Banks, Batteries, Businesses,

I am not very happy with my bank right now. Some years ago I gave them a copy of the Power of Attorney to keep on file. No problem. I recently had Credit Card problems. Took forever for the replacement card to arrive, so spoke to the bank and they said I was NOT a secondary card holder but a co-signer which meant I could deal with the credit card company without reference to Matt. So yesterday I had to talk to them because my card finally arrived, but no, they insisted I had a secondary card and wanted to talk to Matt. I said he had Alzheimer's, I also said there was a Power of Attorney, etc. etc. In the end I gave Matt the phone and he answered with my prompting. The guy on the phone could hear me and said he couldn't authorise the card because he could hear my prompts so I started whispering. I also told the man to speak slowly and clearly otherwise Matt wouldn't understand. He read out some agreement about which Matt hadn't a clue, but I told him to authorise anyway. By signals that is. What a hoo ha. What a bloody nuisance. Anyway, it was all finalised in the end. Unfortunately I can't speak to the bank because due to the virus their call wait time can be up to 2 hours. Honestly, it's enough to make you jump off a bridge. I would, but it might hurt!! Just to really upset me, the guy on the phone was not born in an English speaking country. I wish places that employ them would give them elocution lessons. Even if they had a Canadian accent it would help LOL

One of my phones is not charging properly any more so I wanted to get a new battery pack. I tried phoning the company and was told the phone was so old they probably couldn't help me, but I couldn't get through to someone to speak to. Eventually I found what I needed on eBay.

Because of the new Credit Card, I had to change it with the pharmacy, so I phoned a number they had given me and waited at least half an hour, maybe longer, to get through. It sounded like the girl I eventually spoke to, was working at home. Fine, but she should ensure her family "shut up" when she is working, I was having trouble listening to her too.

I am sure my hair wasn't this white before this all started. Oh, and I even did some sewing this morning whilst I was waiting for all these calls to go through. Gosh I'm getting good. Talking of hair, we are both getting to need haircuts. I have cut my hair many times before, but Matt would never let me cut his. I wonder if he will now.

Forgot, I have been complaining about a certain person (ladydog) giving me shit if I so much as thought about putting my foot outside the door, turns out she is getting the same from her son. Payback!!

In an email I got this morning from the BBC they had lots of suggestions for leftover lamb. Sounded delicious but some of the ingredients I had never even heard of let alone had in my pantry. I wonder how many people in England would have some of this stuff either. However, I did some Googling and discovered this recipe which sounded pretty good so as I have a fairly large lump of roast lamb left, I think this will be on our menu. Actually, looking at it, I really don't see why it shouldn't be cooked in an Instant Pot.

Easy Lamb Jalfrezi

A really easy version of a curry house favourite, this Easy Lamb Jalfrezi is bursting with flavour and

only requires a few minutes of hands on time – the perfect fakeaway!

2 Tbs olive or rapeseed oil
2 onions sliced
3 garlic cloves grated or crushed
3 cm ginger grated
1 tsp chilli flakes (or to taste, or use fresh chillies, if you prefer)
2 tsp cumin seeds ground
2 tsp coriander seeds ground
2 tsp turmeric
3 tsp garam masala
1 1/4 lbs diced lamb leg
14 oz tin chopped tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
1 red pepper sliced
1 green pepper sliced
2 Tbs fresh coriander plus extra for garnish (optional)
Pilau rice, cauliflower rice, plain rice or naan breads to serve
Pickles and/or chutneys to serve optional

1. Preheat your oven to 180C / 160C fan/ gas mark 4 / 350F.

2. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of oil into a large ovenproof saucepan or cast iron casserole dish. Add the onion and cook on a gentle heat, with the lid on, for about 3 minutes, until the onions are softened but not brown.

3. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli, cumin, coriander, turmeric & garam masala. Stir well and cook for 2 more minutes with the lid off. Add a splash of water if it gets too dry.

4. Next add in the lamb. Stir well to coat the meat in the onions and spices and then add the tomatoes, plus salt and pepper to taste.

5. Bring the curry to the boil and then put the lid on and put in your preheated oven for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes add the sliced green and red peppers, stir well and continue cooking in the oven for another 45 minutes (1 hour 30 in total).

6. Serve with plain boiled rice, pilau rice or Indian spiced cauliflower rice and/or naan breads

Servings: 4

Tips
I have only used one teaspoon of chilli flakes in my recipe – which results in a medium strength curry – as I like to make my food family friendly and this is about as hot as my kids can handle! However normally jalfrezi is a little hotter than this, so do put in more chilli if you like your jalfrezi hot!!

Suitable for freezing.

Source: Easy Peasy Foodie

Have a great day
 

Black Holes, Snow, New Book, Recipe Discussion

Came across an article which really interests me, they have found black holes which are bigger than any black hole previously known, described as supermassive, one is 9.7 billion times larger than our sun, that is inconceivable to most of our brains, we just cannot fathom such a size. The second one is either the same or bigger. A fascinating article which I am sure many will enjoy reading. I won’t attempt to paraphrase it, I’m  no scientist. Black holes have always fascinated me though. They also tend to scare me somewhat although I won’t be around to see what does happen and nor, my dear readers, will you.

Tuesday morning everywhere was covered in a light snow, not the roads though. The trees looked absolutely beautiful in their white coatings, one of the best snowfalls I have seen for a while. We had to go out early to get blood work done and everywhere looked so fresh and Christmassy especially as it was still pretty dark. Sadly, it didn’t last very long and by the afternoon, the dusting everywhere was mostly gone, certainly amongst the trees.

I hear there is a new Kay Scarpetta book out, I thought that series was finished, silly me, why would Patricia Cornwell stop when she has a good thing going. There is now talk of movies with Angelina Jolie being cast as Kay Scarpetta. The new novel is called Red Mist (a title which appears to have been used by other authors, so if you click the link look for the author as well). I have enjoyed reading these novels over the years, think I might have to do a re-read to reorient myself. One tends to forget the details over a long period of time. I must agree I am surprised films haven’t been made of these books before.

This sounds a pretty easy recipe to do at this time of year when so much else is going on. Two things I would point out, if you use the prepared garlic, it will not have as good a flavour and if you use apple juice it will be quite sweet. I discovered that with a previous pork recipe, the sauce for which turned out way too sweet for me. I talked to someone recently who used ‘cooking’ wine, please don’t, this is pretty awful stuff and is full of salt. Use a reasonably good, drinkable, dry white wine, you don’t have to pay a fortune for it. If you don’t normally drink wine, ask at the store or ask a friend who does drink it. You may have to give the rest of the wine to your friend anyway, it won’t keep.

Drunken Pork Roast

Food.com
By Denise in NH on April 30, 2002
Photo by Cookin-jo

Servings: 4-6

About This Recipe

"This is one of the most tender and flavorful pork roast you will ever have eaten. The nice part is, it is all cooked in one casserole so you have a complete meal without a lot of extra pans to wash"

Ingredients

2 -3 lbs pork loin
1 cup white wine ( or 1/2 cup wine and 1/2 cup apple juice)
2 tablespoons minced garlic cloves ( I use the minced in the jar to save time)
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon oregano
2 bay leaves
10 small red potatoes, quartered
1 lb baby carrots
1 large green pepper, halved, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch strips
6 stalks celery, sliced thin
1 medium turnip, cut in small chunks
3 onions, sliced

Directions

1. Marinate pork loin in wine, garlic and herbs overnight.
2. Place pork in a a large covered roasting pan (I used a three quart casserole, but if you want to add a few extra veggies, you may want to go bigger).
3. Arrange vegetables around the roast.
4. Pour the marinade over roast and vegetables.
5. Cover and bake at 350°F for 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
6. Remove cover and continue baking for another 1/2 hour.

Have a great day