tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23187583054170972872024-03-13T17:11:38.760-07:00No More Mondays.If music be the food of love, stand by for a good rogering.Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-40955495495288154182013-06-08T08:48:00.000-07:002013-06-08T08:48:01.403-07:00Get Hooked.Leeds is a good city. A really good city. I've been here (with some brief interludes elsewhere) for just under six years now. I've seen the scene around here change. When I first arrived The Futureheads were making way for The Cribs, whom we all stood in the pouring rain to see play upstairs at The Library. We got drunk on fizzy larger, and overheated, and then staggered home via Pitza Cano. <br />
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The Pigeon Detectives were momentarily cool in the eyes of the nation, but not of Leeds, and I've yet to meet anyone who didn't at some point have to resist the urge to call Ricky Wilson names.</div>
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When I first arrived we spent all our time, and beer money, in the Hyde Park Social Club, and occasionally, just occasionally ventured to the Brudenell. </div>
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In the last couple of years, the scene has changed again, and in the last year, the city has spawned a <a href="http://www.altjband.com/">Mercury Music Prize </a>winning band, and overseen a paradigm shift, towards a multi tonal, multi layered, Phil Spector influenced dense sound with echo's of psychedelia. A guitar generated wah wah wall of sound, a post punk drum beat and a delivery with swagger. This is what Leeds is doing at the moment. And, at the forefront, are <a href="http://parasiticnematode.blogspot.co.uk/">Hookworms.</a> </div>
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<a href="http://parasiticnematode.blogspot.co.uk/">Hookworms </a>are a band about whom it is virtually impossible to find anything about. They don't go by names, only initials, they don't have a biography readily available on any website, and in fact, the website they link to from their twitter account only shows their upcoming tour dates. However, having caught them live at the Brudenell earlier this year, I can say, you don't need to read about the people behind the music, to know that the music is good. There are times where it would be easy to draw comparisons to a post 'Good Vibrarions' Beach Boys, Brian Wilson with a bit less California, or the Yeah Yeah Yeah's with a bit more early 90's Manchester. Theres something in it that feels like its what The Stone Roses could have been. The delivery is not without its punk roots, and the beat makes the entire crowd in a room start to slowly bob. Its not quite dance music (in the Dutch Uncles, go and have a boogie down the front kind of way) but there's no way you couldn't move whilst this band are playing. There'll be no standing and staring into your pint glass whilst this is happening. Its hypnotic, it will really put a smile on your face, you can feel the music resonating through you and its ACE. </div>
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Hookworms are playing on Thursday 4th July with Pissed Jeans at the<a href="http://www.brudenellsocialclub.co.uk/Event/Details/868"> Brudenell Social Club</a>. It promises to be a good night. </div>
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Hookworms can also be found on Sound Cloud, and Radio Tokyo is currently making me very happy.</div>
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<iframe width="100%" height="450" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Fplaylists%2F6103839"></iframe>Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-74193716590029920782012-01-28T07:45:00.000-08:002012-01-28T08:11:55.822-08:00Waxing Lyrical #1I love lyrics. I listen to some truly awful music because the lyrics are so utterly beguiling. I think lyrics, more often than not, make a song. Sometimes its a single line that catches me, other times its the entire formation, like a poem, a short story, set to music. <br />I thought it might be fun to write down the lyrics that have me at any given time. <br />So for today I'll leave you with my current favorite set of lyrics, taken from <a href="http://www.elbow.co.uk/home.html">Elbow's </a>beautiful <span style="font-style:italic;">Scattered Black and Whites</span> from their 2001 album, <span style="font-style:italic;">Asleep In The Back</span> (easily their best album in my opinion.)<br />The lyrics all get me in this one, Guy Garvey weaves his northern sensibilities into the song almost unconsciously. You can picture the scene instantly, and the whole song just makes me want to run home. My favourite lyric in this are the opening lines, they paint the most beautiful scene:<br /><br /><center> Been climbing trees, I've Skinned my knees <br />My hands are black the sun is going down.<br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6U4VgvTCKU4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><br /><br />Why not tell me about your favorite lyrics. Leave a comment or come find me on twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/Zi_ish">@Zi_ish</a>!Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-26557511521279946642012-01-23T09:53:00.000-08:002012-01-23T10:02:12.310-08:00Things I'm excited about #1New el-blog feature: Things I’m excited about. <br />I’m not sure something counts as a feature if you don’t do it with any level of regularity…and I’m not prepared to put a time scale on myself here. Lets be honest, I’m not good with deadlines. <br />Things I’m excited about will pretty much do what it says on the tin. It will tell you things I’m excited about. Mostly in a musical sense. However if I ever manage to buy a pair of shit kicker boots on ebay or eventually cave and get a cat then they might constitute something that I’m excited about and warrant a look in. <br />Anyhoo. This week’s thing I’m excited about is: drum roll please…<a href="http://www.myspace.com/natbaldwin">Nat Baldwin</a>. (Yes more American music, I’m sorry, I’m clearly feeling a bit under the weather at the moment!)<br />Coming to us all the way from Maine; one of those states where I fear that not much other than drinking coffee and being a bit artsy may happen, Nat Baldwin describes his music as experimental and minimalist. His music to my mind is ineffable. Initially it reminds me of Regina Spektor, it has an American collegiate drone to it created by the clever use of a double bass with a clearly improvised wood wind frill around the edges yet its darker that Regina Spektor, there’s no cynicism to it. The other Baldwin’s music is reminiscent of is early Interpol, a really stripped back, minimal sound done in a dark rock-y way not a folk-y way, in the slightest. It’s the kind of music I can imagine east coast college kids lapping up, with REM white label vinyl and original (not re-issued) Smiths records. Get me a beanie and a coffee, because I want in. <br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F12903210"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F12903210" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/western_vinyl/weights-by-nat-baldwin">Weights by Nat Baldwin</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/western_vinyl">western.vinyl</a></span> <br />Nat Baldwin is playing a FREE gig tomorrow night at the <a href="http://www.brudenellsocialclub.co.uk/Event">Brudenell Social Club</a>. I will be there with bells on. Let me know if you’re going!Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-55888592454436373212012-01-21T02:39:00.001-08:002012-01-21T02:54:34.255-08:00Etta James: Thank you, and good night.A voice that could stop traffic, silence a room and bring a tear to the hardest of eyes. One of the definitive voices of modern blues and a total legend to boot. I was bought up with Etta James records. Dad loved the great women of Jazz, and Etta James singing Billie Holiday covers were Sunday afternoon regulars. Personally I loved the more mowtown influenced Etta songs, <span style="font-style:italic;">Tell Mama</span> being a wonderful example of the power of her voice to sing pop songs in almost a 60s girl group style. <br />The thing I loved best about Etta though was how easy it was to believe her. During a phase of crippling unrequited love I must have listened to <span style="font-style:italic;">At Last</span> on repeat for hours, telling myself that one day, "at last my love would come along." When you listen to that song, you can believe Etta, one day everything will be OK. <br />I think there is nothing more glib than a twitter response to the death of a person. "OMG RIP Etta" just isn't going to cut it for this woman who yesterday lost an eighteen month battle with Leukaemia. And so to Etta James, who convinced me so many times that everything would be OK with nothing more than a simple song I say this:<br />Thank you, and good night. <br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zwxM--iDH2c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-192408057326386902012-01-20T05:12:00.000-08:002012-01-20T06:16:14.208-08:00Howling at the moonI sing in the shower. Personally I consider it to be one of my more endearing qualities. This is debatable, my house mate, who is not a morning person, thinks its fucking anti social, however another one of my friends has been known to stand by the door when I'm in the shower and join in with me wailing along to James (Laid...obvs) or Kate Bush (Running up that hill...obvs). Why am I telling you about my shower singing activities? Well. I like a song I can have a good wail along to. Generally I like music that isn't lyrically void, however for singing in the shower one needs to be able to howl. This is where <a href="http://www.thevaccines.co.uk/gb/home/">The Vaccines</a> entered my life. <span style="font-style:italic;">Post Break Up Sex </span> is a song which gives one plenty of room for prancing about in the shower doing ones best Ian Curtis impression (does anyone else hear Joy Division in The Vaccines?) whilst having a good old how to something that is quite frankly lyrically nonsense. I was lucky enough to go and see the Vaccines in Leeds in November, and it was a splendid gig. I drank lots of Jack Daniels and had a good jump up and down in a hot sweaty mosh pit with one of my dearest friends. <br />Whilst watching the vaccines I was lucky enough to see another shower howling band...<a href="http://www.howlerband.com/">Howler</a> describing themselves as a Surf/Trash (contradiction much?) band hailing from Minneapolis I think this band are destined for great things. Their songs are catchy, not lyrically deep, but equally not lyrically void either. If you like your music catchy and bouncy with potential to howl and a nod to Sheffield, Ian Curtis and the Beach Boys all rolled into one then may I suggest you go check them out. <br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lKkcBb4EFQs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />They are also playing at Leeds Cockpit next month. May I recommend them. I'll be there...tickets <a href="https://www.lunatickets.co.uk/event_page.php?event=Howler">HERE</a>!Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-67702638703362051272012-01-19T08:08:00.000-08:002012-01-19T09:14:26.349-08:00Blast from the past...When I was 17 I met a boy. For the record, he was a lovely boy. I don't see as much of him as I would like to any more, I suppose life gets in the way. For a few years we were very much in love. He was ace. The best thing about this boy was that he pushed my musical boundaries. He made me listen to things that had never even entered my frame of reference. He took my love of Green Day and showed me the joys of Skunk Anansie, Live, Radiohead, A, Midget and Therapy? (To name but a few!)Then when life got in the way, and we both moved on and I met someone who hated my taste in music. I spent the next three years speaking to someone every day who thought I only ever listened to miserable music sung by Northerners. So I stopped talking about music. This is not a sob story or a cry for help you understand. This is a simple statement of some facts. <br />Just before Christmas I was in the pub, having a drink with someone I didn't know very well, and I was talking about <a href="http://www.rock-city.co.uk/">Rock City</a>. My musical home. Being from a crappy little town just outside Nottingham I've seen more bands in that place that I'd care to count, I've pulled a pint at the bar, been sick in the corner and fallen asleep in the loo...more than once. Anyway, I digress. I was telling my friend that the last time I was in Rock City I had requested a song by <a href="http://www.therapyquestionmark.co.uk/">Therapy?</a> and had been told that I needed to go downstairs to the "Classic rock" room to hear such songs...What. The. Fuck. In my head Therapy? sounds as fresh as it did in 1994. And in my head, 1994, was not that long ago. It was. However I realised I'd made a new friend for life when the acquaintance I was having a drink with nearly dropped his pint, his face lit up and he exclaimed "you know Therapy? !" I've spent the last three weeks talking about nothing but music with him, going over some serious blasts from the past, and getting very over excited about The Long Pigs (remember them?), Stiff Little Fingers, Midget, Skunk Anansie, Queens of The Stone Age, Iggy and the Stooges, Phoenix and of course, Therapy? <br />I suppose this post is not so much a pontification about what is cool now, or what will be cool in the future (may I direct you all back to my post about <a href="http://nomoremonday.blogspot.com/2011/05/like-busses.html">Michael Kiwanuka?</a>) but about being grateful to those people who formed your taste in music, and value your thoughts about things that are important to you. Its a love letter to standing up and being counted, and loving what you love, regardless of whether anyone else gets it. Just never stop talking about it. What you like is good...because you like it. And fuck everyone else. <br />I suppose this is also a well over due apology and letter of thanks to that boy who met 17 year old Zi, and helped me turn into this. You know who you are, and you did more to help me become who I am than you'll ever know. I'm so glad you're happy. I'm happy too. I'm sorry if I ever hurt you, but as you're mother once said to me, "it'll all come out in the wash." Look after yourself, hug your loved ones extra tight, and lets go out and have a rave soon? Yea?Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-81963590285706784552011-10-17T14:47:00.000-07:002011-10-18T13:20:47.423-07:00New Music: Lindi OrtegaNormally when I go to gigs I take notes. I'm just that kind of girl. Even before I was blogging I would write myself little notes about the songs the headline act had sung and, if deemed worthy, the name of the support act. My notes from last Tuesday's James Vincent McMorrow gig at Leeds City Varieties just say one thing next to the heading support act..."WOW." I bothered to capitalise and everything. It was that good. <br /><a href="http://lindiortega.ca/">Lindi Ortega</a> bought to the beautiful surroundings of the City Varieties her own brand of country-pop-folk that could not only bring a room to a stand still, but it could also make the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Ortega appeared alone, with her signature little red boots and began to wow almost instantly. It's all too easy to compare artists, especially female singer-songwriters. They all seem to get lumped together names as disperate as Alanis Morisette, Emiliana Torrini, Dolly Parton, KT Tunstall and Laura Marling all get chucked around. And frankly its lazy journalism. Although comparisons could be drawn between Ortega and say Dolly Parton and KT Tunstall they are all fairly superficial. Yes, Lindi Ortega is a girl with a guitar, and her music has a country music lilt but her music is all her own. Singing from her own experience about love lost and shoes worn Lindi winds a tale like a country singer of far more advanced years. However as someone who sings opera at sheep when let out of the tour bus Ortega maintains a youthfulness that is so refreshing. She isn't jaded or angry like many of her contempoaries, she's upbeat, quirky, sexy and fun. And most definately worth checking out. <br /><br />Lindi Ortega is playing at The Hope in Brighton, and The Lexington in London next week, unfortunately she hails from Canada and so spends most of her time on the other side of the pond. If you don't get a chance to sample her live go and check out her <a href="http://www.myspace.com/lindimusic">myspace</a> and may I heartily recommend listening to <span style="font-style:italic;">Litte Red Boots</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;"> Little Lie</span>!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/20488448?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/20488448">Lindi Ortega - Little Lie</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/lastgang">Last Gang Records</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-49781161663528316902011-10-16T09:20:00.000-07:002011-10-17T05:24:05.277-07:00Live Music: James Vincent McMorrow at Leeds City Varieties<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqB0COEmkSO5eq_QpyWZwpcLs_7thEg0W3mQSsg0rv46jrdPxcN4TZTeq157f5Mo1C9ViPisgd163SoiTbmiHFpGBwKFk86p1IA4DrgGaFi55ENiq9OfWds_UQlOSb3mt72Ju9tKrc6bU/s1600/photo+%252825%2529.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqB0COEmkSO5eq_QpyWZwpcLs_7thEg0W3mQSsg0rv46jrdPxcN4TZTeq157f5Mo1C9ViPisgd163SoiTbmiHFpGBwKFk86p1IA4DrgGaFi55ENiq9OfWds_UQlOSb3mt72Ju9tKrc6bU/s320/photo+%252825%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664125535778511746" /></a><br />In the last couple of years my life has changed almost beyond recognition. Three years ago, almost to the day I embarked on the most terrifying chapter of my life to date. I packed up my life in Leeds, with less than four weeks notice, and moved to Limerick. I was following my dream of an academic career and I did what had to be done. I was offered a position, so I booked a ferry, packed up and fucked off. A year ago, almost to the day, I returned home to Leeds. I was having a break down in Limerick, I was terribly lonely, and I needed to get away. That said, I've come a long way in the last few years and my experiences in Limerick weren't all bad. I met some wonderful friends, I started the PhD I am now in the process of finishing and I think I know myself much better. I'm much more comfortable in my own skin. <br />Limerick was not only an academic education, it proved to be something of a musical education. I've always enjoyed Irish singer-songwriters, but I've never been close enough to the source to get on the train early...if you know what I mean! However, when I was in Limerick I spent vast amounts of time trawling the listings at Dolan's Warehouse for gigs and band names and new music. One of the true diamond's of that trawling was <A HREF="http://www.jamesvmcmorrow.com/">James Vincent McMorrow. <br /></A> <br />I first saw James play upstairs in Dolan's about two years go. There can't have been more than about 30 people there and James was very much a one man band. His nerves were obvious, there was very little banter, but his music spoke for itself. A beautiful, haunting, rendition of songs he had written and recorded himself locked away in a house in the outskirts of Dublin. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfXRaXdptVy6NBDt1_AixnZMjEBqoLx6ZlRGH7gBSxurqu06PnvSBShxAW9mETydin38H7tYazKFch1_4SmRC_cjUJQ7mDtCS_gPs7Rxv4zLahSwVQeLmUEFOaIumm4ZFsPkq9EYwb3q0/s1600/photo+%252824%2529.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfXRaXdptVy6NBDt1_AixnZMjEBqoLx6ZlRGH7gBSxurqu06PnvSBShxAW9mETydin38H7tYazKFch1_4SmRC_cjUJQ7mDtCS_gPs7Rxv4zLahSwVQeLmUEFOaIumm4ZFsPkq9EYwb3q0/s320/photo+%252824%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664125368932511282" /></a><br />On Tuesday evening I was lucky enough to see what a difference two years make. Leeds City Varieties played host to James along with a full band. The City Varieties, like James and I, have come a long way in the last four years. The venue closed not long after I first came to Leeds for a full refurbishment. Dilapidated, run down and generally failing the City Varieties received Lottery Funding and along with an awful lot of fund raising they have managed to return the building to its former glory. One of the oldest surviving examples of a Victorian Music Hall the renovations have been done with great sympathy with the addition of a very modern box office Leeds has gained (or re-gained as the case may actually be) a wonderful addition to its live venues. Being greeted by enthusiastic box office staff and shown to our (extremely comfortable) seats in the stalls by an usher in a dinner jacket with a white carnation just added to the experience. Add to this the inclusion of a bar and a wonderful acoustic to the room and I'm sold. <br />Any how, I digress. I will talk about James' superb support act Lindi Ortega at a later date (she deserves a post all of her own, and I need to do my research) so I'll get on with the main event: James Vincent McMorrow. McMorrow appeared on the stage with an accompanying band and was utterly engaging from the off. The band, comprising of a bassist, a guitarist/banjo player, a mandolin player/pianist, a keyboard player and a drummer/percussionist gave McMorrow a confidence he lacked earlier. Time, acclimatisation and some back up obviously suits McMorrow as he proceeded to wind his way through a 14 track set including two cover songs and a comprehensive selection from his début album Early in The Morning. In addition to songs though, there was craic and a lack of the almost oppressive nervousness that so obviously plagued McMorrow the last time I saw him. The songs sounded so much more up beat with a band that the meaning of the album almost changed. The songs became less melancholic and more celebratory. It was truly awesome to see! McMorrow captured the audience and stunned them into silence. He talked about how Bono gets everywhere in Irish music, and about how you never make eye contact with Prince (who apparently used to employ a guy to catch his guituar in the 80s!)and seemed so relaxed on the stage. It seems that time and practice has made McMorrow confident but not cocky and although the songs on the album feel like they chenged on this tour, the change was certainly not detrimental. <br />In short if James Vincent McMorrow can sell out a US tour he should sell out a UK tour four times over. His music is beautiful, he plays in beautiful venues and this really is a name to watch. <br /><br />Set List:<br />1) Sparrow And The Wolf<br />2) And If My Heart Should Somehow Stop<br />3) This Old Dark Machine<br />4) Hear the Noise<br />5) Breaking Hearts<br />6) Down the Burning Ropes<br />7) We Are Ghosts<br />8) Higher Love - Steve Linewood cover recorded for Headstrong and all proceeds donated.<br />9) Early in the Morning<br />10) Follow You Down To The Red Oak Tree<br />11) From the Woods!!<br />12) We Don't Eat<br />13) If I had a Boat<br />ENCORE:<br />14) Wicked Game - Chris Isaack's Cover. Truely beautiful.Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-10196607235107013252011-10-10T14:06:00.000-07:002011-10-10T14:06:30.178-07:00Going to the mattresses...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQi9D9hQx7pFj_ng0tURR560Bd96tDDR2Pmn8cN-WOPR5eyCQtoBH1ee3gURKL3x0EXfYtbwqIDmCv4OiqvNAw3ffYuVMhszZ0m9OiZ-qbYhtz0ki4rHMGLtN6eVXHEe9CSymKKQz2TQ/s1600/photo+%252823%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQi9D9hQx7pFj_ng0tURR560Bd96tDDR2Pmn8cN-WOPR5eyCQtoBH1ee3gURKL3x0EXfYtbwqIDmCv4OiqvNAw3ffYuVMhszZ0m9OiZ-qbYhtz0ki4rHMGLtN6eVXHEe9CSymKKQz2TQ/s320/photo+%252823%2529.JPG" /></a></div>I've never seen <i>The Godfather</i>. I've also haven't seen most of the <i>Star Wars</i> films, and frankly I find the plot gaps in <i>Back to the Future</i> so utterly frustrating I can barely tolerate it. These are the reasons for my unannounced and unplanned hiatus: I am CRAP at boy things. Needless to say whilst dealing with boy related crap I've not really felt like eating (although project "thin for Christmas" is going well) and keeping up with music hasn't really been on the top of my list. Nor has doing laundry. Ahem. But I'm back now, and I'm on it.
Coming up on the blog this month:
<a href="http://www.myspace.com/hhymn">Hhymn</a>
<a href="http://www.myspace.com/scottmatthewsmusic">Scott Matthews</a>
<a href="http://www.myspace.com/sambrookes">Sam Brookes</a>
<a href="http://www.myspace.com/jamesvmcmorrow">James Vincent McMorrow</a>
<a href="http://www.myspace.com/deathcabforcutie">Death Cab For Cutie</a>
How to shop like a student but live like a king and some grown up cocktails to deal with heartbreak.
Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-47221002629965766452011-08-15T11:09:00.000-07:002011-08-15T11:46:41.910-07:00Just a matter of time...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFvawCMMQ6SeSh-CpWxXZTPrXt6d7FtKZz-hC2j1VE-NT77eyZgDcvaKALWfkkH41GXvEPj1fGktsR_3_zFMk3P6xzZyWrChWmdlk6wPHfS5AM3v-bqOMn1kBeY7k5tcFcCfjTi8IGRE/s1600/elliott+morris+by+chris+vaughn.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFvawCMMQ6SeSh-CpWxXZTPrXt6d7FtKZz-hC2j1VE-NT77eyZgDcvaKALWfkkH41GXvEPj1fGktsR_3_zFMk3P6xzZyWrChWmdlk6wPHfS5AM3v-bqOMn1kBeY7k5tcFcCfjTi8IGRE/s320/elliott+morris+by+chris+vaughn.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641149726419603042" /></a> <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/lincolnshire/hi/people_and_places/music/newsid_8815000/8815393.stm">Photo: Elliott Morris by Chris Vaughan </a>
<br />I'm rubbish at playing the guitar, I don't like practising, and to be honest, learning things takes patience, something I am wholly without. However occasionally I come across something that will make me try to play until my fingers bleed. (Yes I have a blister on my little finger...Dire Straits reference go me!)
<br />I was lucky enough to spend some time hanging around the BBC introducing stage in the Quarry tent at YNOT? festival last weekend and found a couple of gems, that pushed me to wanting to play to blister level.
<br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/elliottmorris">Elliott Morris</a> was one such gem. I was captivated when Morris took to the stage alone and proceeded to provide not only his own guitar music but by deft changes from playing the neck of the guitar, striking its body and stamping his feet Morris managed to provide the aural illusion that there was an entire band on stage. It really has to be seen to be believed. Seemingly long gone are the days of learning three chords and starting a band; Morris is joining a tradition of talented guitar-playing songwriters that precede him. Morris names the likes of Frank Turner and Andy Roach as influences, and the Newton Faulkner comparisons are almost too easy to make but what Morris brings to the party is a youthfulness and a raw talent that cannot be underestimated. He's the kind of musician that makes you go home, pick up your guitar and play until your fingers bleed.
<br />Morris' songs are catchy, better live than on tape and he is totally worth checking out. May I recommend heading over to his <a href="http://www.myspace.com/elliottmorris">MySpace</a> (nope, not dead yet) page and checking out Man On Wire.
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<br />For now I think I'll stick to the three chords I know, keep trying to start a band and leave the good stuff up to the experts. Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-89751569201314342862011-08-12T05:50:00.000-07:002011-08-14T09:17:22.418-07:00Festival Season<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr8dHhV7DzjUTVYcAKxt9nhfrViELRTvdx2SiEx6GracxiltL-n3gs7-LPXsUa29CVzo-7xPAK0y74u7L4dxZopRKKKTct4d3DDTzFaxNXEQCNHhseKO96ry2Uty7koVmHg7eFCtjsitE/s1600/photo+%252822%2529.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr8dHhV7DzjUTVYcAKxt9nhfrViELRTvdx2SiEx6GracxiltL-n3gs7-LPXsUa29CVzo-7xPAK0y74u7L4dxZopRKKKTct4d3DDTzFaxNXEQCNHhseKO96ry2Uty7koVmHg7eFCtjsitE/s320/photo+%252822%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639952008174218482" /></a>
<br />At last count I have been to eight or nine different festivals. I'm always on the search for the ultimate festival.
<br />Obviously certain festivals remain classics, however I'm not normally organised enough to get myself tickets for a festival ten months in advance, pay £200 for said ticket and travel half way across the country. I'm just not that kind of girl. I like things a bit more off the cuff, nearby and most of all cheap. The 'boutique' festivals have been popping up throughout the country, and until this year have done little to hold a torch to the bigger festivals in my opinion. Lattitude became a turn off last year, it just suddenly felt a bit over large, a bit too commercial, and frankly it sold out too early in the year. My friend C and I went in search of an alternative, and having examined the line ups we decided on <a href="http://www.hopfarmfestival.com/home.aspx#/home.aspx">Hop Farm</a>, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Blondie...SOLD. We trekked down to Kent for what should have been an amazing festival, and instead spent three days in a field that was over full, the water ran out, and the beer was expensive. I should have expected it, Vince Power did after all make his name organising the corporate wonderlands that are Reading and Leeds but the event seemed to be more about selling tickets and less about the weekend. That and Kent is a bloody. long. way. away. Also, the main stage was AWESOME, but to be quite frank the smaller stages were nothing exciting. So this year the search began again. Which is what led us to <a href="http://www.ynotfestivals.co.uk/">YNOT?</a>
<br />I don't like abbreviations, or text speak, but for YNOT? I'll make an exception. It is a gem of a festival. Small, cheap and with a brilliant line-up. Tickets were £65, beer was £3.50, T-shirts were £12 and it was fantastic. Set in the picturesque Derbyshire countryside, in between Ashbourne and Matlock Bath about an hour and a half from Leeds. It was honestly one of the most lovely festival sites I've ever seen, rolling fields, sheep and cows, two small stages in top hat tents, one large outdoor stage, and loads of tee-pees and smaller tents, hiding an acoustic stage, ska tent, story telling tent and loads of other things.
<br />Music wise I've got loads of reviews coming, I saw some amazing acts, and the various stages did not disappoint. The line up on the main stage was phenomenal including Feeder, Maximo Park, Admiral Fallow, Miles Kane, and the Rifles to name but a few. The Quarry tent and Allotment Stage were both fantastic. The Quarry was headlined by Beadryman and Dananananakroyd and the Allotment comprised of local bands with a series of unsigned acts. What the organisers had done really well was make sure the bands all fitted together on each stage. There was the added bonus of a BBC introducing stage and who can resist a late night white-girl bogle session to the taped delights of Aswad and Bob Marley in a reggae tent?! In short this was the best festival I've ever been to, and has re-kindled my faith in small local festivals. After the Hop Farm debacle I was sceptical, but YNOT? proved that it can be done, and three thousand people in a field is enough.
<br />With the festival scene getting more and more cluttered it is these festivals that need to be looked after, and attended. The truely splendid Beacons festival had to cancel this year due to adverse wether conditions on site (it looks like a swimming pool) and as such they are holding vatious fund raiser gigs all over Leeds. Check out their <a href="http://www.facebook.com/beaconsfestival?ref=ts">facebook</a> page for more information, I've got my eye on Willy Mason tonight at a Nation of Shopkeepers! And for next year, may I recommend YNOT? and Beacons for two truely awesome North of the M4 corridor boutique festivals.
<br />Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-16214646256879655152011-08-12T04:39:00.000-07:002011-08-12T05:21:35.400-07:00Get Lucky.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJR-hzwoZtPrxn9xyQWRwC8gLShbhHOJ8nKdvgxh7iBX7ZHQpV8rC2mbd6wknW1ViH9gLj4vWyOUiw6qa_Lb5GNE0eosLTwqqt0ZH47rnql743ugnS1YYZcqE2qGo0QR3Oju-Wjk7cCZ8/s1600/photo+%252821%2529.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJR-hzwoZtPrxn9xyQWRwC8gLShbhHOJ8nKdvgxh7iBX7ZHQpV8rC2mbd6wknW1ViH9gLj4vWyOUiw6qa_Lb5GNE0eosLTwqqt0ZH47rnql743ugnS1YYZcqE2qGo0QR3Oju-Wjk7cCZ8/s400/photo+%252821%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639935376467336050" /></a>
<br />What on earth is more important than memories?
<br />I'm lucky, I have some amazing memories, summer afternoons spent lounging in the sun, particularly good red wine, good meals out with friends, driving and laughing in the sunshine, university, holidays, places I've been, people I know. And music, it's all intertwined with music. Impending co-habitation has meant that I've cleared out and organised my record collection. It all went a bit <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Fidelity_(novel)">High Fidelity</a> for a couple of days. There were CDs and records EVERYWHERE. They were laying on every available surface and there were arguments, BIG arguments about what order they ought to be kept in. You see, my record collection is somewhat extensive, and it hasn't been organised properly since I left Aberystwyth four years ago. Organising your records isn't something you do when you are expecting to live somewhere different every three months. Until now I've not really been settled in one place for a while. However it is high time I sorted things out.
<br />Himself doesn't really own any physical music, I think he jumped on the download wagon and has never looked back, so this is MY record collection, because I don't really understand downloaded music. Some quite heated discussions were had on how the collection ought to be ordered, and what, if anything, ought to be given away. With some helpful advice it was decided that the collection should be ordered alphabetically, by surname as they would in any self respecting record store. The idea of ordering the record collection chronologically was mooted, my friend J said he liked chronological as records got to live with the records they first lived with in the bag on the way home from the record store. That however struck me as a little too far, (and I'm sure J won't mind me saying...odd) and the only person who is going to remember that I bought Ryan Adam's - Gold at the same time as I bought the digital remaster of Dylan's - Blood On The Tracks is me.
<br />The real cut and thrust of this post is actually a confession. I can remember where, and why, I bought every one of those CDs and records. Every one means something to me and I own some truely awful tripe because of this. Daniel Beddingfield's - Gotta Get Thru This album reminds me of a holiday I took with the Venture Scouts in Cornwall aged 16, and no, its not good music, in fact, its shit. Grade A cack. But I personally love it. James Blunt's second album - All The Lost Souls bought when I was frankly old enough to have no excuse has the song on it 1973. This song was playing on the radio when one of my dear friends announced he was getting married. And for some reason the lyric <span style="font-style:italic;">As time goes by I will always be in a club with you in 1973</span> stuck in my head, and I had to own the album. Baz Lurhman's - Sunscreen, equally cheesy, but if I ever need a voice of reason, it is somehow carried in that song. I'd like to point out at this point I do own some fantastic music, and all of that has meaning too, but for that I feel no guilt. The thing that made me feel lucky was explaining to Himself why I wasn't going to part with anything from my record collection, NOTHING, AT ALL because it all had memories attached, even the utter crap. I have some good memories, and a good record collection to remind me of it. Despite the guilty pleasures.
<br />So go on. Tell me what in your record collection counts as a guilty pleasure, why you love it, and why you wont get rid of it....Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-53886182896157066012011-07-21T12:36:00.000-07:002011-07-21T13:21:56.090-07:00Ultimate Brownies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSGw8KNWk7-3LFhIecEg6bEngA4kMzta0V50ez-ifgrk9lFhXlm65joRYjuP7qQoV_lZL0E1VchJyKZve-xy2Rn-8eivl2rat_mDApajYnkf365ATklEapJaUD4XZjZ8P3z7bWSvTla14/s1600/278246_572755374577_309600281_2631613_2771442_o.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSGw8KNWk7-3LFhIecEg6bEngA4kMzta0V50ez-ifgrk9lFhXlm65joRYjuP7qQoV_lZL0E1VchJyKZve-xy2Rn-8eivl2rat_mDApajYnkf365ATklEapJaUD4XZjZ8P3z7bWSvTla14/s400/278246_572755374577_309600281_2631613_2771442_o.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631893420408126738" /></a><br />I've found Nirvana. Not the band. (I found the band quite a long time ago.)<br />I've found brownie Nirvana. Proper dense, fudge-y, no messing, gooey brownies. Now I've not got much of a sweet tooth, I love chocolate and sweets, but to be honest, cake is something that happens with tea at 4pm if I've got company. I do however make an odd exception. And a good gooey brownie is one of them.<br />Brownies are currently fuelling my PhD, my word count and waistline are expanding under their influence. But with all this brownie munching, I thought it was about time I put the effort into sorting the ultimate brownie.<br />The following recipe is based on Nigel Slater's recipe from The Observer in 2004. With some additions and deviations of my own.<br />First things first though. Don't mess about with nuts. Seriously, fucking nuts in a gooey brownie, I don't want crunch, I want gooey chew. <br />Secondly, I know two packets of Rolos seems excessive, but honestly, by the time you've eaten a sneaky couple out of the packet whilst you chop, you need two packets. And the more you put in, the chewier the brownie.<br /><br />2 Packs of Rolos, chopped into quarters. (Yes, laborious, yes, worth it.)<br />300g sugar<br />250g butter (melted)<br />200g dark chocolate (melted)<br />50g chocolate (any, white makes a nice change) chopped into small bits.<br />3 large eggs plus 1 extra egg yolk (beaten)<br />50g flour<br />70g finest quality cocoa powder<br />½ tsp baking powder<br /><br /><br /><br />Warm the oven to 180°C. <br /><br />Line a roasting tin with grease proof paper. Leave some paper up the sides of the tin you can use to lift the brownies out with after cooking. You need to line the tin, these are wet brownies, and don't come out of the tin easily. <br /><br />Melt the butter, and mix it up with the sugar. Don't arse about with beating the sugar into hard butter, just melt it. It makes things gooier!<br /><br />Then it is as simple as chucking all the other ingredients into the bowl, finishing with the chocolate chunks and chopped Rolos. Mix everything together well. <br /><br />Chuck it into the oven for about 30 mins. The brownie will fail the cake test, a skewer won't come out clean. What you are looking for is a cracked top, and a middle that isn't totally liquid. <br /><br />Remove from the oven and leave to cool. As the brownie cools it shrinks a little and gets gooier. They are lovely warm, or cold. Really chewy. <br /><br />As Nigel suggests they are good festival fodder , you should get 16 small ish brownies out of this mix. <br /><br />Enjoy, and thank me later.Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-77987983516680946152011-07-12T06:58:00.000-07:002011-07-12T07:29:17.763-07:00Why 'friendly local fishmongers' get on my tits....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggyMIbvw-PP5hR1qooRGqESGEjLMjfV1Ur7kk7Ral-TiFpxH36Bo_u7EC-wtwKHO41NY48QZ79PBr5xRkh46HT23cx8dz1r_x5RBMfZ3Jq7-MXRkxv5FEk1dXnuTz6MNP0WrFPRsPqp8w/s1600/Iphone+May-July+136.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggyMIbvw-PP5hR1qooRGqESGEjLMjfV1Ur7kk7Ral-TiFpxH36Bo_u7EC-wtwKHO41NY48QZ79PBr5xRkh46HT23cx8dz1r_x5RBMfZ3Jq7-MXRkxv5FEk1dXnuTz6MNP0WrFPRsPqp8w/s400/Iphone+May-July+136.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628471788825074066" /></a><br />I'm trying to eat more fish. I eat plenty of vegetables, enough fruit to keep the government off my back, but to be honest I just can't be arsed with fish. Unless it's deep fried and comes wrapped in greasy paper. I've spent too long in Yorkshire to spend time fucking about with gutting fish when really all I want is it battered and served with chips. <br />According to Jamie Oliver (don't get me started on that twat) "fish is easy" and according to Hugh Fearnley-Wasshis-Chops we should all be eating the less endangered species in British water, and making sure the likes of Woof, Mackerel, Coley, Gurnard, Pollock, (I could go on...) are up there in our minds with the likes of Cod and Haddock as perfectly lovely fish. And the fact is, they are perfectly lovely fish. However, more often than not in order to get these perfectly lovely fish, one has to go to a fish monger. I don't have a "friendly local fishmonger." I don't really want one. I have a spotty teen in the local Morrisions whom I've finally plucked up the courage to talk to; because you see this is my other problem with fish, it takes courage.<br />I'm a student, admitedly with an income, but lets be honest, I don't shit money. When I go to the supermarket, more often than not I pick up the pre-packaged meat because it has a sticker on it telling me excactly how much it is going to cost when I get it to the till. I buy my offal from the local butcher with whom I've lost all pretence and who knows I'm only going to buy something if its cheap or if its a special occasion. I don't object to spending money on food, what I object to is asking for two bits of Tuna to make a posh Tuna Nicoise and being informed once its been cut and wrapped I just spent £6 a head on fucking TUNA. JESUS! <br />Anyway I digress. I wanted to talk about Mackrel. <br />Mackerel is cheap, honest, and tasty. For dinner for himself and I I bought two Mackerel from afore mentioned spotty teen in Morrisons, he took the heads off and gutted them for me, and charged me no more than £2. Bargain. I didn't have to fuck about with gutting them, or spend a fortune. <br />I then cooked the Mackerel really simply.<br />I made two parcels out of tin foil, chucked a Mackrel into each, followed by salt, and plenty of pepper and about a teaspoon of Balsamic vinegar. I then chucked this in the oven. For about 20 mins at about 200 degrees celsius. <br />Job done.<br />I then served this with couscous, roasted vegetables and cucumber ribbons (cut with a potato peeler). The Balsamic vinegar reduces a bit and gives the Mackerel the beginnings of a soused (pickled) taste. Yum Yum.<br />If you dish it up like I have in the photo it looks more impressive than it really is, you could fillet the Mackerel and cook it in the same manner, but like I said, I'm just lazy.Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-19261691123883346182011-06-13T09:09:00.000-07:002011-06-13T11:03:55.375-07:00She looked at him and he felt a spark...Following last week's <a href="http://lesourier.blogspot.com/2011/06/leaving-without-gold.html">Roddy Woomble</a> post I was sent a few links to things by a couple of promotions and management companies, asking me to have a listen, see if there is anything I liked. I spend a hideous amount of time scouting around the internet looking for things I like the sound of. And truth be told I've heard some fucking awful shit lately. I mean worse than the angst filled teenage crap I used to write when I was 14, fat, and nowhere near funny enough.<br />I blame "nu-folk", we weathered the "nu-metal" and the "nu-rave" storms, and now, in a world where everything has been done before, folk is apparently the next victim. There is a new vogue for pop songs, ballads, sung with an acoustic guitar under the banner of folk. And frankly most of it is bloody awful. However, one thing I was sent by a management company stood out last week. <br /><a href="http://www.danwilde.net">Dan Wilde</a> hailing from Blackpool (of all the gin-joints) is clearly well versed in his folk and blues heritage. There is a very Irish singer-song writer sound about his music, and love it or hate it, it works. His songs would not sound out of place with the likes of Damien Rice and although less ethereal than James Vincent McMorrow I can't help but feel that with time he will get there. <br />Go check out his website and have a listen on <a href="http://open.spotify.com/artist/0ovN7WB9abD7KVAGvL2XuQ Dan Wilde">Spotify</a><br />but most of all make sure you check out his beautiful version of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dylan">His Bobness'</a> <span style="font-style:italic;">Simple Twist of Fate.</span><br /><iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MA54QCzHoW8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />This version is taken from <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Younger-Than-That-Now/dp/B004US3AZU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307987677&sr=1-1">Younger Than That Now</a> a collection of Bob Dylan songs covered by various artists in celebration of Dylan's 70th Birthday. It is magnificent.Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-78980693476160590682011-06-07T07:49:00.000-07:002011-06-07T09:08:40.255-07:00You, Me and The Bougeosie<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIS08jhyphenhyphenxu2W4gSJJ-RQwAfH6EI-iyVYwiBIAp6knLPqd2IdkrhCIoDBPnUK6hqFNE1M2zCexcP5VJ_R2RzGQOm3hV9pmJNLHxx3-LRhW4Yl7Sw4a5sTW8ka0LZstulO_hYNRgOmPf9E/s1600/photo+%252818%2529.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIS08jhyphenhyphenxu2W4gSJJ-RQwAfH6EI-iyVYwiBIAp6knLPqd2IdkrhCIoDBPnUK6hqFNE1M2zCexcP5VJ_R2RzGQOm3hV9pmJNLHxx3-LRhW4Yl7Sw4a5sTW8ka0LZstulO_hYNRgOmPf9E/s400/photo+%252818%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615509143192869746" /></a><br />The summer is upon us. Wimbledon is around the corner and the Great British weather is playing its usual tricks. The garden is in full bloom, and nothing makes the dinner table unless it is full of vegetables and sunshine. The following recipe is a wonderful accompaniment to a summer salad, turning a plate of "rabbit food" as himself so happily calls it into a meal that will satisfy even his appetite for things dunked in butter and cholesterol. <br /><br />Garlic Dough Balls:<br />The following recipe serves 4 with a main meal or 6 for pre dinner nibbles. They are perfect served warm with the accompanying butter but also great with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dunk them in.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHVXbenwy-NE5Ynb1lltdeBlLoDvvn9NqMqtxmQaR9BdunWCYAIpR5xB9MTcOe22iwO7k8Qh2FQkQtC-OuZeX2KhsEpa34YoxBfGV4Qy6zH6TT3_5f3pv8ZQFODQXZmj2v6obESDptBv4/s1600/photo+%252817%2529.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHVXbenwy-NE5Ynb1lltdeBlLoDvvn9NqMqtxmQaR9BdunWCYAIpR5xB9MTcOe22iwO7k8Qh2FQkQtC-OuZeX2KhsEpa34YoxBfGV4Qy6zH6TT3_5f3pv8ZQFODQXZmj2v6obESDptBv4/s400/photo+%252817%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615124135064920466" /></a><br /><br /><br />250g plain flour (nothing special, I just use the value stuff)<br />1/2 tsp yeast<br />1/2 tsp salt<br />1/2 tsp sugar<br />2 tsp olive oil<br />140ml warm water (I use about 40ml boiled water added to cold water in a jug.)<br /><br />Mix everything in a bowl.<br />Add the water little by little, you may need a little more, you may need a little less. <br />When it all comes together as a smooth dough knead for about five minutes. The dough will change in texture whilst you are doing this. <br />Once kneaded leave the dough in an oiled bowl in a warm place covered with a damp cloth. <br />The dough can be left to rise for as little as 20 mins or all afternoon. The longer you leave it the better as the yeast has more chance to do its magic.<br /><br />Once risen you can separate the dough into 16 balls, or 8 sticks and put on an oiled baking tray. This recipe also makes brilliant pizza bases. <br />If making pizza you don't need to let the dough rise again, otherwise leave the dough somewhere for about 10 mins, (or more if you have time!) Then all you need to do is chuck them in a pre heated oven (180 degrees C) for 10-15 minutes until they are golden brown on the outside.<br /><br />I serve these with garlic and herb butter:<br />2tbs Butter<br />1 tbs Mixed fresh herbs, Basil is particularly good, also oregano, rosemary, you get the idea<br />Drizzle Olive oil<br />2-4 cloves garlic (we like LOTS of garlic, but its a personal thing)<br />Couple of grinds of salt and pepper.<br />Chuck everything in a bowl, and mix it up. Perfect for dunking.<br /><br /><br />Continuing the theme of summer I said in my <a href="http://lesourier.blogspot.com/2011/06/live-music-mountain-goats-brudenell.html">post </a>about The Mountain Goats Live at the Brudenell recently that the support act <a href="http://www.myspace.com/thesubmarines">The Submarines</a> deserved a post all of their own. I was originally sceptical having heard heard that The Submarines provided songs not only for iPod/Phone adverts but also a song for the Nip/Tuck sound track. Most American sound track fodder makes me feel a little ill. I remember the hype for the O.C sound track, and all that really brought us was The Fray and a feeling in the stomach that one only really gets from having eaten too many sweets. However I was pleasantly surprised by The Submarines. California based John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard form a wonderful male/female vocal that is just quintessentially summery but not saccharine. With surf rock undertones evident the lyrical content make The Submarines thoroughly more interesting. You, Me and the Bourgeoisie is perhaps their most well known track, the chirpy melody but with a darker lyric is infectious. Hazards vocal us unfalteringly beautiful both live and on record, and Dragonetti doesn't fail to deliver supporting Hazard's leading vocal with a beautiful backing and utterly wonderful guitar playing. <br />Their music is undeniably American, and not strictly deep or unusual, the riffs and choruses come where one would expect them, but the songs are up beat, and summery. And when the weather will do what it will, summer may well have to be found in music.Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-5321700911486320492011-06-06T09:15:00.000-07:002011-06-06T09:38:42.353-07:00Leaving Without GoldI <span style="font-weight:bold;">LOVE </span><a href="http://www.roddywoomble.com/">Roddy Woomble</a>. LOVE LOVE LOVE. I've seen Idlewild more times than I care to remember, they played in Woolaton Park in 2002 when I was a teenager. I had seen Idlewild before then, but hearing American English sung in the pouring rain on an otherwise glorious sunny day will stay with me as one of my all time favorite live experiences. Any way. I digress. I just wanted to flag up the video from Woomble's latest offering:<br />Leaving Without Gold.<br /><iframe width="480" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/x3g4D43_yR0?fs=1" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen=""></iframe><br /><br />This single is out now to download, but personally I would just go out and get the wonderful new album <span style="font-style:italic;"> The Impossible Song and Other Songs</span> from your local friendly record vendor. You will not regret it! Generally more mellow than Idlewild's offerings, Woomble's solo endeavours are no less beautiful, and his roots in folk music increasingly apparent. Woomble is first and foremost a poet. I was once told by friends that they thought he would have remained a poet, but music was his way of bringing his poetry to a wider audience. This is poetry in motion, and it is utterly captivating.Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-23438938374943446532011-06-05T10:15:00.001-07:002011-06-05T11:26:40.659-07:00Live Music: Anais Mitchell, Brudenell Social Club, Leeds 31st May 2011"This feels like story time at the library" - the opening words of <a href="http://www.myspace.com/anaismitchell">Anais Mitchell</a> when stepping onto the stage at the Brudenell Social Club. And indeed she was right, there was an element of 'story time' about the evening. The audience, myself and my friends included, had begun to fill the lower floor of the Brudenell Social Club during the support acts, not standing, and staring meaningfully at our shoes, as is oft the case at a folk gig, but sitting on the floor. Sitting and staring intently, wondering if we ought to stand up, but secretly wishing we could remain sat, nursing our pints (there is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Stripe">Red Stripe</a> on tap after all)and being told stories. Our wish was granted. Mitchell seemed more than happy with the sitting arrangement and began to tell us stories immediately.<br />Anais Mitchell, the American singer song writer and folky extraordinaire was preceded in the evening by two support acts. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/samaireymusic">Sam Airey</a> and <a href="http://www.myspace.com/thisispengillys">Pengilly's</a>. Pengilly's were in all honesty not my cup of tea. Although musically very worthy, there was just too much going on. The sound was off and there were far too many instruments and vocal lines produced by the six strong band, comprising of two guitarists, a drummer, cellist, at times two violin players and someone with a key board. On second listening to their myspace offerings I understand the music they were trying to create, but it just didn't translate into a small live space like The Brudenell Social Club. In direct contract to this however was the beautiful simplicity of the first support act Sam Airey. Airey, a Leeds based singer song writer had the early doors crowd paying full attention whilst he played songs from not only his debut E.P but also numerous other songs that were both lyrically beautiful and musically elegant. Airey confessed to having not written a set list but along with his cellist he meandered through a few beautiful songs. All in all Airey is certainly worth checking out, his E.P has been in my car for the last week on constant repeat, which is no mean feat. <br />When Anais Mitchell took to the stage she played an extensive set with extracts from her Hadestown album taking the fore. Mitchell's 'folk opera' tells the story of Orpheus and Eurydice and their journey to Hades yet it is set as Mitchell said in a "post apocalyptic waste land in the depths of a recession." The following rendition of "Flowers" was a request from the crowd that Mitchell played with pleasure. <br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F16383867"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F16383867" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/zi_ish/anais-mitchell-flowers-live">Anais Mitchell, Flowers, Live The Brudenell Social Club 31st May 2011</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/zi_ish">Zi_ish</a></span> <br />In fact Mitchell frequently stopped to check that there were no particular songs people wished to hear, and did finish with the personal favorite, and request of my friends C and R, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sFtA80XI-s">Old Fashioned Hat<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sFtA80XI-s"></a></a> <br />In addition to her own songs Mitchell also played a couple of more traditional and older folk songs. Mitchell's rendition of Johnny Barbary, about the seduction of an Englishman's daughter was utterly beautiful and captivating. I'm sad I don't have a recording of it. Her voice whilst singing it made the room stand still, the bar went quiet, all eyes were on Mitchell. I'm loathed to use the word haunting to describe it, but I can come up with few better words; it definitely made the hair stand up on not only the back of my neck but also my forearms. Mitchell also played her version of Harry Robertson's beautiful <a href="http://www.harryrobertson.net/html/ballina_whalers_original.html">Ballina Whalers</a>. <br />Along with the inclusion of some new album tracks, which left us all with baited breath for the next instalment of the Anais Mitchell catalogue, it was a thoroughly beautiful evening. Mitchell had the crowd in raptures, like a group of primary school children listening to a fascinating story teller, except we had the addition of a bar and thankfully the omission of the usual mental hippies schools seemed to get in during the late 1980s to sing songs about animals and God.Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-32486285551936502162011-06-02T01:42:00.000-07:002011-06-02T02:39:14.825-07:00Live Music: The Mountain Goats, Brudenell Social Club, Leeds 28th May 2011<a href="http://www.mountain-goats.com/">The Mountain Goats</a> have become one of the bands I have obsessed over this past year. I had heard some of <span style="font-style:italic;">Tallahassee</span> but really knew very little else. I really was very late to the party. That is until my friend C began to share her obsession. C has unrivaled taste in music in my opinion and anyone C hails as her "favourite band" must warrant further attention. And with the back catalogue on loan and in my car, I became hooked. The first time I saw 'The Goats' was 8th of September 2010, at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds, and that was, frankly the final nail in the coffin. I was in love. True, mad adoration, the kind where you have to look up everything about the band, you have to have heard everything they have every played. I'm not ashamed to say I obsessed over John Darinelle (JD to those of us in the club) and spent vast swathes of time wondering how possible it would be to take him up on his offer of a tour round the micro breweries of West Texas. <br />As you would expect from such a gushing fan girl this is a good review of an amazing live band. JD commands the audience, and even when feeling quite ill as he was on Saturday he managed a 16 song set, with requests, banter and a few tracks in the middle of the set solo, without the rest of the Mountain Goats. The set itself covered most of the Mountain Goats back catalogugue from the 1997 <span style="font-style:italic;">Full Force Galesburg</span> to their most recent offering <span style="font-style:italic;">All Eternals Deck</span>. Perhaps the most special song they played was the following: <span style="font-style:italic;">Minnesota</span><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F16382121&show_comments=true&auto_play=false"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F16382121&show_comments=true&auto_play=false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/zi_ish/the-mountain-goats-minnesota">The Mountain Goats, Minnesota, Live Brudenell Social Club 28th May 2011</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/zi_ish">Zi_ish</a></span><br />In addition to this JD played <span style="font-style:italic;">Love, Love, Love</span> and the room stood silent and still. It was wonderful. <br />The final song and encore consisted of a hearty, raucous rendition of <span style="font-style:italic;">No Children</span> which has always been and will always be my favourite 'Goats' song and finally <span style="font-style:italic;">California Song</span>:<br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F16383235"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F16383235" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/zi_ish/the-mountain-goats-california">The Mountain Goats, California Song, Live Brudenell Social Club 28th May 2011</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/zi_ish">Zi_ish</a></span> <br />The only thing the September gig lacked in my opinion was suitable support. Chad Valley in my opinion was just not right. Squeaky and sweaty and just not in keeping with the headline act. However Saturday nights gig put that mishap right. The support act <a href="http://www.thesubmarines.com/">The Submarines</a> deserve a post all of their own. Which they shall have in due course. Needless to say they were fanctastic and really worth looking up!Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-30532085410948407322011-05-19T12:58:00.000-07:002011-05-19T13:50:18.985-07:00For Emma, forever ago.Bon Iver and a scotch on the rocks. That's me. Happy. <br />Things have been fairly relaxed over here for the past week or so. As has the eating. Communal 'dig in' and eat with your fingers eating has been the norm and the following recipe is one of my favorites. This has been altered from <a href="http://alexrushmer.com/tag/pork-buns/">Alex Rushmers Momofoku Pork Bun's</a>. I can heartily recommend the original recipe, but I've changed things just slightly so these buns can be made with tofu to make them vegan friendly, and when pushed for time in the evenings I make them with pork chops drizzled in hoisin sauce which I then shred with forks.<br />Any way, here is the recipe:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg49hoCktFGgC8Bx0T8pRwKBerj8HYhO-qdZxc4TGXJCLCE73MmdQPHk7KitKI226Nmt0j3ETwr3FIyWCE6DdmeW2ugDl2MHmStYQaqOc50_yujRaN4Bb4WvnV14cNF_a7hVbsXqG4RVsI/s1600/photo+%252812%2529.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg49hoCktFGgC8Bx0T8pRwKBerj8HYhO-qdZxc4TGXJCLCE73MmdQPHk7KitKI226Nmt0j3ETwr3FIyWCE6DdmeW2ugDl2MHmStYQaqOc50_yujRaN4Bb4WvnV14cNF_a7hVbsXqG4RVsI/s400/photo+%252812%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608530029820481922" /></a><br />In a bowl mix:<br />365g Plain Flour<br />1tsp Salt<br />40g Sugar<br />To this add:<br />250ml ish Warm water<br />1.5tsp Yeast (I use quick acting)<br />1tbs Oil<br />I mix all of this with a wooden spoon. Its a soggy dough so its not so good for tipping out and kneading. If you have a bread machine this makes the whole thing so much easier...just whack everything in and put it on the dough setting. Just treat the dough roughly with a spoon until the dough gets a bit elastic. <br />Leave this to rise for 40mins, or a couple of hours or most of the day...as I often do. <br />Once the dough has risen, knock it back and separate the dough into 20 balls. Put these on squares of baking paper and leave them to rise again. This should take another maybe 20 mins. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiioxNNSIiUrJRJNrVqOp4yD53FZXD6ImGoFk1bTG5sbsSCID_79RneIYiVJdwJTtmjtwUD-7x15Vu-7GnaHUr4uG18BpXx-bATlS_uK1qBGRKHqhGSywOX0fgN6i9d__0q3F02u1jm4tg/s1600/photo+%252813%2529.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiioxNNSIiUrJRJNrVqOp4yD53FZXD6ImGoFk1bTG5sbsSCID_79RneIYiVJdwJTtmjtwUD-7x15Vu-7GnaHUr4uG18BpXx-bATlS_uK1qBGRKHqhGSywOX0fgN6i9d__0q3F02u1jm4tg/s400/photo+%252813%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608530361416232626" /></a><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.topspin.net/javascripts/topspin_core.js?aId=7043×tamp=1305835034"></script><br />From here all you need to do is steam the buns. They take 8-12 mins and I do them in my vegetable steamer. <br />From there, just serve. Like I said I serve them with tofu or pork cooked in hoisin sauce. I serve these with bowls of shredded cucumber and spring onion. I serve them with extra sauce to spread on the buns. From there, dig in. <br />This goes exceptionally well with a few cold beers/ a good scotch and good music. Bon Iver fits my bill perfectly. Their new offering <a href="http://www.boniver.org/">Calgary</a> (Click for FREE DOWNLOAD!) is utterly beautiful and I cannot wait for the rest of the album! <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnVwZx21RMvlp3bsN3hhrcfHDoiweXqTpp1uUT2XFto_kgwrusHgjxLkgc8LCs7glJo7rBYhuAQ_uPpoS_gzKMQqXWG3lntU61lMpYZJYaa9zlvGKBBGqWK1tVQnlbfzHQX1uqjsRujjc/s1600/photo+%252816%2529.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnVwZx21RMvlp3bsN3hhrcfHDoiweXqTpp1uUT2XFto_kgwrusHgjxLkgc8LCs7glJo7rBYhuAQ_uPpoS_gzKMQqXWG3lntU61lMpYZJYaa9zlvGKBBGqWK1tVQnlbfzHQX1uqjsRujjc/s400/photo+%252816%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608530649648790450" /></a>Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-47803502636172202762011-05-16T06:35:00.000-07:002011-05-16T08:21:55.613-07:00Like BussesI could have posted about 300 times last week. I had plenty of opportunity, I even had time, but to be honest it just wasn't happening. I was struggling to come up with music I really wanted to talk about and frankly dinner for the last week has been whatever I can grab on the quick whilst I'm on my way out of the door. I would like to pretend life has been hectic, but it hasn't really it just seems that the mundane has taken over, as has going to the gym...don't laugh.<br />Music wise life has been consumed with trying to find the perfect summer sound track music. I love this time of year for music, somehow things sound better when the sun shines. That said I am always looking for new stars in a cast of favourites.I frequently revert to my beloved play list that comprises of the likes of Ray Charles, The Kinks, Elbow, The Rolling Stones, Noisettes, Belle And Sebastian, Lupe Fiasco, Maximo Park and I am Kloot to name but a few. Schizophrenic I know, but some how it all seems to work. Last summer I seemed unable to escape the addition of Laura Marling, the year before the addition came in the form of Mr Scruff. This year's unavoidables may well come in the form of <a href="http://aloeblacc.com/">Aloe Blacc</a> and <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mikeksongs">Michael Kiwanuka</a>.<br />Blacc's song, <span style="font-style:italic;">I Need a Dollar</span> is instantly infectious, it gets in your head and spins round and round all day. It's written with an oomph of American blues, meets soul, meets motown that I thought died with Ray Charles. Blacc is in the process of flooding the radio waves and I think you'd probably have to be living in a cave to have missed him. As a stand alone track <span style="font-style:italic;">I need a Dollar</span> is truely splendid. The rest of the album isn't too terrible either; some offerings are a little saccharine (<span style="font-style:italic;">I'm Beautiful</span> made me feel a little ill, as do most songs by that name...) but by and large Blacc's <span style="font-style:italic;">Good Things</span> hangs together as an album nicely. <span style="font-style:italic;">Blind World</span> for example is the kind of rap music that by-passes the clichés, the lyrics are well informed and the sample is ssooouuullll. In a word I'm happy, it is an album full of GOOD THINGS. <br />Michael Kiwanuka is perhaps a less obvious summer selections, there is no rumbling base line or catchy hook. There is however undoubtedly a summery rolling soul and funk edge to Kiwanuka's music that in my opinion lends itself perfectly to summery afternoons. London based Kiwanuka's influences are easy enough to spot, Bob Dylan, Bill Withers and Otis Reading are there without a doubt but Kiwanuka adds something else. The 23 year old Londoner brings the Soul Music of the late 60s back to the fore and I for one can't wait to hear more. His inclusion on the bill of Bushstock (Shepherds Bush's answer to Woodstock) on June 4th is almost incentive enough for me to brave the inside of the M25. His EP <span style="font-style:italic;">Tell me a tale</span> is available at Amazon and I tunes, although as yet no physical album seems to exsist...but it is awaited with baited breath.Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-120534599995160482011-05-06T13:56:00.000-07:002011-05-05T15:00:05.494-07:00The Empress of India<a href="http://www.emmythegreat.com/default.aspx">Emmy The Great</a> makes me happy. A slightly less Yorkshire Kate Rusby a-like with an indie edge. Emmy, born in Hong Kong, brought up in London and singing songs about the English countryside is what Thursday evenings are for. Her latest single <span style="font-style:italic;">Iris</span> is on the BBC 6Music playlist at the moment and it has re-kindled my love of all things Emmy. Her style is very much in the new folk, or even anti-folk vein lends itself perfectly to the need for plinky plonky folk music and friends for dinner. Vegan friends. <br />I love cooking, but Vegan's nearly always stump me. I'm an enthusiastic meat eater; I will gladly partake in vegetarian meals but how on earth do you make things taste good without BUTTER/CREAM/EGGS/CHOCOLATE?! The art is, as far as I can tell, combining lots of fairly simple ingredients into something fabulous. <br />So for the Empress of India's Tarka Dahl you will need: <br />(Serves 4 with left overs)<br />Vegetable Oil<br />3 Onions (Sliced finely into rings)<br />Handful of green beans (ish)<br />Half a red pepper sliced<br />3 cloves of garlic<br />Broccoli (some?)<br />Hand ful of cherry tomatoes<br />500g Red Lentils<br />1tbs Cumin Seeds<br />1tbs Coriander Seeds<br />3 Cardamon Pods<br />1tsp Fenuigreek<br />1tsp Chili Flakes<br />1tsp Hot Chili Powder<br />Chipatti's<br />Vegetable Stock<br />Yoghurt (for those of us not into veganism!<br />I know the ingredients list sounds lengthy, but it is totally worth it, and when you've brought all the spices then this virtually becomes a store cupboard recipe!<br />I buy all my spices from the local Asian supermarket. You can get bags of most of the spices for less than £1 and then I just decant the spices into jars!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRnWwq2ZyueLfgAxCJwhTbTLQa56NpFSkZTbXgn6L_2uRRXhnKgiQ7rzWQ0A8nNpXQ0_q6XgNTnLTVnOWW_F1nr3TkQuEKL6LmWiDZ0uwyHQV8ssRj45Y0ouS9PxbJBUcOomHAnQGs3w/s1600/photo+%25286%2529.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRnWwq2ZyueLfgAxCJwhTbTLQa56NpFSkZTbXgn6L_2uRRXhnKgiQ7rzWQ0A8nNpXQ0_q6XgNTnLTVnOWW_F1nr3TkQuEKL6LmWiDZ0uwyHQV8ssRj45Y0ouS9PxbJBUcOomHAnQGs3w/s320/photo+%25286%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603347169401353890" /></a><br />1) In a large pan heat a good slug of vegetable oil and and add 1/3 of the sliced onion rings and a clove of crushed garlic. Brown this gently.<br />2)In a separate small frying pan put them spices and heat for about 30 seconds, until they start to smell. Put this mix in a pestle and mortar (Or bowl and rolling pin combo in my case) and crush gently. Add 1/3 of this to the onions and garlic that is softening. <br />3)To this pan add all the lentils, stir and cover with water. At this stage you can add a chicken or vegetable stock cube if cooking for non vegans, but to be honest just salt and pepper will do the same job!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYqTR91S_WcjfayQTn-9ymzYY3pOGA9cIhBcPQiLoAtkYhiFflUPC4NKI6jrVte7BgerzHiPr47aPFzaB8y4MlkG3zdhFOT4psNmTGtYaDQj7jErMZZxRVnHqGIxqe2SJjK46io8jrq_0/s1600/photo+%252810%2529.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYqTR91S_WcjfayQTn-9ymzYY3pOGA9cIhBcPQiLoAtkYhiFflUPC4NKI6jrVte7BgerzHiPr47aPFzaB8y4MlkG3zdhFOT4psNmTGtYaDQj7jErMZZxRVnHqGIxqe2SJjK46io8jrq_0/s320/photo+%252810%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603348736102872242" /></a><br />Allow this pan to simmer gently for about 45 mins.<br />4) While the first pan is simmering away add the remaining onions, garlic, and spices with another slug of oil into a frying pan. Allow the onions to soften gently for at least 7mins. Then just chuck in the rest of the vegetables. This is the Tarka that you put on the top of the lentils to make a super tasty dinner!<br />All that remains to do is to let the lentils cook until they are soft and put the tarka on top, a dollop of yoghurt at this stage is nice, as is a nob of butter in the lentils, but they are both really just unessential decadence!<br />I serve this with bought chipatti's and my vegan friends often provide their own accompaniment. Enjoyed with a few glasses of Vegan Vino Vino Yum Yum and a couple of Emmy the Great's CD's makes for a perfect evening in my opinion. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOk3C_wcxS6fR1XOCm2EYVRiB206Nu0qILbsvTbpGrtkvY7jIMTmStQLVRz-IheXIxCnt9FR-bRQQgUDeHg7cO1GwIGFH5v38Fz1CyrBHch1e9aFWAIbr7qA0PrwBRda8JjJxLyfvH5fU/s1600/photo+%252811%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOk3C_wcxS6fR1XOCm2EYVRiB206Nu0qILbsvTbpGrtkvY7jIMTmStQLVRz-IheXIxCnt9FR-bRQQgUDeHg7cO1GwIGFH5v38Fz1CyrBHch1e9aFWAIbr7qA0PrwBRda8JjJxLyfvH5fU/s400/photo+%252811%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603351713813105586" /></a>Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-38982312895220441902011-05-05T06:07:00.000-07:002011-05-05T14:48:55.155-07:00Rules Don't Stop Me...forget about it.I've spent the last couple of weeks trying to perfect the perfect <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_Institutes">Women's Institute</a> Victoria sponge. A proper prize winner and I think I've cracked it.<br />A standard WI Victoria sponge must be made using the creaming method [insert innuendo here] where the butter and sugar are creamed together. In addition to this you cannot submit a Victoria sponge to a WI competition with a filling of anything other than Raspberry Jam. Butter cream is undoubtedly frowned upon and my inclusion of vanilla essence and some orange zest would probably be considered a court-martial offence and at the addition of Whiskey I think I should probably give up!. That said I've eaten a few Victoria sponges in my time, and in my opinion the inclusion of Orange Butter cream gives it something, and who doesn't like a little snifter of something boozy to give it an edge? Lets be honest, nothing I ever make is going to rival my mother's Victoria Sponge so why not bend the rules a little and include some variations on this Great British Classic. <br /><br />Ingredients:<br />6oz Caster Sugar<br />6oz Butter<br />6oz Self Raising Flour<br />6oz egg (about three large, weigh and adjust the flour, sugar and butter accordingly, all ingredients must weigh the same)<br />About 5 tbs milk.<br />1tsp Vanilla Extract<br /><br />For the filling:<br />Raspberry Jam (2 heaped tbs ish)<br />Zest of half an Orange and 2tbs of Juice<br />1tsp Whiskey (optional)<br />2oz Butter<br />5oz Icing Sugar<br /><br />I'm sorry all the ingredients are in Imperial, my mother calls this a 666 cake, (you can see why) and I don't really make it using metric. (Old Skool...innit)<br />Method:<br />1) I know weighing the eggs seems like a massive fanny, but honestly it works. Break the eggs into a small bowl and note the weight of them, then measure the rest of the ingredients to the same weight. <br />2)In a clean large bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Caster Sugar gives a finer cake than granulated sugar (again, massive fanny...bear with me!) so you don't get grainy bits in your cooked cake. By cream I mean beat together, with a wooden spoon the sugar, and if you're feeling lazy soften the butter a bit in the microwave but don't let it melt fully. (Those is the rules!)The mix will go like sand and then it will finally come together into something pale and creamy [more innuendo needed?]<br />3) When you've got pale and creamy butter and sugar mix in the eggs. At this stage I start using a whisk to work out the lumps. (To be honest you could use an electric whisk all the way through, but at the moment I have a lot of stress and frustration to work out, and the butter and cream seems like a good place to start. It also does wonders for the bingo wings!)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzlsz1RZnoHZogg1zs6M4iRQZtkCr6eAqhEw7tsPnctpDdt8QJEWHd6BYxRsEUmQM08PFiRnaYqUmDkjPl2ihbmsBdNECIix9QP8DX0f0TXjD07aMvUmFMqiEAlOc7CIShr1d-j1IL1Xk/s1600/Cake+mix.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzlsz1RZnoHZogg1zs6M4iRQZtkCr6eAqhEw7tsPnctpDdt8QJEWHd6BYxRsEUmQM08PFiRnaYqUmDkjPl2ihbmsBdNECIix9QP8DX0f0TXjD07aMvUmFMqiEAlOc7CIShr1d-j1IL1Xk/s320/Cake+mix.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603226143728769490" /></a><br />4) The next stage is to drop the flour in, be gentle with the mix from this point, you could sieve the flower, but I don't own a sieve (but I do own 35 different biscuit cutters...) so I just shake the flower in from a height in the hope of adding some air. <br />5) Throw in the vanilla essence and a splash of milk. Recipes often call for "soft dropping consistency" I have no clue what this means really so I just get it to the stage where the cake will fill the tin easily without too much pushing into the edges!<br />6) Separate between two greased and floured sponge tins. Bake for 20-25 mins (until a skewer will come out clean and the sponge "springs back" when touched)and leave to cool.<br />7)In order to make the butter cream cream the butter and icing sugar together, grate in the zest of the orange and add about 2 tbs of the juice, this will loosen up the icing and make the mixing a bit easier. If using it chuck in some Whiskey. Whiskey and orange are an awesome combo and it gives the cake a bit of a kick. Gin would be a nice addition, but in this house mothers ruin doesn't get as far as cooking, I usually reserve it for bathing in...ahem. <br />8) When the cakes are cool, spread the layers with jam and butter cream and sandwich together. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP6fnPiC-mVq53jatEbc3EGKJTbLtTJ-ejoZLMEyUFSGOQhDXFo43uzuEI7m9x4S-s1ppxVbV-hDnCPK5V_jeLioQxB4McdkwK3ClhoOvtoDWX7_SjGH91ByDHuJqgWAk9K2sM9itESZA/s1600/Sponge.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP6fnPiC-mVq53jatEbc3EGKJTbLtTJ-ejoZLMEyUFSGOQhDXFo43uzuEI7m9x4S-s1ppxVbV-hDnCPK5V_jeLioQxB4McdkwK3ClhoOvtoDWX7_SjGH91ByDHuJqgWAk9K2sM9itESZA/s200/Sponge.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603229901345568402" /></a><br /><br />I'm eating slivers of this cake with Lady Grey tea, although a Pimms and Lemonade might go with it nicely, or even a G&T. Whilst enjoying the Glorious British-ness of my surroundings I think a bit of Americana is called for...just to readdress the balance. Perhaps not the most gentle afternoon tea kind of music, but We are Scientist's <span style="font-style:italic;">Barbara</span> comes heartily recommended. I picked the third offering from We Are Scientists up at the weekend having spent a good ten months listening to it on-line, I decided its about time I bought it. I had a bit of a CD splurge on Saturday, nothing exciting, mostly just filling gaps in my collection. I know vinyl is what the cool kids are doing, but as far as I'm concerned the CD is the ultimate format. Long lasting, durable, high quality and best of all PORTABLE. Forgive me for my old fashioned disk man, but that's just how I roll.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBLHHhg2eBHCgcVXpHO7xaWnSjekbo6a6nLdh8Gdi_oY8LxwHITMJSQP4la9ECndUyGzxyWIG_5xXfU9XwjqYjfhVBELDK4P8whyphenhyphennlh8m7FroBQiy9TBoPPeZiaNZcL_q0S-GYXIk-pRU/s1600/photo+%25289%2529.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBLHHhg2eBHCgcVXpHO7xaWnSjekbo6a6nLdh8Gdi_oY8LxwHITMJSQP4la9ECndUyGzxyWIG_5xXfU9XwjqYjfhVBELDK4P8whyphenhyphennlh8m7FroBQiy9TBoPPeZiaNZcL_q0S-GYXIk-pRU/s320/photo+%25289%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603237819844067074" /></a><br />The things I've noticed when listening to <span style="font-style:italic;">Barbara </span>on my CD player rather than through my laptop is the quality of the production, The WAS boys are notorious music geeks, accompanying the tour for <span style="font-style:italic;">Brain Thrust Mastery</span> in 2007 with a series of humourous "self improvement seminars" given at university music departments and schools of music. Like all WAS albums it contains a collection of up beat songs with a real indie disco feel, songs about nights out (Jack and Ginger being a personal favourite song) and girls lost. Some how this last album didn't truly achieve the critical acclaim it deserved, it passed with little notice unlike their previous offerings. The best thing about WAS in my opinion is their live capabilities, having seen them a few years ago in a basement in York I was hooked. WAS are playing the extremely good value, well organised and highly exciting <a href="http://www.dottodotfestival.co.uk/">dot-to-dot</a> festivals in Nottingham, Bristol and this year MANCHESTER! They are also putting in an appearance at a couple of other British festivals as well as <a href="http://wearescientists.com/shows/">odd gigs</a> through out the Summer. They are definitely worth the ticket price!<br />So there you have it. Cake, tea and We are Scientist's. Long live the Great British Summer!Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-13452895875872412182011-02-14T08:31:00.000-08:002011-02-15T02:16:51.124-08:00If I knew you were coming I'd have baked a cake...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdE5IrHzvsCboRhMnS8QX3aJ5zEZfSAWxVVE2MnG9Vl9Kyn3k2r0cAJ90pYjBBhqebyjEIKIWXagfcGCHAsVDfMkh46hkx2CI6rGI5QNmyNeC9C5atoonB_crcnHW-LEh09C5lS-Ec7Y/s1600/photo+%25283%2529.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdE5IrHzvsCboRhMnS8QX3aJ5zEZfSAWxVVE2MnG9Vl9Kyn3k2r0cAJ90pYjBBhqebyjEIKIWXagfcGCHAsVDfMkh46hkx2CI6rGI5QNmyNeC9C5atoonB_crcnHW-LEh09C5lS-Ec7Y/s320/photo+%25283%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573594277383273858" /></a><br /><br />I spent my weekend at home, at a first birthday party for my next door neighbours little girl Rosalie. <br />Birthday parties for little girls require cake, but not wanting to make cupcakes or a victoria sponge, as I knew what my sister and mum would have made I decided to go with macaroons. <br />Somewhere between a meringue and a biscuit Macaroons are quick to make, but hard to perfect (and I am by no means claiming to have perfected them!) They lend themselves to customisation in terms of flavour and colour and like cupcakes that went before them they are rapidly becoming the new thing to bake fabulous batches of. <br />For Rosalie I made Rose and Lemon flavoured. The recipe I used was based on <a href="http://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/multicoloured-macaroons">this one</a> from Delicious Magazine, with a few additions and alterations of my own.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rose and Lemon Macaroons</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Ingredients</span><br />175g icing sugar<br />125g powdered almonds (finer than ground almonds, usually available in ethnic supermarkets, if you can't find these put ground almonds in a blender and wizz for 30 seconds)<br />3 large free-range egg whites<br />50g caster sugar<br />1/4 tsp Rose essence<br />1/4 teaspoon red food colouring<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">For the filling</span><br />150g butter, softened<br />75g icing sugar<br />zest and juice of half a lemon<br /><br />In a bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt to soft peaks, then gradually whisk in the caster sugar until thick and glossy. Then add 1/4 teaspoon of rose extract and 1/4 teaspoon of red food colouring.<br /><br />Fold half the powdered almonds and icing sugar into the meringue and mix well. Add the remaining half, making sure you use a spatula to cut and fold the mixture until it is shiny and has a thick, ribbon-like consistency as it falls from the spatula. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm plain nozzle.<br /><br />Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper. Pipe small rounds of the macaroon mixture, about 3cm across, onto the baking sheets. Give the baking sheets a sharp tap on the work surface to ensure a good ‘foot’. Leave to stand at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to form a slight skin. This is important – you should be able to touch them lightly without any mixture sticking to your finger. <br /><br />Whilst the macaroons are standing heat the oven to 150 degrees centigrade. This will take about as long as it takes the macaroons to set. I usually cook mine for about 12 minutes, try to avoid opening the oven door as this will cause the tops of the macaroons to crack excessively. <br /><br />Whilst the macaroons are cooking you can make the filling. In a bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy, then beat in the icing sugar. Add to this the zest and juice of half a lemon. You might need to add a bit more icing sugar (maybe a tablespoon) to make the butter cream thick again. Use to sandwich pairs of macaroons together.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqneK234xQHjoSKJemi1Op4VED1ccq4mb4NuXeVRfdFnlDa2bQbUXVrPab1vf1ON0HCBhu6GXZS-z0jwk-RRhGC9MVOdqjpdmRM0TVu55-Cln5oTT9yYFUJntm5eZE4y4IkEXJOirBlhE/s1600/photo+%25282%2529.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqneK234xQHjoSKJemi1Op4VED1ccq4mb4NuXeVRfdFnlDa2bQbUXVrPab1vf1ON0HCBhu6GXZS-z0jwk-RRhGC9MVOdqjpdmRM0TVu55-Cln5oTT9yYFUJntm5eZE4y4IkEXJOirBlhE/s320/photo+%25282%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573588473936271410" /></a><br />As you can see mine are a bit cracked and uneven but I think it adds to the home made feel of them! They really aren't hard to make and turning up at a party with cakes in tow is always appreciated! Macaroons look lovely presented in a box in rows, or just do as I did, whack them all in a tin and wait for them to be demolished by scores of hungry hands!Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2318758305417097287.post-52533255778157703422011-02-02T06:55:00.000-08:002011-02-02T07:27:45.813-08:00Cherry RipeCherry ripe, cherry ripe,<br />Ripe I cry,<br />Full and fair ones<br />Come and buy.<br />Cherry ripe, cherry ripe,<br />Ripe I cry,<br />Full and fair ones<br />Come and buy.<br /><br />Yesterday I spent £2.85 on a chocolate bar. Not a big chocolate bar, no 70% cocoa solid with chili wonder, a normal sized chocolate bar, 52g to be precise. And it was 52g of heaven. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWPRMvaXvdx1HJgmmwV6F9s_Ld1G1_oguDun1JXrFBQ7oxzcahcdVCZmfLcQDMq9VC-uok8gem1_JgfdaKQeO3FuCpm5BMUoEVwc7rFEbgcCBIKN4lwPiYBSLbPn3iBppvy93w5DJxBQw/s1600/photo.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWPRMvaXvdx1HJgmmwV6F9s_Ld1G1_oguDun1JXrFBQ7oxzcahcdVCZmfLcQDMq9VC-uok8gem1_JgfdaKQeO3FuCpm5BMUoEVwc7rFEbgcCBIKN4lwPiYBSLbPn3iBppvy93w5DJxBQw/s320/photo.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569108882642447906" /></a><br />Cheery Ripe, a cult Australian chocolate bar became one of my most favourite things whilst travelling. Basically a cherry flavoured <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bounty_(chocolate_bar)">Bounty</a> covered in dark "old gold" chocolate, it simply cannot be beaten in my opinion.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKVZeHYAQ3hUI01Omebo8_3wPm0xGg6aGmVQH07i7qQYv5PUWDbz6rN9Iatrr81RsjDGoGb3xqK-fJ6yMnpYbsgfNyKa-NztVXpMUp0lBYqDh16u0wKtmGNHuTom-vfXXTqLFDStIfS5s/s1600/photo+%25281%2529.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKVZeHYAQ3hUI01Omebo8_3wPm0xGg6aGmVQH07i7qQYv5PUWDbz6rN9Iatrr81RsjDGoGb3xqK-fJ6yMnpYbsgfNyKa-NztVXpMUp0lBYqDh16u0wKtmGNHuTom-vfXXTqLFDStIfS5s/s320/photo+%25281%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569111767791143458" /></a><br />I had been under the impression that short of travelling halfway around the world, making bulk Internet orders or perhaps befriending some benevolent Australian Cherry Ripe smuggler I would be in for something of a wait for my next fix. However when browsing in Harvey Nichols food hall yesterday I came across a bank of imported foodstuffs. They had Marshmallow Fluff, something my American friends would commit murder for, Lucky Charms at £7.50 a box and wonder of wonders numerous Cherry Ripe bars. at £2.85 a go they aren't cheap, but they certainly cost less than a plane ticket to Australia!Zihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085780512395156535noreply@blogger.com0