are going to fry it, unless you like very sticky rice
Carinthia.xx
Can’t think of any insuperable barriers, Fishy, no.
What Carinthia says about the rice applies if you are cooking it fresh for the purpose and using it while still warm. But completely cold, fully cooked rice works fine (that’s just a ‘fer reference’ thing for other occasions. Oh, and cooled cooked rice which is then fried doesn’t generally kill one, although there are those who will tell you that it does…
I wouldn’t believe them, though, unless they can produce evidence that they actually are dead.
Absolutely , Gus
I haven’t killed anyone yet
At least I don’t think so 
I do always keep cooked rice covered, though
Carinthia.xx
Yeah, That Fish usually chucks out rice after about a day, while I’ll eat it for three if it’s been in the fridge.
Boiled rice that’s got cold is the best for frying IME - doing it when it’s still warm doesn’t work well.
Yes, Dunnock
If I am planning fried rice I cook it a bit first, & then let it cool down & dry off
Carinthia.xx
It’s when it is warmed through again and kept warm that it gets Vicious, Hedgers. So we don’t do that unless we hates the guestses…
I am recycliing left-over cauliflower cheese. Boiled a spud, chopped an onion, started making a rudimentary bubble & squeak and have now mixed in the chopped up cc. A dish designed with testing non-stick claims in mind. Baking tomatoes to go with, then I can whack the oven up a bit further to incinerate the bread…
Am going to sound very unimaginative and announce that buggers ‘n’ chips will be appearing tomorrow. In my defence, I would point out that they are currently masquerading as a bag of roosters*, a couple of sirloin steaks, fresh herbs, flour, yeast, olive oil…
Am toying with the idea of some sort of chilli tomato sauce.
*The potatoes, that is, lest anyone thinks we’ve opted for an extreme solution to our galline gender balance issue.
What time should I arrive, joe?
1 tin good quality plum or chopped tomatoes. If plum, mudge them about a bit before starting.
small onion
bayleaf
Muscovado sugar
Soy sauce
White wine, cider or sherry vinegar
Chipotle paste, or yer actual
Ground cumin
sunflower or similar oil
Finely chop the onion, season with salt, and cook v gently in some oil until transparent. Turn up the heat and mix in a good teaspoon powdered cumin and about the same of your vinegar of choice. Stir like mad,chuck in a bayleaf and the whole dried chilli if using, then add the tomatoes, and bring to the boil. Turn it right down and put a lid on the pan and simmer v gently for 15 minutes. Season with chilli paste (unless you did the dried one). soy, muscovado sugar, salt, pepper, and (cautiously) vinegar and continue to simmer gently until thick. You can blitz it for smooth & gloopy or just fish the bayleaf and chilli out. It should be brownish, not bright red, when done. Is nice.
Not that you won’t have your own recipe or that this is particularly groundbreaking. Done without the early simmering, though, and with a bit more cumin and a spot of ground coriander too, this makes a good second-cooking sauce for ribs done in an oven. Not suited to barbecue because it falls off.
