Winter Is Coming...Again.

Nope, this is not about Game of Thrones.

Instead, it's just a comment on the horrifying torrents of sleety rain currently sloshing over my very cold and desolate city.

I've been suffering with a bit of cold-weather malaise today. I'd got a little too used to the glorious English springtime and being able to sit out in the garden and bask in the sunshine whilst playing with the lovely cat who may or not be a stray (I want to call her Shadow, the Man says that's a stupid name for a cat. Bastard). Now the nasty rain stuff is coming down so hard that the lamp post across the road looks like it's going to snap in half and alarms keep going off as the rain hits them. This doesn't bode well for getting to my tattoo appointment tomorrow, but I am sure it will be fine. A little snow never stopped British Rail, right? Right? Oh...

Still, it's terribly exciting to be getting my ink finished tomorrow, I really can't wait.

On the other hand, it may have been miserably cold and horrid today but I have been productive. Yay! My mother gave us a mirror from her house as a little present for Chez Kitten which is rather lovely, but featured a rather...obnoxious...stained frame. I stripped it down to the natural wood (although it turned out to be rather uninspiring pine) using the little hand held sander (a slight case of vibration white finger only!) and then finished it with two different grades of sandpaper by hand, and followed it with two coats of beeswax. It looks lush. Pictures will follow eventually.

I also made a very tasty dinner; risotto with turkey and leek. The recipe is:

1.5 cups of arborio rice.
2 turkey breast slice thingies. Not the ones in crumb!
A large leek.
A medium red onion.
1 litre of chicken stock. I cheat and use a cube.
3 cloves of garlic. Or less, if you like.
Garlic and herb Philadelphia.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Fry the onion and garlic in some olive oil until the onion softens but doesn't colour. Add the rice. Stir until the liquor is absorbed. Add a cup or so of the stock. Stir until absorbed. Repeat until the rice is squishy and you've used the stock.

Slice the leeks. Sweat in a little butter and stock. Add to rice. Stir together. Add a generous dollop of Philly. Stir some more.

Slice and fry off the turkey in some pepper.

Dollop some risotto on a plate, top with the turkey. I also had some lovely sliced red pepper on it and it was NOM!