a short tribute to craziness

oh guys, i can't help noticing that no one has blogged since last week. it's okay dudes, i'm quite happy blogging away to myself :) also there will be no capital letters in this blog as i'm on my dad teeny tiny laptop and the shift button hurts my fingers, it's sad!

well i was going to blog about my most awesome trip to newcastle but i don't have any pictures yet so you'll just have to wait for the extended cut. although i can basically bullet point the trip to:

* i ate so much amazing food
* went to the doctor who exhibit
* everyone was crazy nice and gordie
* bought some awesome prints
* drank lots of tea
* discoved my love of bridges

what i really want to tell you guys about the last film i watched because it blew my mind - in a good way! it's THIS FILM. the bad lieutenant: port of call - new orleans (even the name is kind of hilarious). basically it was about nicolas cage being a crazy monkey, taking lots of drugs and threatening people WHILE ALSO BEING A POLICE LIEUTENANT. it would be unbearably grim if it wasn't so darn hilarious. all the funnies come from nick cage being completely nuts (and the reoccurring theme of reptiles). i most definitely have a soft spot for nicolas cage, particularly when he's being crazy cage. anyway, i enjoyed this bit (it doesn't really spoil anything if you want to watch the film):



and finally, on the subject of craziness on film a short tribute to the craziest, crazy to ever crazy a crazy. i don't know if i've ever seen him in anything except blue velvet, but he scared the hell out of me. rip mr. dennis hopper. [i don't know why this is bold - probably because it's CRAZY]

Monday Picnic Fun

I've had such a lovely day!

The morning was a crazy awesome time, filled with sun and Sainsburys and furiously making 5 different picnic dishes. Then I spend some awesome times hanging out and not eating picnic at all. Then I fell out with Jason cos' he told me not to put extra spaces between paragraphs but I did it anyway. Then I went to sleep.

Night dudes!

sunday challenge time!

Hey sweethearts :)

Time to put those writing skills to use! I want you all to write me a story with all of us as the main characters. You can approach the story in any way you wish; if you want to write it as though it were an excerpt from a grand epic you may do so, likewise if you wish to approach it as a flash fiction piece. Let your imagination run wild!

Peace, love and pudding pops

Roseanne <3

Real Deal Carbonara by a Real Deal Chef

Challenge time! OK, so I bent the rules a little. There's a boy on my floor called Jin, who is no doubt going to own the most successful restaurant in New York City one day soon. Since he knows pretty much everything there is to know about food in general, I asked him if he would teach me how to make my favourite meal, Linguine alla Carbonara, the proper Italian way.

See, I usually make it along the lines of: pancetta, garlic, onions, pepper, linguine, egg mix, then top the whole thing off with cheese. Turns out that is COMPLETELY WRONG! And thus, allow Jin to teach us the proper method of making this delicious dish:

You will need:

Linguine (Jin taught me that in buying pastas you should look out for a rough texture instead of a smooth, an indicator of quality and will absorb the sauce you use)

Pancetta

Parmesan (but any cheese will do aparently)

Two and a half eggs

Ground black pepper

Salt

Mixed herbs

and a little bit of olive oil

1. Cook your linguine! BUT ONCE IT IS READY SAVE SOME OF THAT WATER IN THE PAN. Very important you don't drain it all away, put some aside in a little bowl when the time comes. You'll find out why soon.

2. Grate around half the parmesan, and place it in a bowl. Then add two eggs, and a third yolk. Whisk together with a fork. By adding cheese to the egg mixture, you buy yourself more time to mix the sauce and pasta, as the cheese will prevent the mixture from curdling once it hits the heat!

3. Cut up your pancetta into bits, and fry on a low heat with a teensy bit of olive oil until crispy and delicious looking. Add a teaspoon of black pepper. (Check out my terminology!)

(Uh, btw, Jin works at lightning speed so I didn't get a photo for every step!)

4. This is where the linguine water comes in! Add a ladle of the pasta water to the pan of pancetta. The starch in the water will help thicken the sauce, and also make the linguine deliciously soft.

5. Add linguine to the pan of pancetta, and then add the egg and cheese mixture. Then stir stir stir stir stir for about a minute then take off the heat.

6. Add herbs, pepper and salt.

7. Serve and garnish with more parmesan, pepper and herbs. Savour the deliciousness of true Italian carbonara!

BONUS RECIPE! HERB AND GARLIC BREAD!

Jin also taught me how to flavour bread the healthy way.

You will need:

A Baguette

Mixed herbs

A bay leaf

Pepper corns

Garlic cloves

1. In a pan, heat about three quarters of a cup of olive oil (I speak in UK terms, just grab a cup and fill it. If you are Ashley I guess the American measurements can work too!).

2. Whilst the olive oil is heating up, crush your garlic and pepper corns. In a bowl mix together your garlic, pepper corns, herbs and bay leaf.

3. When the olive oil starts to smoke a bit, take it off the heat and pour it into the bowl with the herbs.
4. Smell the ameezin fragrance of the herbs and garlic!

5. Slice up your baguette and dip it face down in the oil. Eat! Enjoy!

(6. Jin also dipped one side of the baguette down, put it in a pan and toasted it till it was crispy, then dipped the other side in but left it untoasted. A very delicious result.)


Me enjoying the carbonara and looking like a tool:

Thumbs up for the genius!

Yay for Jin!

Other news:

I had my politics exam on Wednesday. It went surprisingly well, despite the fact I woke up half an hour before it started because my alarm didn't go off. One of those "things-that-should-only-happen-in-sitcoms" moments. Wednesday was also a good day because it was Be Nice To Roseanne Day for Drew. It was great, a whole day without being referred to as "Lady Parts" - perhaps the most demeaning nickname on the planet - or being thrown down mountains. I miss it already.

Right now, I am supposed to be revising for my Film and Media exam right now, but it is not going so well.

The weather is far too hot for my Shetland blood to take. Also the heater in my room is perpetually warm and I am pretty much deteriorating into a sweaty ball of stress. It's quite attractive.

Please to be keeping Vaila Mae in your thoughts tomorrow. <3

Quote of the Moment:

You're so nice Roseanne. You're like Mary, except you didn't get ground-pounded by God. - Jin

Masterchef? I'm better than that.

Okay, this is a terrible photograph, but this is what I had for dinner tonight.

It fed four people, and was constructed from...
2 chicken breasts
1/3 of a bottle of dark soy sauce
baby sweetcorn
half a can of (green giant) sweetcorn
a handful of green beans
a small onion
2 cloves of crushed garlic
a little knob of freshly grated ginger
2 sharwood packs of egg noodles
a little bit of cornflour

Firstly, put your noodles on to boil! DO IT NOW, and they will be DONE by the time you've finished cooking. (It's probably still best to check though, be smart kids.)
While all this is happening, take your onions, which you have thinly sliced because you're smarter than this and don't need me to tell you, and fry them in some delightful vegetable oil.

Take your garlic, after the onions have browned a little, peel it and smush it with the flat of your knife, then add that. Use a TINY grater to grate your little knob of ginger, and add that as well.

Once all this is all fragrant and awesome, chuck in your chicken and stir it around. Turn it over to cook both sides evenly. I'm really terrified of under cooking chicken, so for ages I overcooked it like mad. However, if you poke it with a fork and make sure it bounces, and it's lightly slightly brown but not crazy brown, it'll taste way better than the dry sucky chicken you'd have if you let your paranoia dictate your cooking.

So now the chicken is pretty much cooked, throw in all your vegetables. I almost always have peppers with this, but there were none in the house, so I opted for shitloads of sweetcorn instead. It tastes awesome though. I have no regrets. Don't wait too long before drenching the thing in an awful lot of soy sauce, and adding some cornflour and a little bit of water. The cornflour thickens the mixture to make it more of a viable garlic/ginger/soy sauce than just wet.

Mix in the noodles, and then enjoy it. Well done. You make a really bitchin' stirfry there, son.




In other news, I have very little other news. I've been bored and watching slightly ungodly amounts of Lost (which I'm now caught up with). I'm waiting to hear back about various job applications, and waiting for the majority of my friends to come back from University. It's kind of dull city, but it's okay, because tommorow I'm going for a barbecue and plan on having fun and potentially drinking a little bit.

Looking forward to the rest of your posts :)

FAILURE CITY

Gah!

Guys, I'm sorry this is late, I'm also sorry that it's going to be so short and whiny. I'm also sorry that I'm two challenges behind.

I'm about to explode with exams. I DON'T WANT TO DO THEM ANY MORE, I KNOW IT'S NOT LIKE A HAVE A CHOICE BUT I THEY ARE STINKY AND I WISH THEY'D GO AWAY.

I'm feeling terribly unprepared for the 3 I have in the next 3 days because I spend so long revising for Financial Maths. Not that all that revision made any difference because to be honest the exam kinda sucked. Also I'm hardly sleeping and drinking and eating way too much coffee and sugar and it's all making me crazy.

But anyway they'll all be over on Thursday and then I'm going to party!

[Mainland Scotland guys: we should do something awesome this weekend. I'm on antibiotics again so I can't/shouldn't/probably will drink. But we should go to the comedy club cos' I don't think you guys have ever been and it's ALWAYS HIGHLARIOUS]

Peace out dudes!

Love Mhairi

Sunday Challenge

Hey Guys, it's Jenny! Mhairi's post this week kind of inspired me to put on my foodie hat, so I thought I'd challenge you all to make one of your favourite meals - take photos, talk us through it and why you love it.
Don't forget to tell me about your week as well! I miss you guys, I want to know what's happening all up in Edinburgh, Boston and Stirling!


PEACE OUT (or something... I need a catchphrase...)