Deer, Balconies, Sound.

I have recently been made aware, by Denise of My Life in Retirement, of the problems cause by deer. I am one of the many who think Bambi thoughts a lot of the time when I see deer, but I never realised the damage they do or the long range effects such damage can cause. Apparently they tend to eat lots of the flowers planted by people which in turn means the bees have nowhere to go and thus this contributes to their dying out. In Denise's case, culling in any form is not permitted where she lives, but it appears that culling is necessary and should be permitted under supervision. People are allowed to hunt deer in woods so what is the problem in culling those in more urban areas. It could be done professionally I have no doubt. Looking for a picture I see all kinds of ads to prevent the animals from eating garden flowers, but apparently many of them don't work like they are supposed to.

I talked to our Assistant Superintendent today about the railings or walls of the new balconies. Apparently the concrete has to cure for at least 30 days before anything else happens but he doesn't know when the walls will be installed. Looks like the people concerned will be without the use of their balconies for the whole summer. What a pain. Obviously I am waiting to see what happens so we can know what to expect when they get round to us. The apartment across the hall is now let, I wonder if they told the new tenant(s) about how bad the noise is etc. etc. Come to that, I wonder if they told the new tenant(s) about the bed bugs? I'm thinking I might put some Diatomaceous Earth by the front door, just in case.

Started watching a movie on my laptop and suddenly the sound went. Eventually I re-booted and the sound came back again. I am wondering if that means the sound card is going or something. No expert me, so maybe I should ask the experts.

How typically English. Once upon a time there was a cooking show called Two Fat Ladies and nowadays we have The Hairy Bikers. This is a recipe of theirs which popped up yesterday and I thought sounded pretty good.

Hairy Bikers' cauliflower and chicken pilaf

• Serves: 4
• Prep time: 10 mins
• Cooking time: 10 mins
• Skill level: Easy peasy
• Costs: Cheap as chips

Hairy Bikers' cauliflower and chicken pilaf is a delicious, healthy lunch or light dinner option. It's so easy to make and tastes great too. This recipe serves 4 people and will take only 20 mins to prepare and cook. A portion of this mouth-watering pilaf works out at only 274 calories per serving. The Hairy Bikers say; 'Everyone loves a pilaf but the rice makes it quite a high calorie dish. But if you use

cauliflower instead of rice you get all that lovely comforting flavour and texture with far fewer cals. We’re happy putting in the whole spices into our pilaf and we’re used to fishing them out as we eat but if you’re worried you could wrap them in a little bit of muslin.'

Ingredients

• 500g chicken thighs or breasts
• 1 large onion, sliced into thin crescents
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 5g fresh root ginger, finely chopped
• large pinch of saffron
• 1 tbsp vegetable or coconut oil
• 5 cardamom pods
• 2 x 3cm pieces of cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds (optional)
• 3 cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 250ml chicken stock
• 1 medium cauliflower (about 750g)
• flaked sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

To serve:

• 1 tbsp pistachios
• ½ pomegranate
• small bunch of coriander or parsley

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Method

1. First prepare the chicken. If using thighs, trim off any fat, then slice them thinly. If using chicken breasts, cut them into 2cm chunks. Peel and slice the onion into thin crescents. Finely chop the garlic and ginger. Put the saffron in a bowl with a little hot water and leave it to steep.
2. Heat the oil in a large, lidded frying pan or a shallow casserole dish. When the pan is hot, add the chicken. Fry the chicken for a minute, stirring constantly, until the pieces have seared, then add the onion, garlic and ginger and fry for another couple of minutes. Add the whole spices and the bay leaves.
3. Pour the stock and the saffron with its water into the pan, then season with salt and pepper. Stir vigorously, scraping up any brown bits from the base of the pan. Bring the stock to the boil, then leave to simmer while you prepare the cauliflower – this should take about 5 minutes. Cut up the cauliflower and blitz to the size of coarse breadcrumbs in a food processor – use the stalks as well as the florets.
4. When the liquid has reduced so it just coats the base of the pan and the chicken and onion are tender, remove the chicken and most of the onion with a slotted spoon and keep them warm. Add the cauliflower to the pan and stir so it is coated with the remaining liquid and spices – it should start to turn a light ochre in patches.
5. Cook over a medium heat for at least 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until the cauliflower is cooked through and the remaining liquid has evaporated. The cauliflower should be fluffy. Put half the chicken and onion back into the pan and stir it through the cauliflower, then add the rest on top.
6. While the cauliflower is cooking, lightly crush or chop the pistachios and remove the seeds from the pomegranate. Serve the pilaf sprinkled with the pistachios, pomegranate seeds and herbs.

Have a great day