TataTaTaTaaTaa..TaaTaaTaaTaaaaa...(repeat)

Or something similar- wings, fuselage etc have come together and it's starting to look like a Proper Airfix kit

- and only one swoosh, swoosh, DagadagaDagaDagaaa... episode that I will confess to.
No more posts till the canopy is on, by chance we have the magical Klear, so watch this space.

New! Improved! Photography!

I have been advised by a somewhat more technically minded  friend that the pictures in this blog constitute a crime against photography. The advice was in the first instance stop using a flash, so lacking any suitable lighting, took the opportunity of the continuing presence of the Big Light in the Sky in these parts took a few shots outside.

Before

(actually, that was surprisingly effective)

After

Whoa!  Now that really captures my painting skills.

And how goes the build? Increasingly fraught.  As it becomes time to stick the assembled components together, any discrepancies are revealed, e.g. here is some of the residue from paring the nose ring sufficiently to fit on the front (and back to crap photography):

The whole cockpit assemblage has obviously been located incorrectly, leaving me to dread fitting the canopy (apparently the quality and finish of the canopy is the sine qua non of Plastic Modelling - ulp).  

Now For Something Completely Different... Revisiting Airfix

For the man who has everything, and is minus the family for a week, what better distraction than attempting to relive my childhood with The Best Airfix Ever of the  The Iconic British Contribution To The Cold War.
And its all silver - how hard could it be?
First step was to make some 45cm square "portable modelling workshops". Why 45cm? Because that's the width of the ply left over from 2m square I bought to make a lid on the water butt.
Can't put this off any longer - we are at T minus 5 days when the kids return and will want to play or help with any toy sized jet plane. The plan is to have this done and dusted and safely ensconced in one of our display cabinets in lieu of the various pieces of wedding related crystal currently resident (and seeing as this is our 18th anniversary - no better time),

First stop, the most excellent Marks Models where I decline an invitation to a barbecue and only just resist the temptation to go Big Time and get an airbrush.  A rattle-can of silver, 5 random 15ml tins, glue with with a metal pipette and some specialist masking tape and I'm good to go. But World Cup final precludes anything other than the occasional browse of youtube where it soon becomes apparent I really should have gone for an airbrush.
But oh boy am I ready

Crossing the Rubicon

This can be put off no longer. Time to open the box and start putting this mother together. And at step 1, Houston we have a problem,

There is a tiny little man in the model needing a gazillion different paint colours, The model cannot be stuck together and spray-painted with all-forgiving silver until this tiny man is in his cockpit. 

Even if the tiny man were to be left out, the cockpit still requires insane level of details otherwise the plane will be a Ghost Plan. Hmmm..... 

No, lacking flesh colour paint and limitted to 4 shades of silver, we will persevere and make tiny man and his acoutrements a worthy representation of those of risked and sometimes lost their live in the Cold War.

Just need to hold out till I get some flesh coloured paint. In the meantime, got back on Easy Street by spray painting some of the interior- now we're sucking diesel,

Picture for prior post

The Apollo Space Program and the non-stick frying pan

The landing of a man on the moon is celebrated because it:

• Is a nerdgasm of mankind's greatest achievement; the culmination of the Enlightenment
• Was the pivotal battle in which the Cold War was won
• Was an unsustainable economic drain that along with the Vietnam war led to the collapse of the gold standard and ultimately the economic meltdown of 2008
• was JFK's legacy
• was fictitious
• was really really cool and anyone who thinks it was fake identifies themselves as a bit mad
• invented the non-stick frying pan

Of these points, I've engaged in heated debates on all bar the last. 

The received wisdom is that the non-stick frying pan was an inadvertent byproduct of the Apollo program. Therefore any misgivings about the overall project are allayed by the fact that millions of people have an easier job cleaning their frying pan thanks to Neil Armstrong and countless unsung heroes.

Except... whilst reading Richard Rhodes most excellent account of the development of the nuclear bomb I came across the claim that Teflon was invented by the Manhattan Project.

Say it ain't so Joe! 

This little nugget would be the start of an investigation worthy of a jaded alcoholic detective just shy of retirement - That Goes Right To The Top! 

Here is the truth as best can be established (i.e. wikipedia.org)

1. Teflon, aka PTFE, was discovered  by accident and patented in 1938
2. Yes, it was very valuable, and used in huge quantities by the Manhattan. But they weren't big into PR at that time
3. 1954 Collette Gregoire finally persuades her husband to put some of that slippy stuff he uses for fishing onto a frying pan
4. Tefal frying pan brand is introduced to the market, but it is many years before it achieves global dominance

So the Apollo program had zero influence on the non-stick frying pan. 

Fact. You can check it out on the internet if you don't believe me.

In the mean time, for reasons that are largely inexplicable, I've been replacing my Tefal frying pans with seasoned cast iron pans.(but will try not to contribute the blogosphere on this fascinating topic).

However, even without non-stick frying pans, Apollo was awesome.

 

Best. Noodles. Evah. (part 1)

Thought this blog was dead...

because as a mediocre cook and a  sub par photographer there seemed little point in continuing. However, tonight's meal was so good that the idea is to blog it down in anal detail, sans pictures, then see if it can be recreated with pictures.
Sort of create an online community within myself.

Context

Normal weekday requirement to cater for self and partner + any leftovers for my lunch tomorrow.

Significant amount of corriander  to use and vague hankering for noodles.

Ran an errand  and end up bribing kids with sweets, but also scored some chicken, peppers and spinach - result (+1 for local produce, -1 for sugary treats).

Partner arriving home and reminder she needs to eat before 19:30.

No problemo.

Recipe

Defrost last of home chicken stock in microwave (15 minutes).

Warm up  frying pan to moderate heat (half way notch on half way ring on gas cooker)

Saute for 5 minutes in broth pot:

• 1 onion, cut in half and sliced c. 3mm half moon shapes
• 3 smallish carrots, mandolined c. 4mm width at 30 degrees on the bias
• 1 medium celery stick (5th one from the crown), cut 2mm slices

Once frying pan is hot, add splash of oil, then chick pieces skin side down. Pieces were breast on the bone, so dismembered the wings but left the skin on (the skin stays on till the lower intestine in my book).

While chicken pieces are browning, add 1 red pepper to broth pot (halved, deseeded and sliced c. 5mm),

Check and turn chicken pieces if necessary.

Prepare aromatics - 1 thumb peeled ginger + 1 big clove garlic + 1 deseeded habenero chile, minced.

Strip leaves off coriander and mince stalks to add to aromatics, chop leaves finely and reserve for garnish.

Remove chicken pieces and clean pan if ready.

Add minced aromatics, stir a couple times.

Boil kettle.

Slice 6 mushrooms c. 5mm and add to broth pot. Stir.

Check stock is defrosted and hot, if so chuck the chicken pieces into the broth pot along with

• 1 tbsp nam pla
• 1/2 lemon squeezed
• enough boiling water to cover

Bring to bubble and add half a packet of ribbon rice noodles.

Taste and adjust seasoning using nam pla and lemon juice as first port of call.

Leave long enough to cook the chicken (or kill the salmonella, however you want to describe it), then decant packet of baby spinach. 

Once spinach is wilted,  serve.

To Serve

Scoop 1 breast per serving into bowl. Use slotted spoon to top up with noodles and veg. Sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves and bring to the table.

Result

Nom nom. 2 decent servings, 2 future lunches squirelled away and a cup of broth for later.

Next...

See if similar results can be achieved following the above (part 2).

Octopus, the final frontier part two

ok, so the blog never dies. Here's a few bits that need cleared out of the camera memory,
firstly Halloween
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Scary huh? (and late)

Now for the even scarier, having bought frozen octopus a couple months back it's time to get over waving the frozen packet at people and actually cook it.
First stop is the Globally Ubiquitous Search Engine, where I exercise my free will and select the the fifth link in.
Interesting, this guy seems to know what he's talking about, a wannabe Harold McGee. In fact it is the man himself, so lets get following the instructions, which are to roast the little cephalopods for 2 hours minimum at a low heat with appropriate aromatics.

I can handle that. The intent of this dish is to recreate a memory from my feckless youth enjoying pulpitos in tomato sauce in Barcelona. Not sure which was most memorable, the savour of the dish, the intensely red tomato sauce, the experience of being footloose with friends in one of the most culturally resonant European capitals, or a companion comparing them to shaved spiders.

No matter, I think I can do the red sauce bit.
So first stop is to burn a capiscum. And I mean actually burn it on the naked hob flame rather than accidently burning it in a sauce pan.

Which promptly gets shoved into an airtight container for reasons that remain mysterious to me and possibly even Harold McGee.
So returning to the octopuses (that is correct, I have an implicit Classical education by mere fact of being British and any fule kno octopus is Greek and thus the plural form is ...uses rather than ...i),
they have have been roasting for 2 hours at 175C and should be succulent little morsels swimming in luscious gravy.

 Hmm. The gravy appears not to be playing by the rules and manifested as a  caramelised veneer. No matter,  give it a little soak and simmer and something, albeit slightly carcinogenic,can be salvaged from it.

As to the matter of our precocious molluscs, they taste...okay.  I feel guilty about this as I have an irrational affection for octopus and squid - they will eventually inherit the earth after all, so time to get in the cop outs.

Plus elder son the Epicure has decided he wants some so this novelty dish is now having to feed three hungry people. And is very late.

Back to the comfort zone of the red sauce.  Aforementioned roasted pepper has been skinned and added to caramelised red onion, red chile and (red)carrots.  Bung the last of the paprika (c. 4 Tsp, but oldish) and we're back on track

Simmer with some tinned tomato a bit while cleaning and chopping spinach (NB serious tip here - a bit of grated nutmeg seems to conteract the acidic/tannic nature of spinach. Plus it apparently cost more than gold a few centuries back, so here's a chance to live like a king).

Have to serve with cousous because I'm all out of time. Briefly considered concentric circles of red, green and white but couldn't figure out which should go where. Plus family are about to start shouting at me so adopt the default serving of "fill the plate"

Consumer reaction:  Meh...Any more?
Cook's reaction:  Stick to squid - it's simpler, cheaper and slightly less unsettling. But if unsettling your dinner guests is the goal, go for more octopus and less sauce.