Builders, Pavlovas, Ballet,

Interesting, the builders worked all day on Saturday, not sure what time they actually clocked on and off, but I guess they are as concerned with finishing the balconies as we are to see them finished. Today they were attaching new rods to the original rods of the balcony flooring. Makes it a lot stronger I presume. Although I watched when they did the balconies across from us, I didn't realise about the small fiddly bits they were doing.

We are really enjoying these Pavlovas whilst the summer fruits are so good. Small problem today, I didn't whip the cream quite enough so it ran down the side a bit. Not serious. Still tasted delicious.

Watched a programme about Ballet Boys on Saturday night/ Basically about some young Norwegian men who were training to dance and one of them was finally invited to the Royal Ballet company in London. I had no idea just what these young men had to go through during their training. One is aware that ballerinas have a lot of pain through dancing on their points, but the comment made was "pain was part of dancing".if that is so, why on earth do they want to do it. I must admit I love to watch male ballet dancers - especially the really good ones who seem to almost fly when they do their leaps. I was lucky enough to see some wonderful dancers at Sadlers Wells in London many years ago including Margot Fonteyn who was one of the top ballerinas in her day. I don't remember the names of all the others I saw which is a shame, but they were so wonderful. The young Norwegian who was accepted by the Royal Ballet had to pay €40,000 a year for his tuition. A lot of money. My only complaint about the programme was the subtitles which one is so busy reading, you miss a lot of what is happening.

Saturday morning I did my first half hour exercise with Miranda Esmonde-White - the one designed to reduce pain. Difficult to watch TV and do the exercises at the same time, but not impossible.

I saw this recipe on Sunday morning and thought it looked delicious. It does include a few ingredients I don't have but that can easily be remedied. I have metal and bamboo skewers and would probably use the metal ones.

Sambal Chicken Skewers

Kebabs get a bad rap. (Decades of alternating zucchini coins and cherry tomatoes can do that.) But this Asian take, with a spicy, sticky glaze, makes for a very convincing comeback

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1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/3 cup hot chili paste (such as sambal oelek)
1/4 cup fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
1/4 cup Sriracha
2 tsp finely grated peeled ginger
1 1/2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch–2-inch pieces
Special Equipment
8 bamboo skewers soaked in water at least 1 hour

1. Prepare grill for medium-high heat. Whisk brown sugar, vinegar, chili paste, fish sauce, Sriracha, and ginger in a large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Remove chicken and thread 4 or 5 pieces onto each skewer.

2. Transfer leftover marinade to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until reduced by half (about 1 cup), 7–10 minutes.

3. Grill chicken, turning and basting often with reduced marinade, until cooked through, 8–10 minutes

Servings: 4

Source: Bon Appétit

Have a great day